Four-man crew

[JugglingReferee]

Originally Posted by Kansas Ref

Was just at a camp over the wknd, a clinician told us that currently under experimentation / consideration is the use of a four man crew--yes 4 refs on the floor during a game. The reasons this clinician proffered were: 1) to employ more refs for games, 2) to improve floor coverage.
Are 8 eyes better than 6 eyes? Are 6 eyes better than 4 eyes?
Presumably this would apply to upper level games of college and pro.

I predicted a 4-man crew a number of years ago. I posted to this forum, but can't find the post. I even included the mechanics they should use.

It was basically 3-man at each of the court, with a fixed L on each end line. Only the C and T move. Unused L rotates with the crew if they rotate at the other end of the court.

[scrounge]

Originally Posted by JugglingReferee

I predicted a 4-man crew a number of years ago. I posted to this forum, but can't find the post. I even included the mechanics they should use.

It was basically 3-man at each of the court, with a fixed L on each end line. Only the C and T move. Unused L rotates with the crew if they rotate at the other end of the court.

So, at the risk of being naive, why exactly would you need any rotations or detailed mechanics at all? If you have 4 guys, why not just split the half-court into quarters, L1 has his side, L2 has his side, T1 his quarter, etc. If the ball is high back up a little, if not come down to C area, but still everyone has their quarter. If the ball is high and forces the T up, the L on that side can easily look through and get the middle. I'm sure there are some other details, but the basics seem straightforward. What am I missing?

Doubt we'll ever see this, the benefit just doesn't appear to be worth the cost.

[Rich]

Why not just go to 8 and make it where nobody runs at all?

I see the benefit of a third official. I'm just not sure that, for us anyway, there's any benefit at all to adding a 4th.

I'd prefer to see a 3rd in baseball or a 6th/7th in football before we do this.