Sports and Games: Rules, Skills and Officiating
This domain tests playing rules, key skills and the duties of officials across the games in the syllabus - volleyball, basketball, kabaddi, kho-kho, football, hockey, athletics and racket games.
Rules you must be able to quote
- Volleyball: 6 players on court, clockwise rotation after winning the serve; rally scoring to 25 points with a two-point lead required; deciding set to 15; net height 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women; libero plays in the back row.
- Basketball: 5 players; 24-second shot clock; 3 points beyond the arc, 2 inside, 1 from the free-throw line; a player is out after five personal fouls.
- Kabaddi: 7 players; the raider must chant continuously and return within 30 seconds; a lona (all out) scores 2 points.
Officiating
Officials need rule knowledge, fitness, correct positioning, consistent signals, impartiality and the courage to reverse a wrong call. Volleyball uses a referee, umpire, scorer and line judges; basketball uses a crew chief, referee and umpire with scorer and timer.
Worked example
A volleyball set is 24–24 and Team A wins the next rally. Reasoning: rally scoring gives A one point, making it 25–24, but the set is not over because a two-point lead is required. Team A now serves at set point and must win the following rally to close it out at 26–24.
Traps
- Using the old 15-point side-out scoring.
- Saying a set ends the moment a team reaches 25.
- Confusing the scorer's duty with the referee's.
- Forgetting that rotation follows winning the serve, not every point.