RULES

The most recent edition of the rules was published by the World Gateball Union in 2019. A Q & A Guide is also available for these rules.

A summary of fouls and their consequences can be downloaded here in landscape or portrait view. This simple summary of the rules has been produced by John Swabey of the European Gateball League

If you have queries about the rules, there is a Q&A forum where you can ask questions or answer those from other people. Click here for the Q&A forum

BECOMING A REFEREE AND MAINTAINING ACCREDITATION

ACA Gateball Referees can attain accreditation to three levels:

International	Accredited by the World Gateball Union – allows the referee to examine candidates for Level 1 accreditation
Level 1	Senior level – allows the referee to examine candidates for Level 2 accreditation
Level 2	Basic accreditation

A summary of the steps to become a referee or being accredited at a higher level are available here

These steps are all part of Gateball Australia’s procedure for referee accreditation and reaccreditation and are available for download. This document parallels the  ACA’s processes for referee accreditation and reaccreditation for all codes. In turn, this process is compliant with requirements of the Australian Sports Commission/Sports Australia.

Players who wish to become a Gateball Referee are expected to undertake courses:

A requirement of the ACA and Sports Australia is to complete the online Community Officiating General Principles online course.

More specific courses about the rules and practical refereeing are sometimes available through State Coordinators. An online version is also available. Anthony Dask, a Victorian Gateballer, has produced many hours of videos which are available through Youtube. These take players through the different sections of the rule books and also refer to sections of the Q&A book. These links take you directly to topics that correspond with the rule book:

Intro to GB     The Court     Equipment     Team, Managers and Players

Preparing for the Game      How to Play the Game  Winning and Losing

Play and Rights as a Stroker      Effective Plays and Ineffective Plays

Movement of the Ball   Stroking     Passing the Gate    Finishing (Agari)

Touch    Spark     In-Ball and Out_Ball    Ball Touch Foul     Play Interference

Referee Time     Exchange of Equipment     Interruption of the Game

Referees

Those who would like to have a copy of workbook to complete in conjunction with the rule book or the videos should email info@gateball.com.au to ask for one.

Referees also need to be aware of the Guide for Referees This document is published with the Rules and describes other topics of importance when carrying out the role of an official. It describes hand signals, the role and positioning for referees and other officials.  Two more of anthony’s videos are useful here: Referee Calls and Referee Positioning. Two Korean videos usefully outline hand signals and  procedures  that officials are expected to follow at the beginning and end of a game

Referees are also asked to acknowledge their acceptance of the ACA Officials’ Code of Behaviour. The source of this document is the ACA member protection policy which is available through the ACA website

All qualified referees are expected to complete an annual reaccreditation card. Click here for a current annual reaccreditation card.     Print the pages back to back to obtain 3 cards. Existing referees need to complete these every year to maintain their currency. When they have been completed, they should be passed to state coordinators of refereeing.

CURRENT REFEREES

The following lists of referees are provided to Gateball Australia by State Coordinators or State Coordinators of Refereeing. If there are any errors please contact your relevant state personnel.

Referees become “inactive ” if they have not completed reaccreditation processes. Contact your relevant state personnel if you wish to become active again.

QLD – State Director of Gateball Refereeing, Margaret Barnard

International: Margaret Barnard, Bruce McAlister, Keith McLeod, Glenda Windust

Level 1: Ros Crowe, Keith Chur-Hansen, Barbara Northcott, Jim Northcott,

Level 2: Lyn Christiansen, Warren Douse, Lynne Farry, Jill Gwynne, Kathleen Hayes, Margaret Dickenson, Mary Jones, Cheryl Kele, Emma  Mauceri, Brian Mullins, Sandra Reynolds, Robert Roose,, Max Stringer, Julia Tai, Mary-Ann Waters, Tony Waters, Frances Wregg and Julia Vickers.

Inactive: John Angus, May Feddersen, Greg Fetherstone, Ethel Hughes, Philip Rowland, John Turner, Beryl Turner.

VIC – State Coordinator, Philip Brown.

International: Gilon Smith

Level 1: Philip Brown

Level 2: Tim Stagg, Anthony Dask.

Inactive: Catherine Doherty, Chris Langford, Sue Leitinger, 

NSW & ACT- State Coordinator, Judy Tier

International: 

Level 1:  Manuel Gutierrez, Glen Whitehead

Level 2: Helen Chalmers, Andrew Davies, Adrienne Fazekas, Peter Freer, Glenda Gutierrez, Robyn Hayes, John Park, Penny Park, Judy Squelch, Kerrie Sutherland,

Inactive: Claus Jehne, 

South Australia   

Level 1: Geoff Crook

Western Australia

No qualified referees.

GATEBALL AUSTRALIA REFEREE COMMITTEE: ADVICE, CLARIFICATIONS AND USEFUL INFORMATION

Rules for Singles, Doubles and Triples

Gateball Australia has agreed the following rules for playing with less than five members on each team.

• Rules for singles matches played in Australia.
• Rules for gateball doubles matches played in Australia.
• Rules for triples matches played in Australia.

Clubs often vary these in the special circumstances for their own club based competitions.

Pointing with a stick and disagreeing with a referee

Gateball Australia has clarified these two issues after some discussion in late 2020. See Gateball Information Pamphlets: Indicating where to stroke or spark a ball  and Disagreeing with a referee decision.

Forfeiting Games

If a team forfeits a game, then Gateball Australia accepts the following process. Tournament referees and managers may adopt an alternative provided participants are advised of this before a tournament begins.

Record Sheet for recording the progress of games can be found here

Tournament Referee A description of the role of a Tournament referee is available from this link

Setting courts accurately Court dimensions are to be found in the rules, but great care needs to be taken when setting courts for competitions. The two links below assist with accurate court setting.

Gatesetter. Instructions on how to make and use a gatesetter and a plan with the required dimensions is available here.

Jamberoo’s system for accurately painting court lines was posted as a news item on this website and is available here

Deciding the winner when the points are tied A handy information pamphlet is also available for download: Deciding the winner when points are tied