1938-11-23 — Page 25

THE CHINA MAIL, NOVEMBER 28, 1998,

TENNIS PLAYERS

TO DISCUSS NEW FOOT-FAULT RULE

Meeting With Legislators Follows Experiments

(By A. WALLIS MYERS)

The ranked lawn tennis players in this country are to meet a committee of the L.T.A. in London to discuss a proposed amendment to the service law. They have been invited to experiment in the meantime. The amendment was designed to check footfaults. It is likely to be debated at the annual general meeting of the associa- tion in December, but it cannot be incorporated in the rules of the game-until it has been submitted. next March to the International Federation and received a two-thirds majority support of world de- legates.

K.C. FYFE FOR A MIDLAND

RUGBY TEAM?

Page

RECREIO "A" MUCH TOO

K. C. Fyfe, Sestlish internations! GOOD

centre threequarter, who has ac- cepted" ■ Business appointment at Wolverhampton, may join a mid- land team.

Before going on business to In- dia two seasons ago he assisted Sale; and when he returned in September last he again played for Sale in their first match. Since then, however, he has been in Lon- “don and assisting London Scottish. He may yet wear the Sale colours again like G. D. Shaw, 'Bale's other Scottish International, who works in the Potteries.

Women's Badminton

Commences

•

The Women's Division of the Bad- minton League commenced last night with a match between Re-. crelo “A” and St. Andrew's, result- ing in a comfortable victory for the former by 9 clear sets.

-'

The Recreio women were much mm | too good for their opponents, only Miss Florrie Wong and Miss A. Greiner providing anything like op- position in the set against the Misses M. and C. Silva who were taken to 21–17.

back foot, too, before striking the ball.. The remedy here is for the server to advance one foot to the This delay is desirable, because the rules of lawn tennis, which desired position before commencing this country drew up originally, are now common to all countries. Į to serve. They concern millions of players-not only tournament players, but This requirement would really all those who pursue the game on domestic courts or in public parks. make little practical difference to

Any proposed change, there- fore, requires the widest scrutiny. The occasion for it must be clear, the demand for it widespread; This is especially true of a game which owes much of its develop- ment to the stability and simpli- city of its rules.

PROPOSED NEW WORDING

Here is the wording of the pro- posed new rule, as circulated by the Secretary of the L.T.A.:

The server shall throughout the delivery of the servicë either (a) keep both feet in continous' contact with the ground. or (b) replace on the ground be- hind the baseline prior to placing it on the surface of the court either "foot which has not maintained such continuous con- tact.

The delivery of the service shall be deemed to have been completed (1) under condition A at the moment of the impact of the racket and the ball, and (2) under condition Bat the moment when a foot, or the foot which has last broken contact with the ground, has been placed on the ground as required by that condition.

CLEAR AND CONCISE?

Apart from any question of a new principle, is this wording clear and concise?

champions, have served under present rule without complaint.

the:

him. He would still be free to bend

move his for

Results were:"

Miss M. Xavier and Mrs. N. Castro beat Miss M. Churn and Miss J. (Recreio). Wong beat Miss F. Wong and Miss A.

Greiner

21-9

21-4

beat Miss E. Bliss and Miss G.

White

21-4 Miss O. Ribeiro and Miss J. Ribeiro

his body back as much or as little as (Recreio). he likes, and, after all, if is body-beat Miss Churn and Miss J. swing that really matters. At golf beat Miss F. Wong and Miss

Wong the player does not i

Greiner ward footor, indeed, either foot: the whole shot defends on

body weight properly applied..

21-3

21-5

beat Miss Bliss and Miss. White 21- 4

Miss M. Silva (Recreio).

2

and Miss C. Silva beat. Miss Churn and Miss J.

