Official Rules in Print Posted on January 12, 2024 at 12:09:54 PM by Craig G
INTERFERENCE RULE (from old Dania website)
INTERFERENCE will be called by any judge when a player is blocked from making a play for the ball by his opponent. If, in the judge’s opinion, the player that was interfered with had no chance of reaching the ball, whether or not he was blocked, no interference will be called. Interference will be called on any Court Judge when he (the Court Judge) has blocked a player from making a play for the ball. The interference rule for players and judges is adaptable in all interference violations.(from Magic City / World Jai-Alai League)
Interference may be ruled if, in the judge’s opinion, the location or action of a player prevented the receiving player from returning the ball and the receiving player requests interference and does not make an attempt to play the ball. IMO the first case is a little loose and open to semantic debate as to the meaning of 'is blocked'. I see it as equivalent to 'is obstructed by the position of the opponent'.
What is also significant is the part about the officials, since we can assume that they would not be blocking the play deliberately or thru a 'stand your ground' action. Which means that for judges, 'has blocked' would clearly refer to a failure or inability to get out of the way.
