In pools where temporary walls are put in place to mark the edge of the court, players are not allowed to hold on to the wall. It is legal to place a hand against the side of the barrier, but holding onto the top of the barrier or any other part of the wall is illegal. This foul can also be called if a player grabs the goal to gain an advantage.
Demo video coming soon!
This should be called if any player is seen holding the walls or goals in any way. The signal to call this is a downward facing “U” made by the hand which is moved back and forth, simulating the grabbing of a wall.
This foul should not be called if the player is placing their hand against the flat part of the wall, in this case they are not holding the wall, simply bracing themselves on it. If players incidentally grab the wall but are not engaged in the play and do not gain any advantage from doing so should generally not be called.
It is often easy for players to just have their hand by the top of the wall and accidentally bend their fingers around the top. Referees can not distinguish this from actually grabbing the wall, so it is better for the players to always keep their hands away from the wall or keep their hands flat.
White cap #10 grabs the wall when she comes down from above.
GRABBING THE BARRIER