Wong

21-4

21-17

beat Miss F. Wong and Miss beat Miss Bliss and Miss White 21- 2

Greiner

TO-NIGHTS TIES

This Three matches are, down for deti- League this evening, the programme sion in the "B" Division of the Men's being as follow: Recreio Recreio St. John's

QUIST'S FATAL SPRING... The most difficult offence for the umpire in the chair to detect is when the server, a fraction of a second be EASY TO CONFORM TO

fore hitting the ball, spring to a The complete player, such as all of an inch, with both feet.

light extent, perhaps only a quarter should aspire too be, can conform to was Quist's inadvertent error in his it quite easily. It is really only the Davis Cup match against Budge in careless or too precipitate player Philadelphia, and he was properly who-no doubt often unconsciously penalised. Sh -infringes it. It may be unpleasant for the footfault judge to inflict a penalty.. It has yet to be shown that the task of the footfault judge would be less invidious under the proposed amendment.

v Kloon Tong "A" Kloon Tong "A" v V.R.C.

The umpire obviously could not (Bloon Tong "B" v Wanderers detect it, neither could the bulk of the gallery; only the footfault judge was in a position to see it.

It will be seen that my New Zea- land correspondent is thinking on The other day I received a letter the same lines as the L.T.A. His on this subject from an old Oxonian | wording, however, both simplifies resident for some years in New Zea-and clarifies the rule as regards the land, He has played lawn tennis action of the feet, while preserving since it was first put on the market the existing rule that defines the in 1875 as a novelty.

completion of the service at the

This wise old counsellor he is moment when the ball is struck by CLUB “A” XV MEET

now nearer 80 than 70-does

not the racket.

desire that the rule should be alter ed to conform to the service methods. of certain well-known players. He has no sympathy, for example, with Adrian Quist, whose duty it was, he thinks, to conform to the rule, but he does offer a suggestion for a simple

H.K.C.C. TO MEET

. C. B. SCHOOL

and effective re-wording of the foot-represent Hong Kong Cricket In the existing rule the

the service is "deemed to be com- ⚫pleted," without any preamble, “at the moment of the impact of the racket and the ball." Stance is dealt with under the next rule, which reads: "The server shall through- out the delivery of the service (a). not change his position by walking or running, (b) maintain contact with the ground, (c) keep both feet behind (ie., farther from the net] than) the baseline.

fault rule.

It is this:

The server must stand with both feet on the ground behind. the baseline before commenc- ing to serve. He may-lift one-- foot, and one foot only, before striking the ball, provided that he grounds it again behind the baseline.

UMPIRES CAN DETECT

He holds-and I think properly- In the proposed amendment "the that under this rule umpire can de- impact of the ball with the racket" tect any infringement. The "net-

is not mentioned in the second con-rusher," who is the chief delinquent dition. A member of a local club to-day, would have to move back his or a parks player, hurriedly consult-position, say, 20 inches, behind the ing his book of rules, might be led baseline. He would be that distance to assume that neither ball nor slower im reaching the net, a mat- racket is required for a service to be ter-of no practical difference. The umpire would only have to watch the The present rule, may require, line to see that the lifted foot was clarification, but has it been proved replaced behind it. conclusively in match play either

completed!

There is, of course, the player who, that it restricts the server's legiti-standing further back still, advances mate enterprise or that it cannot one foot before hitting the ball, This be effectively administered Budge, has always been regarded as a good Perry and Tilden, to name only three service. But some servers lift the

-L. FUSILIERS TO-DAY

:

There will be a Rugby game on the Club ground, Happy Valley, to-day at 5 p.m., the Club "A" XV meeting the The following have been chosen to Lancashire Fusiliers. Club will be re-

Club presented by the following: juniors against Central British School H. F. Hopkins, K. A. Munro, C. J.. on Saturday.

Powell, D. Hynes, D. I. Bosanquet; Beck, C. W. E. Bishop, N. P. Fox, C. E. Menhinick, J. S. Dunnett (Capt.), W. R. S. W. Paterson (capt.), A. C. F. Cessford, J. R. Henderson; J. C. Gahagan, H. J. Armstrong, J..L. Ills- Stoker, R. E..H. Nelson, B. Hynes, B ley, H. J. D. Lowe, G. S. Lovett, D. O..O'M. Deane, T. H. Pratt and K. H Parsons, F. H. Stokes.

G. White.

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