What does a referee call versus the players and line judges?
Rule- Canada
- Pickleball Canada
- Officiating
- Sanctioned events
- Open age
- 2026
- Referees
The Tournament Director decides which matches use line judges, and a match may be officiated by a referee with or without them.
- Referee, always: service foot faults, short serves and non-volley zone faults, plus all procedural and judgment calls, including score, point, second server, side out, hinders, distractions, damaged balls and replays.
- Without line judges: players make "out" calls for the baseline, sidelines and centre service line on their end of the court.
- With line judges: line judges call "out" or "service foot fault" for their assigned line, showing the out signal (outstretched arm pointing in the out-of-bounds direction), and assist with other calls when asked. Players call only the service court centreline on their end.
- Hinders: you must validate a hinder called by a player. If valid, replay the rally. If not validated, it is a fault against the player.
- Distraction: you decide when a player has distracted an opponent about to hit the ball. It is a fault against the distracting player.
Source: 2026 Official Rulebook, Sections 17, 19 and 20, https://pickleballcanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/2026-Official-Rulebook-EN.pdf
Added 25 Oct 2026