Please Help ...

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

And if the number of players doesn't coincide, what then is the R supposed to do? And why?

Here in our little corner of Connecticut, we've been taught, for at least the past thirty years, to do a little preventive officiating while checking the book before the game. We are encouraged to check the book no later than twelve minutes before the scheduled starting time to rectify any errors, or discrepancies, before they turn into infractions that have to be penalized after the ten minute mark.

We have been encouraged to look for illegal numbers, and identical numbers, before the ten minute mark so that they can be addressed, at this point, without penalty. We have also been encouraged to check that there are the same number of players in the book, or more, than there are players warming up. If there are more players in the book than there are players warming up, it's no big deal and we move on, maybe a player is sick, or injured. On the other hand, if there are fewer players in the book than there are players warming up, then we address this issue with the scorekeeper. The usual response is, "Oh yeah. Johnny Smith got moved up to the varsity for tonight's game. I forgot. Thanks.". Again, this is all done before the ten minute mark to avoid having to penalize "administrative" infractions.

Even though we try to find errors, and discrepancies, before the ten minute mark, they still happen, and ultimately, it's the coach's responsibility to make sure that the scorebook, roster, uniform numbers, etc., are correct. We only have a few minutes to spend with the table crew before the game, and the players, usually wearing warmup tops over their uniform jerseys, are difficult to observe for illegal uniforms, numbers, and equipment. Sometimes we only get to see what they are actually wearing during the National Anthem and pregame player introductions. We still try to do the best we can to avoid administrative infraction penalties, but when they happen, and if you officiate long enough, they will, we must be prepared to deal with them, and penalize them, in the proper manner, within the proper time frame.

In any case, that's the way we've been doing things around here for a long, long, time. Is there a rules reference, or a manual reference, that covers these procedures? Probably not. Are we right, and is everybody else, who doesn't use these preventative procedures, wrong? No. When in Rome, or in this case, when in my little corner of IAABO Connecticut ...