How to Signaling Palming in Basketball

Palming, also commonly referred to as "carrying," occurs when a player puts his hand on the bottom of the basketball while dribbling. If uncalled, it gives the player with the ball an advantage because it looks like she is picking up her dribble. Read on to learn how to signal for a palming violation as a basketball referee.

Things You'll Need

• Whistle, Black and white striped referee shirt

Instructions

1. Blow your whistle. As a referee, the first step toward calling a violation, whether it is palming (also known as carrying), a double dribble or traveling, is to blow the whistle to stop play.

2. Next, you must signal that the violation for which you stopped play was in fact palming. To do this, take your palm facing upwards and turn it over so that your palm faces downwards. Do this in an arching motion, as if your hand was underneath the basketball and then moves to the top of the basketball.

3. You must identify who committed the palming violation. Refereeing differentiates by league, but often pointing at the player and performing the palming signal is enough.

4. Finally, hand the ball to the other team and whistle to make play resume.

Tips & Warnings

• This tip is only for refereeing, not for people in the stands.

• It is fair to identify the violation by the referee's signal, but it is not a spectator's job to stop play and make the actual call.