Reaching Into the Playing Area

It is illegal for a player to reach into the play area while the ball is in play without first having permission from the opposing team, whether he touches the ball or not. However, whenever the opposing team grants a player permission to reach into the playing area, it is legal for the player to do so. A spinning ball is considered in play, even if it is not in reach of a player figure. It is illegal to reach into playing area to stop a spinning ball, even if done for an opponent. A ball which becomes airborne over the table is still in play until it has hit something not a part of the playing area. Do not catch a flying ball over the table. A ball which has gone dead is considered out of play. The ball may be freely touched once permission has been granted by the official, or if no official is present, by the opposing team. There is no penalty for touching the ball after it is dead, regardless of whether or not permission was given to touch the ball. A player may wipe shot marks off any part of the table while the ball is not in play. He does not need to ask permission of the opposing team. The penalty for violation of this rule is as follows: If the player has possession of the ball, and the ball is stopped loss of possession to the opposing team. If the ball is moving in the players goal area behind the two man rod a point is scored for the opposing team, and the ball is re served as if it had gone in the goal. Any other case technical foul.