Waiting for the clock to start

[Rick Durkee]

Team A inbounded the ball to start the fourth quarter. A player from team B tipped the ball away and let the chaos begin. Players were diving on the floor, and the ball was pinballing all over the place. After what I would guess was at least five or six seconds, A1 gets control of the ball in his own backcourt and starts to dribble toward the frontcourt. I finally get a chance to look at the clock, and I notice that it has not yet started. Just as I was deciding to blow the whistle, the clock starts to move. I decided just to let it go. Those eight or ten seconds seem so much less important with 20 minutes on the clock than with 1:00 on the clock. With nothing to count, I did not have specific knowledge, although I didn't even get as far as considering that at the time.

Ultimately, my question is more general. If the clock does not properly start (especially at the beginning of a period or when there is a lot of time left in a period), how long should one wait before blowing the whistle to get the timer's attention? Immediately? Three seconds? Five seconds? Can I get pro-rated pay for the extra time that I had to work?

[bob jenkins]

Originally posted by Rick Durkee
Ultimately, my question is more general. If the clock does not properly start (especially at the beginning of a period or when there is a lot of time left in a period), how long should one wait before blowing the whistle to get the timer's attention? Immediately? Three seconds? Five seconds? Can I get pro-rated pay for the extra time that I had to work?

As soon as there's a reasonable opportunity -- generally when one team has the ball and there's no significant pressure from the other team.

[mick]

Rick,
...And if you have that timer again, remind that timer that the clock starts when a jumper touches, not when one of the other players has control.

Not having been there, I still had positive knowledge of five seconds that were spent. ...And I'm sticking to it.
mick