When to wind the clock?
 

Team A requests and is granted a timeout. As the teams are going to their benches, when do you instruct the timer to begin the timeout?

A) Right away
B) When both teams get to their benches EDIT: or after they have had ample time to organize.

Why do you do what you do? Is there a prescribed way to do this?

I give them reasonable time to get to the benches. Unless someone is looking for dandelions on his way to the bench, they're generally all there before I have the timer start.

Honestly, I don't really take into account when the teams get to their benches. By the time I ask the coach if it's a full or a 30, turn around to inform my partners and the other coach of what kind of timeout we have, and report to the table I assume both teams are at their benches.

So I instruct the timer to start the clock on the TO as soon as I'm done reporting it to the table.

That's what I've been doing. I'll take my time getting to the table to report.

I'll give the players ample time to get to their team area. It usually doesn't take too long since the process of asking the coach for a 30/60 timeout and informing my partner allows the players time to get to the bench.

It's a pet peeve of mine whenever the timer starts the timeout early. I know our resident scorer/timer expert wouldn't do this. :D

IAABO Mechanics Only ...
 

IAABO Mechanics Manual: Page 79, I: State and signal to the timer to start the timing device when both teams are near their respective bench areas.

I'm used to the floor officials signaling to start the TO Timer after both teams are at their benches. I do the same thing for intermissions (wait for the teams to be at their benches) to start the timer.

Majority of the time I've noticed that by the time the floor official has notified the table of the TO, the teams are already at their benches discussing gameplans.

NFHS Mechanics ...
 

NFHS Manual, Page 38, 2.4.4.B.4: Within the reporting area, give the appropriate timeout signal again for the type of timeout (30 sec or 60 sec), verbally indicate the team color, verbally and visually give the player number or head coach (indicate by forming the shape of a “C” with the hand) making the request, and direct (visually/verbally) the timer to begin the timeout period.

What? You mean the timers are supposed to monitor how long the timeouts are and hit the buzzer? Shocker! (sarc)

As other have stated, I wait until all the players get to their bench area before telling the timer to start the clock.

PS - I love the clock/scoreboards that have the TO countdown on them and the automatic horns at 15 secs! NICE! :)

Grunewar, the timer still has to tell the scoreboard controls about the timeout for the TO Timer to start. :rolleyes:

The scoreboard systems I know that have the TO Timer & Auto horn w/15 secs. left are the Daktronics units. What other units are there?

I would still rather use my watch's stopwatch or the stopwatch function on my iPod though over the system on the scoreboard.

I don't like the automatic systems. During the pregame, I instruct the timer to *always* give a second horn and to not wait for the end of the timeout period if both teams are ready. Don't the automatic systems also take the place of the game clock, too? Hate that.

On some systems that have the TO timer, the system freezes until after the TO Timer shows zero.

I had a scoreboard like this last night. It was kind of nice, but I agree with Rich. I'd like to be able to see the time left on the clock. I know, I can see it when the timeout is over, but that's usually what I do during a timeout, is take inventory of time, score, and team fouls.

Duh

Don't care.

I don't care if you use a stopwatch or your watch, but when I'm the R, I instruct all iPods, iPhones, PDA's and cell phones to be gone.

I'd like the other info to stay up too. (Hey, where's that guy who took the poll on how to design a clock when you need him?)

I don't mind going near the huddle and telling the teams, etc. But, any system that helps me get those friggin teams out of their timeouts and keeps the game moving I'm all for!