Does anyone know what the device (looks like a beeper) is that the NCAA officials are carrying on their waist?

a receiver that hears the whistle and stops the clock.

WOW!

It's called Precision Timing and was invented by an ex-NBA official (Mike Constable). It stops the clock when the whistle blows and also allows the officials to start the clock via a little button on the belt pack.

They use this in the NBA and several NCAA conferences.

Coming soon to a (rich) high school near you! :)

We use them in North Carolina
 

Several of the larger high schools have purchased
this equipment.

I also officiated a state championship on the
campus of UNC in the Dean Smith Center and we
used them there.

You have the option of restarting the clock with the
button on the back or you can have the official timer
do it for you.

Here's a funny note to add, the first time I used
one, the guy suiting me up said not to breath too
hard because it could cause it to stop the clock.

Lori

Are they sensitive to coaches who whistle loudly at their players to get their attention? Is it attuned to the pitch of the Fox 40? Can it be tricked, perhaps by some whistle in the stands?

Is it intuitive enough to ignore an inadvertant whistle? ;)

The belt pack has a microphone attached to it. The officials string the wire up through their shirt and attach it to a small clasp a few inches down on their lanyard.

The system listens for three distinct tones of the Fox40 whistle. No other whistle will stop it and breathing won't either (the guy was either joking or had no clue about how it worked).

And, Mark, it cannot tell if you have an inadvertant whistle or not, but a red or green light comes on the belt pack depending on whether or not the call you made was the right one. Also, if you stare at the cheerleaders too long it gives you a small electronic shock. :)

Yikes! Yaws would be electrocuted in his first game with this! ;)

Welcome, Lori! All women post-ers gladly heard from. If you want to get in touch with us others, get my e-mail off my profile and we can chat -- inbetween the diapers, dogwalks, and doctor visits.

Brad -- as mother of one teen-age girl and a former cheerleader myself, I am very glad to hear about this. Also, I'm hoping the damamge might knock out some of the refs that are doing games I'd like to have!

Re: We use them in North Carolina
 

Lori,

Do you know why we're starting to see Precision Timing in NC?

BTW, what association are you in?

Tony

PS to everyone else - No, mrsbballref and I, BkltBallRef, aren't married! :D

Funny for sure
 

Thanks for that Brad!

Location in NC
 

I'm not sure of the exact names of the high schools
in North Carolina. I know they have two around the
Chapel Hill area, according to Dick Knox, (I'm sure
you know him if you're in h.s. in NC). And, if I'm
not mistaken, I think I heard Bill Freeman, the
booking agent in the Charlotte area, say there was
one down there.

The reason I know is that my husband is also a booking
agent in Western North Carolina. He books pretty much
everything west of Asheville. Our association is
the Southwestern.

Re: Location in NC
 

Lori,

There are a couple of schools in Tommy Mattocks area that also have precision timing. The NCHSAA has encouraged schools to install PT. I have been told that Mike Constable has promised to donate $170,000 to the endowment fund is every HS in NC installs PT.

Our booking agent, Kellum Fipps, speaks very highly of your husband. I have your association website liked on our website. You can check it out at the link below, if you haven't already.

Tony