Officiating Post COVID-19 ???

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Raymond

My local assignor sent out a feeler about working at the local AAU venue starting in July. I told him I don't trust that they will keep the facility sanitized to Covid-19 safety standards. Said if I were to work, I would be arriving dressed 10 or 15 minutes before game time, working two straight games, then immediately leaving.

My biggest concern would not be not with the facility and how well it has been sanitized. My biggest concern would be handling my whistle a countless number of times throughout the game intermingled with handling the ball countless numbers of times throughout the game....a ball which will be handled by countless numbers of others (players, partners, coaches, etc.), some of which will also be handling their whistles or mouthguards. That, to me, seems like a far more likely of an avenue of transmission than a doorknob that isn't properly sanitized.

There are ways to avoid all of that, but I'm not sure it would be practical on a large scale, but it is worth considering. We could change our protocols to simply not handle the ball, ever. In reality, there is only one moment in a game where it is really necessary for us to actually handle the ball....the opening toss. We could change the rule to just give it to the visitors. At all other times, the only reason we handle the ball is to control the action. But, that can actually be done, if we want, with the whistle and/or verbally.

Soccer more or less already does this. This wouldn't necessarily eliminate all opportunities for transmission but it would remove what is, in my opinion, one of the biggest opportunities within the game.

The other potential issue is the actual blowing of the whistle. Surely, blasting air through the whistle, which often has a fair amount of saliva, is bound to aerosolize some of that saliva, creating the equivalent of a small sneeze. The only way to eliminate that is to move away from a whistle. An electronic, hand triggered, whistle may be the future. I've never heard one, but someone above mentioned they were not a very good proxy for a real one, but they could certainly be made better if the demand is there.


I've actually done a game, many years ago, when I had pink eye, which, while not fatal, is very contagious through contact. It was a fairly informal volunteer church youth league and I was to work solo. I was ready to cancel but they didn't have someone else to do it. The league director and I came up with the idea that I could do the game without making ANY contact with anything. All the players, coaches, and several parents that were present were presented with the situation and agreed to proceed. The players were directed to never throw/hand me the ball and if they did, I'd dodge it. I'd blow the whistle when needed and I'd direct them what to do with the ball. As an extra precaution, even though I wasn't touching anything aside from my own whistle, I washed my hands on every timeout/intermission. I think one of the coaches did the opening toss.

[Freddy]

Originally Posted by Camron Rust

. . . The other potential issue is the actual blowing of the whistle . . .

Those involved with training have dedicated a good amount of effort teaching officials techniques to avoid hasty, impulsive whistles. Without having one of those electronic, push-button whistle devices to experiment with personally, I'm wondering if such would impact favored whistle discipline. Would their use initiate a habit of impulsive whistle use that would need to be moderated? Or would the "patient whistle" be something more natural with these new-fangled finger operated gizmos? Time will tell, if they ever do become commonplace.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by Freddy

Those involved with training have dedicated a good amount of effort teaching officials techniques to avoid hasty, impulsive whistles. Without having one of those electronic, push-button whistle devices to experiment with personally, I'm wondering if such would impact favored whistle discipline. Would their use initiate a habit of impulsive whistle use that would need to be moderated? Or would the "patient whistle" be something more natural with these new-fangled finger operated gizmos? Time will tell, if they ever do become commonplace.

Good questions. I suppose it could be either.