[M T]

MT--

Do you know if there's a specific definition of shot where a field block resets a shot clock?  Most of the time I've seen it reset only off the keeper touch over the end line, because the ball doesn't turn over at that point.  I guess I was conflating change of possession calls with shot clock resetting.

In other words, what constitutes a "shot" that resets the clock?  The equivalent of touching the rim in basketball, I guess?

And are contra fouls (because you couldn't see them in the TV shot) mostly impeding or grabbing a player in transition who doesn't have the ball?

Thanks!

VG

When I played decades ago we didn't have shot clocks.  While I've watched the game over the past few years, I never read the rule book.  I had an answer already typed in when I saw what you said about what constitutes a shot and frankly thought, darn, I must be wrong about it.  So I looked at the rules.  The rules are very clear about resetting the clock when it leaves the player's hand (so a field block can't negate that reset).  It is reset again when someone gets possession again (apparently except in the case of a shot that is short or field blocked and the shooting team recovers it) but the first reset already happened.

So, as far as resetting the shot clock, it is up to the shot clock official to judge whether a shot was attempted (versus a pass), and he/she must make that call as the ball is leaving the hand.  There's no effect on that reset if the ball is subsequently field blocked, is short, goes out untouched, etc.

With under a minute to go against UCLA, Stanford attempted a shot (by my judgement), which was then knocked down into the water by a field block.  Stanford recovered the ball.  (The audience (incl. me) couldn't see the shot clock so we couldn't tell if it had been reset.)  Our player then attempted to turn to the goal and had the ball stolen.  If she had recognized that the shot had happened, she could have swum the ball toward the side of the pool, and made a careful pass to an open player, and given us another 35 seconds of possession, which would have left only 15 seconds or less for UCLA to try to tie it up.

The term "contra foul" only appears once in the rule book.  Officially they are just fouls against the offensive team.  Pretty much the same things can be called on both teams.  Most of the contra fouls I saw called were in the hole, where the offensive player would swing her (say) left arm into the face of the guarding player on her backside, as she is receiving the ball with her right hand.  If that left arm is under water, a foul would not be called (and is not very effective).  (Many more contra fouls were called that I didn't see.)  I certainly saw girls on defense rise out of the water to show that the offensive player was grabbing their suit (usually it is the other way around).    Another foul I saw that I would have called was where one offensive player was cutting across the goal with her defender in pursuit.  The offensive player in the hole seemed to reach out to delay the defender (by grabbing her leg or suit).  Just putting your body in the way (I'm not aware of any "moving shield" violation) is ok.  Grabbing (by hand or leg) is not.  Nor is pushing off (as in getting a head start), but that is much less called because it is harder to see.  Hooking in water polo is a standard technique even without the ball and is rarely called a foul except when it is right in front of the goal.  The hooking in water polo would be closer to a wrestling move than anything you see in basketball.

[M T]

MT--

Do you know if there's a specific definition of shot where a field block resets a shot clock?  Most of the time I've seen it reset only off the keeper touch over the end line, because the ball doesn't turn over at that point.  I guess I was conflating change of possession calls with shot clock resetting.

In other words, what constitutes a "shot" that resets the clock?  The equivalent of touching the rim in basketball, I guess?

And are contra fouls (because you couldn't see them in the TV shot) mostly impeding or grabbing a player in transition who doesn't have the ball?

Thanks!

VG

When I played decades ago we didn't have shot clocks.  While I've watched the game over the past few years, I never read the rule book.  I had an answer already typed in when I saw what you said about what constitutes a shot and frankly thought, darn, I must be wrong about it.  So I looked at the rules.  The rules are very clear about resetting the clock when it leaves the player's hand (so a field block can't negate that reset).  It is reset again when someone gets possession again (apparently except in the case of a shot that is short or field blocked and the shooting team recovers it) but the first reset already happened.

So, as far as resetting the shot clock, it is up to the shot clock official to judge whether a shot was attempted (versus a pass), and he/she must make that call as the ball is leaving the hand.  There's no effect on that reset if the ball is subsequently field blocked, is short, goes out untouched, etc.

With under a minute to go against UCLA, Stanford attempted a shot (by my judgement), which was then knocked down into the water by a field block.  Stanford recovered the ball.  (The audience (incl. me) couldn't see the shot clock so we couldn't tell if it had been reset.)  Our player then attempted to turn to the goal and had the ball stolen.  If she had recognized that the shot had happened, she could have swum the ball toward the side of the pool, and made a careful pass to an open player, and given us another 35 seconds of possession, which would have left only 15 seconds or less for UCLA to try to tie it up.

The term "contra foul" only appears once in the rule book.  Officially they are just fouls against the offensive team.  Pretty much the same things can be called on both teams.  Most of the contra fouls I saw called were in the hole, where the offensive player would swing her (say) left arm into the face of the guarding player on her backside, as she is receiving the ball with her right hand.  If that left arm is under water, a foul would not be called (and is not very effective).  (Many more contra fouls were called that I didn't see.)  I certainly saw girls on defense rise out of the water to show that the offensive player was grabbing their suit (usually it is the other way around).    Another foul I saw that I would have called was where one offensive player was cutting across the goal with her defender in pursuit.  The offensive player in the hole seemed to reach out to delay the defender (by grabbing her leg or suit).  Just putting your body in the way (I'm not aware of any "moving shield" violation) is ok.  Grabbing (by hand or leg) is not.  Nor is pushing off (as in getting a head start), but that is much less called because it is harder to see.  Hooking in water polo is a standard technique even without the ball and is rarely called a foul except when it is right in front of the goal.  The hooking in water polo would be closer to a wrestling move than anything you see in basketball.