hen last we met, our intrepid referee was ready. Our players had positions on the circle that could not be changed, and those not on the circle were content to stay there. We had done the "getting ready" and finally the "gotten ready." That was Part III. In Part IV, we’re going to start and end the jump ball. Of course, that's when the real fun begins.

Now that you’re ready and everyone on the circle is settled in his position, it’s time to toss the ball. The toss officially begins the jump ball. Once the ball leaves your hand(s), it’s alive; the restrictions about non-jumpers moving onto and around the circle are ended. But the restrictions about breaking the plane of the circle and encroaching on somebody else’s position remain in effect.

Toss it straight

All you have to do is toss it straight and higher than either jumper can jump. It sounds so easy, doesn’t it? What does straight mean? It means "in a plane at right angles to the sidelines." That’s a pretty good definition as far as east-west. But what about north-south? It has to drop between the jumpers. If it’s directly over either jumper’s head, it can’t drop between them. So — toss it again.

This has been a lot of work so far, and the clock hasn’t even started yet. Now that the ball is in the air, the focus is on the jumpers. We expect they’ll both leap skyward in an effort to tap the ball, but they don’t have to. They do have one rule and three restrictions they must obey.

Rule

• They must let the ball reach its highest point before they touch it.

Restrictions

• They may not leave the circle until the ball has been touched.
• They cannot catch the ball.
• They cannot touch it more than twice.

Continued...