Blood on the Doubles Court by Narelle Krizek November 13, 2014
- Well this Saturday in Cincinnati for the 2nd Annual Cincinnati Open,
Tournament Director Nathan Dugan and Tour Director Narelle Krizek had
to quickly find out. It was the first time for the WDSA tour to
have blood on a court. Not normally a rough sport for the ladies,
#3 Stephanie Hewitt was unfortunately hit by her partner #5 Dana Betts
from a shot tapped off the back wall that struck her goggles and caused
her nose to break.
With the spectators and other players looking on in shock, WDSA #12 and
Head ER Nurse Dawn Gray rushed to her side, alongside spectators Tamela
Zimmerman an Ear Nose and Throat Doctor as well as Chris Gordon a
Plastic Surgeon. Dawn who has been known to administer popping
players shoulders back in place, to assessing calf pulls, she quickly
placed ice on Steph’s nose. While it was numb with no one knowing
what she was about to do, she popped it back in place. Chris
Gordon raced off to his practice to find some Afrin to stop the
bleeding. How long did this whole process take? Well maybe
too long for Steph and Dana’s opponents #8 Vic Simmonds and #10 KJ
Jerome! Was it fair to make them wait 25mins or more? It’s
not like Dana could sub Steph off and bring on another team mate.
The rule 16 states:
16.1 Bleeding: the Referee shall immediately stop play when any player
has visible bleeding, an open wound or bloodstained clothing and the
player must leave the court. Before allowing play to continue the
Referee shall require that the bleeding be stopped, the wound covered
and any blood-stained clothing changed, allowing such time as is
reasonable and necessary and is available on the tournament schedule.
16.1.1 If the bleeding was caused solely by an opponent’s action, the
Referee shall immediately award the match to the player’s team.
16.1.2 If the player is unable to stop the bleeding within 30 minutes,
the player’s team shall either concede one game taking the 90 second
interval and then continue play if the bleeding has stopped or concede
the match.
16.1.3 If the bleeding recurs, for which recovery time has already been
allowed, the Referee shall allow no further recovery time except that
the player’s team may concede the game in progress and use the
90-second interval between games for recovery. If the bleeding
continues at the end of this interval, the player’s team shall concede
the match. A player’s team may only concede one game for one 90-second
interval.
Thankfully for Steph her helpers took great care of her. She was
ready to go way before the 30mins was up, but everyone looking on was a
little more hesitant making sure the bleeding had definitely
stopped. Her poor partner Dana definitely was having a hard time
getting back on court not even able to look at her taped up face.
Unfortunately for KJ and Vic, they were both affected by the length of
time it took to wait while feeling compassion for their opponent, not
wanting to harm her when play resumed. All of the players and
spectators definitely learnt something from this unfortunate
incident. Always wear your googles, ask for lets, play safely,
the blood rule for doubles and that Steph Hewitt is one brave fierce
competitor!
