The officials manual states "the Officials shall always change positions after each foul is called." How many of you actually do this when the foul is called by the trail? The officials I have worked with generally wave me off if I try to force a switch as the lead when the trail makes a call. thoughts??

I try to do it by the book everytime. You never know who's watching/evaluating. Besides, I want to do it right. Sometimes a more mature (older) partner will tell me we're not doing that because he's saving his legs.

...Not all the time.
 

Junior High 80%
JV 90%
Varsity two-whistle 95%
Varsity three whistle 98% (<small><I>unless some ref wants to work NCAA mechanics with no long switches</I></small>).
mick

I do that almost every time. The only time I really work two man is during lower level games. I am the veteran and I demand we switch on every foul call. There are rare situations where we might not switch, but I force the switch almost all the time. I just would hate to have an official call the same type of foul on the same end of the court on the same team and we not switch positions.

Peace

I try to pregame this with partner, "switch on all fouls unless you're right in front of table and you're going to in-bounds it right there. There are a few times when we will still "force the switch" like if there hasn't been a switch in a while, we need to see new places, then we'll switch even with a throw-in. I try to force the switch, as partner reports foul, I watch action and move toward my new spot, so when partner turns around, he/she knows whether he/she is T or L.

100% in front court
maybe in the backcourt, depends on situation and pre-game. Our state wants a switch on everything and it happens in the tournament. Even in the 2 person game we dont do long switches alot...

In two-person high school games, I switch every foul. It's part of my pregame. If I have just done a 3-person game, I tell my partner, "if I call a foul and try to stay tableside like a 3-person game (when I am supposed to go switch), just hold the ball up and I'll come and get it."

Z

if your partner calls a fouls that requires shooting FT, do you secure the ball and become lead and administer the free throw, this is the way i've always done it, but i've had two occassion this year where i've called a shooting foul and my partner has secured the ball and became the trail and bounced the ball to me as i returned to administer the free throws as lead? whats the mechanic according to the officials manuel?

If you are trail and call the foul with FTs and you are staying you become lead, if it is going the other way you stay at trail.

If you are lead and it's staying you become trail if it goes to the other end you stay lead.

If the trail has called a foul and is reporting it to the table, at what point does the lead force the switch? For example, as the trail, I've called a shooting foul and have reported the information to the table. Should the lead wait at the baseline for me switch and take the ball and administer the free throws or should the lead come out to the trail and make the switch??

The non-calling official is supposed to freeze and observe the players. That mechanic is interpreted as both physically freezing and visually freezing while moving into position, depending on who you talk to.

Can't say that I do it right, but if I'm trail and I call a shooting foul, I report, go back to trail and let my partner administer the free throws. By the book I think my mechanic is incorrect, but it hardly makes sense for my partner to get everything ready, than wait for me to come take the ball from him, and have me wait until he gets to a new position. If we haven't switched in a while I generally force a switch at that point.

It may not be right, but nobody has argued with me during a pre-game discussion regarding this mechanic. In fact most agree with me.

I guess I'm still a little confused on the mechanic. Does the lead come out to the trail, hand him the ball, and force the switch?

Both officials SHOULD know where they are going, if one does not, than a, "Here you go partner," force is in order.

That is the way I and everyone I have worked with to date have done it - but it is apparently not correct. Just curious as to how it should work when done properly; and doesn't it slow things down.

My experience is there are a lot of lazy referees out there who don't bother hustling down court much less making a switch many would consider (not me) a waste of time and energy.

All switches slow the game down, but this switch is minimal compared to a long switch.

Trail calls a shooting foul. Lead freezes, finds the shooter, starts lining up the players, observes the players. Trail reports. Lead secures the ball moves to the endline opposite the table and either hands the ball...if trail is opposite...or bounces it to them, if they are tableside and both official move to their positions.

On any foul where we'll stay in "this" end to shoot free throws, we always switch. If I'm the lead, I'll get them lining up and collect the ball, then move out to trail. I'll bounce the ball to my partner when he gets back. If I'm the trail, I'll move down to lead, get them lined up and collect the ball. I always move around the players, rather than through them, so that I can watch them all (as much as you can watch 10 players who are all moving). If there is any hint of trouble, or the foul was a hard one, then I'll generally freeze physically and watch until I feel comfortable that there will not be any non-basketball stuff. Generally this flows very well and the switch does not delay the game.

The long switch is kind of an odd animal. I've tried pre-gaming not to do this. The long switch I'm talking about is where we're in a half-court, there's a foul and we're going "that" way. I believe it's better to not switch on this foul, because that puts both officials in "this" end and all the players going "that" way, with much less supervision than they should have. But it's just too much of a habit to do the switch, and I finally gave up trying not to do it. It'll probably bite me at some point :(

In the situation where we're already at opposite ends, like a foul during a press press or after a time out where the throw-in is in back court, if the foul is in back court, we're staying put.

That's what we do around here.