[BillyMac]

When the alternating possession arrow started in 1985, the members of our local board knew that it would take some time for table crews to adjust to the new rule, so we were all asked to keep an extra whistle in our pocket to help keep track of the arrow. I personally thought that this would be a good idea until the schools got used to the new rule. Well, they're still "getting used to it". 99% of the time the crew at the table has the correct score, time, number of fouls, and bonus light on the scoreboard, yet after more than twenty-years, they only get the arrow at the table switched correctly about 90% of the time, so we're still being advised by our interpreter to keep that extra whistle in our pocket. We all do it, from our rookies to our best tournament officials. Why can't the crew at the table get this right almost all the time. Why should officials have to keep track of the arrow? We don't keep track of fouls. We trust the table crew to inform us when we're in the bonus or double bonus, or when a player fouls out. We don't keep track of time outs. We trust the table crew to inform us when a coach has used his last time out. Why is the alternating possession arrow so difficult, more than twenty years after its introduction?