Lanyards
 

Hey guys I know their was a post like this a little while ago, but what lanyard do you all use. I use the smitty and need a new one, but I have been told to get a noose because it makes a diffrence. Any truth to this and if so what does what style of lanyard you use make a diffrence to how you ref, or how you appear as a ref?

The trend now is the noose. The only advantage I see to it, is you don't need to worry about the loop breaking using the smitty.

I also use the NBA noose. I think if fits better and does not have as many ways of falling off. They also do not have loops to get tangled up as easily as well. It is all personal choice at the end of the day.

Peace

Exactly, I'm a noose guy. That and if you're working one of those horrible freshman girls game you can easily hang yourself on one of othe rims... :D

I carry a noose in my pocket but use the smitty.

A better question to me would be how many times has someone had to go to their pocket and use a backup whistle. I've never needed one. Of course, I probably just jinxed myself.

For this reason, I don't carry one on the court. If I EVER need one, I'll get one from my bag and everyone can wait a minute or two.

I once needed a spare when my smitty lanyard kept falling off my shirt in the middle of the game. I did not have a spare at the time and my whistle kept falling out of my mouth and hand every time I blew the whistle. I go out on the court with a spare every time. I do not go out onto the court without a spare. I do not feel running to the locker room is the best way to handle it. If I have a spare no one knows I had a problem with the whistle. If I stop the game to get a whistle, then everyone knows there was a problem.

Peace

I used to wonder that myself, but I still carried an extra (on a noose because I like the smitty). Somehow, I caught the lanyard in my hand and ripped the loop off. I didn't need the whistle, but I did need the noose...

I would recommend if you want to use a smitty that you use a safty pin instead of the loop. No way that'd come off.

I don't want to take the chance of becoming a blood donor in the middle of a game.

prefer noose
 

i prefer the noose mostly b/c it looks cool to have it hang out my pocket during warm-ups. :cool:

I do keep an extra whistle attached to smitty in my pocket but it's main purpose is to keep track of the AP arrow.

Poll!
 

This would make a good poll question. Why don't you make one so this issue is settled once and for all?

I forgot my whistle in the locker room at half time. We were just about to start the second half and luckily I had a backup in my pocket.

how do i make it a poll?

I don't see how/why some of the NBA guys don't use a lanyard at all.

It depends for me. I usually wear the noose, however sometimes I wear the Fox40 break-a-way and sometimes I wear a smitty. It just depends on whatever I feel like that night.

I've used my back-up whistle before. I had a whistle come to the end of its' life one game and it crack, so I used my spare.

I'm going to wear a smitty. I don't want anything around my neck like the noose. To me they look goofy and uncomfortable!

__________________________________________________ _____

Let's see... knowing you that only left you with about 35 different ones to choose from@:D

:) That's right Bob!

I don't like anything around my neck, hence I wear the traditional smitty clip on the shirt loop. I also take my whistle off instinctively at the end of a game (if we're done) just in case someone wants to grab it. Absolute worse case scenario there is if someone were to grab my lanyard and it didn't break off (very unlikely), I could get away by removing my shirt. Again, that's extremely unlikely, but if I had a lanyard around my neck, I couldn't get away. I know some of those are break-aways, but why take the chance? I certainly see the benefit of the noose over the old style neck lanyards, but not over the smitty, unless you don't have a loop on the shirt.

I keep a spare whistle in my jacket, but if we are only doing one game, the jacket is taken back to the room at half, so I'd have to trot back. I get two new whistles every year and rotate them and in hundreds of games have never needed a spare. I do, however, remember working with a guy my first year that said he broke several whistles by biting too hard. I've got teeth marks in mine, but nothing has broken yet. If you have broken even one whistle, then I'd recommend a spare on you.

And what if your assignor sneaks in on you?

What if your assignor just so happens to visit the forum ?

Hehe, are you the assigner for refTN? That would be really funny (but not for refTN) :D

I used to hate guys in rec ball with the whistle in their hand. They would start to raise their hand to their mouth and then put it down. [Do I call that or not?] But I assume you just keep the whistle in your mouth during live ball situations.

Yes I keep it in my mouth at all times during a live ball. I guess the rec was just trying to have a patient whistle, haha.

I had one go bad on me this season in the first few min's of a college game.

By chance I had a friend who was at the game who knew where our locker room was so I got his attention at the 1st time out and he ran and got my back up for me.

It seamed like forever till the next time out when I could replace my bad one.( it worked but had the worst sounding screech I have ever heard). Every call that I had the fans yelled at me to get a new whistle... It wasn't fun but I got threw it.

I now carry a spare with me on the court while I work!!!

I don't do rec league games or play in them. More aggravation than they are worth. Some assignors present them as 'opportunities'. I would rather run in a cow pasture barefoot.

I need to try that one day.:cool:

Would it help become a better official?

Don't know but your feet would be well fertilized:cool:

Your need to do this is a royal PAIN(E) - Ha Ha! Just kidding! You thought I didn't know huh?

Seriously, I have never done this, but I think you have to think about the direction you are facing and which pocket the whistle is in just as much as remembering the arrow. Add this to the list of team fouls, shot clock, etc. and you will be OK without the whistle.

Smitty. I can't stand things around my neck like the noose would be.

That would be a bull pasture. At least according to some coaches. :D