NEWSLINE STORY
published March-April 2016
Two New Additions to the Guidelines Section of the RGS Book 2016
by Dan Sanders, 1st Vice President and Bylaws/Rules/Grievance Director
Part 1: Hand Signals
Over the past two years, there have been several articles and discussions about the use of hand signals, to help ensure that scorekeepers understand the intended verbal calls being made during league and tournament play. Although hand signals, for some calls, have been used for many years, it is important that pitchers learn and use the same or similar hand signals, especially at larger events where pitchers (and scorekeepers) from larger geographic areas are competing -- including all state tournaments and the World Tournament.
After recent written surveys and discussions with pitchers and many scorekeepers, the following hand signals are being recommended. If you have learned and use other signals, that's okay, but it is hoped that eventually everyone will be using the same hand signals, as well as verbal calls. It should be noted that the use of hand signals will never be required, but can be very helpful to scorekeepers who may have difficulty hearing verbal calls, for a wide variety of reasons. Alternate hand signals, for some calls, can be found in earlier Newsline articles or other published materials.
GUIDELINE 2 -CALLING THE SCORE
Section C – Recommended Hand Signals
A. Calls/Signals For Cancellation Play: (Review Rule 6, Section B.1 – Calling the Score)
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'No Score' |
'One Point' |
'Two Points' |
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'One ringer, Three Points' |
'One ringer, Four Points' |
'Two ringers, Six Points' |
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'Two Dead' |
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From the above signals, add either One Point, Three Points, or No Score. Possible calls could be 'two dead, one point;' 'two dead, three points;' or 'two dead, no score' |
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'Four Dead' |
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(From the above signals, 'No Score' could be added) |
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B. Calls/Signals For Count-All Play: One person calls two scores; his/her score first, and then the opponent's score. Use the 'number' hand signals from above, but add 'zero points', shown here. (Also review Rule 6, Section B.2 – Calling the Score)
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'Zero Points' |
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(See examples of some possible calls, below) |
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Call – 'Zero, two' |
Call – ' two, four' |
Call – 'three, three' |
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