The advantage rule is used to reduce the number of calls by not calling fouls that do not result in the offending player’s team gaining an advantage. An example of this would be if a white player gloves the puck (illegal advancement of the puck), but shortly after that the defending black player gains possession and makes forward progress. Due to the advantage rule, the referee would not call the gloving, since the player that gloved the puck did not gain any impactful advantage from committing the foul.
If a referee sees a foul and would like to see if the foul resulted in any advantage, they should extend one finger, hold it above the water horizontally and draw circles with the finger tip. The referee should continue to do this until the team the foul was committed against gains clear possession or the referee decides to call the foul. If the referee decides to call the foul, they should signal the chief referee and call the foul as usual. The advantage signal described above is done so that the chief referee knows that the water referee is playing the advantage rule. If a different referee calls a foul as one referee is signaling the advantage rule, the chief referee will default the call to the advantage rule referee, as that foul occurred first. It is important for water referees to always look at the chief referee when the play is stopped and determine which referee’s call occurred first. The chief referee will point at the water referee whose call will be followed.
Demo video coming soon!
Advantage rule should not be used for extreme fouls such as unsportsmanlike conduct. Advantage rule is mostly used for minor fouls that in general do not have a huge impact on the play.
The referee closest to the camera can be seen signaling advantage rule, then a different referee calls a different foul. The call goes to the first referee through the advantage rule.
ADVANTAGE RULE