Don't buy too many bean bags this year, word is Fed is switching to blue instead of white next year.

Grant,my crew switched to blue this year as we feel they will be easier to find.

However, I found it interesting that you didn't post this rumor on your own site.

How would blue be earier to find, except in a snow storm?

Well in theory if it landed right on a white line, but the snowstorm is a problem for a lot of people too.

Which would explain why a question on the Part II test was blue bean bags were mandatory or something similiar.

WM

That's on the rules test?

You had a question on the exam about a blue bean bag?
I took the National Exam tonite --and didn't have that one.
Was it the National exam you took --or a local one?

I think I saw it on the mechanics exam.

I cannot see them forcing the officials to change to blue but at least giving them the option to "legally" use them if the entire crew uses them.

Mechanics exam??
We don't have one in N. C.
Interesting.

Mechanics Examination question 97 under the 'Time-out Procedure', Miscellaneous:

97. A blue bean bag to mark non-penalty spots is mandatory. (T/F)

WM

Blue bean bag NOT required
 

Of course, the answer to question 97 is false. I am looking
at the five-official officiating mechanics examination answer
key. They site page 10, which actually specifies...
"All officials must have proper equipment: essentials are a whistle, penalty marker, white bean bag bag to mark nonpenalty spots, game card, pencil and rubber bands or some device to keep track of the down number."

I know that blue bean bags are acceptable, too.

I think they will allow the use of any colored bean bags, they might say "white or blue" but I don't think they will force you to use blue.

I find it interesting of grantsrc to start this rumor, refer us to his website, which then has no factual support and does not even contain a link regarding blue bean bags.

I find it interesting that no mention of allowing blue bean bags was made at the NFHS Rules Committee Meeting in January 2005.

I find it interesting that no mention of allowing blue bean bags was made at the NFHS Rules Interpreters Meeting in July 2005.

I find it interesting that a member of the Officials Manual Committee states there has been no mention of promoting blue bean bags at their meetings and that rather the opposite is true, they are stressing that white bean bags are the only approved NFHS color, (see officials manual page 10.)

All things considered, I believe I can safely say, "Nice try grantsrc, but your little rumor contains no factual support!"

[Edited by KWH on Aug 31st, 2005 at 04:17 PM]

Interesting....

This is what I know. Without stating who I heard this from directly I will say this, as I have posted on other boards.

At an association meeting Sunday night, a mechanics observer who works under someone who's name is published in the rules books and is the author of the mechanics slides on the NFHS website (if you look into this you can put 2 and 2 together to figure out who it is), told our group this. Now, I was just passing the word on. As I said, at this point in time it is just a rumor. I didn't say to buy blue bean bags by the thousands because they will be easy to sell on Ebay next year. I merely was passing on something that was mentioned to our officials association.

As for my site, the purpose of that is to post documents and training tools for officials to download and refer to. It is not to pass along tidbits of information like this. Forums and bulletin boards are an acceptable avenue for information such as this. As to referring you to my site, KWH you will notice that this is my "signature", something that is added automatically to each of my posts.

We will see what happens next year. I have been known to be wrong before! Just like the various governing bodies have been know to change their minds about something!

And is it really worth getting this worked up over? If I was trying to sell them I can see your skepticism, but honestly....

for me it's a big "WHO CARES?!?". Our association decides what our uniform shall be and what mechanics we will employ. If the NFHS decides we should change to blue bags with orange spots, well we will most likely politely decline.

grantsrc,

Have your people pass along to NFHS people that me and my people have discussed it and we believe that a mandatory requirement to switch to only blue bean bags must mean that they are getting a kickback from the producers of such.

Graft on the NF Rules Committee smells of something that I will not put into writing. Just use your imagination.

PS. I'll bet the guy you refer to at NF is the same one who came up the the idea that a sweatband worn higher than than 3 inches above the base of the thumb is such a safety risk to the player wearing it or to an opposing player who might get "touched" with it that it just had to be banned.

Or maybe he was thinking it wearing the sweatband so high gave the wearer of such sweat band a much greater advantage to playing the game than a player without one.

I heard a rumor that this guy originally wanted all sweat bands to be padded with 1/2 inch thick, high density, closed-cell polyurethane or alternate material but settled on just banning them from being worn "too high". It probably will take more than 2 and 2 to figure our where I heard my rumor from but who cares.

[Edited by Daryl H. Long on Sep 1st, 2005 at 02:30 AM]