Football Officials' Whistles

[HLin NC]

I've used a finger whistle since I started. I once bumped into a coach on the sideline after a timeout and the "ring" portion made a nasty divot in my finger.
If he was blowing the whistle while trying to break up a scrum, he'd probably want it off his hand.

Its also a good idea to remove it before setting a clip after measurement. The chalk/grass/mud doesn't taste good.

[brettdj]

I use a finger whistle. It fits loosely on my hand so that I can remove when I blow the whistle. I then hold the whistle in my mouth for making signals.

I take it out of my mouth after I change my down marker, unless I need to talk. There have been times I have dropped out of my mouth and had to search the grass for it.

[FredFan7]

When you look at old footage of games, you'll notice officials blowing their finger whistles and making one-handed touchdown, incomplete, and stop-the-clock signals.

Today, officials who use finger whistles are very disciplined (especially at the NFL and NCAA levels). They give a blast or two of their whistle and then signal. If they need to blast and signal at the same time, they make sure they slip the whistle off their fingers. It is not as tight fitting as you might think.

Me? I use a lanyard. I just feel more comfortable that way.

[Ed Hickland]

The whistle on the lanyarn is the only way to go. I started first doing basketball which probably factors into my preference. The one difference between basketball and football when it comes to the whistle is basketball requires a fairly quick whistle, therefore, you tend to hold it in your mouth. In football the whistle is not as important and letting it hang it ok.

BTW. Has anybody noticed NFL ref Ron Winter's lanyarn. The whistle at the end of it is below his waist.

[daggo66]

Originally Posted by Ed Hickland

The whistle on the lanyarn is the only way to go. I started first doing basketball which probably factors into my preference. The one difference between basketball and football when it comes to the whistle is basketball requires a fairly quick whistle, therefore, you tend to hold it in your mouth. In football the whistle is not as important and letting it hang it ok.

BTW. Has anybody noticed NFL ref Ron Winter's lanyarn. The whistle at the end of it is below his waist.

Lanyard

Originally Posted by Ed Hickland

BTW. Has anybody noticed NFL ref Ron Winter's lanyarn. The whistle at the end of it is below his waist.

And it seems to be getting longer every year. I noticed that this year, and thought, gee, it seems like he's making it longer every year! I'm not kidding! Wish I could find pictures to back this up.

[jaybird]

Originally Posted by Ed Hickland

Has anybody noticed NFL ref Ron Winter's lanyarn. The whistle at the end of it is below his waist.

I don't recall seeing it but I bought a lanyard from Honig's that puts the whistle almost to my belt. This allows me a more natural arm swing while running with the whistle in my hand. I could imagine that if someone shorter than me used this lanyard, it would hang down quite a ways.

[jaybird]

Originally Posted by HLin NC

I once bumped into a coach on the sideline after a timeout and the "ring" portion made a nasty divot in my finger.
If he was blowing the whistle while trying to break up a scrum, he'd probably want it off his hand.

I really believe I would rather have a damaged finger as opposed to damaged/loose/lost teeth.

Safety and signaling are two of the main reasons why I use a lanyard.

[bisonlj]

When I first started officiating someone told me I should always remove my wedding ring during games because it could get caught or snagged on a player during the game and could rip off your finger. That stuck with me and I always remove it. I've seen other officials work with their wedding ring on though. The comments around putting the finger whistle in your mouth while clearing up a pile are along the same lines. Do most officials take off their wedding rings (or other jewelry) or is this an unusual practice I picked up early on?

[Forksref]

I use a lanyard. I am not into one-handed timeout signals.

I wear my wedding ring. No problems in 23 years.

[jaybird]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

When I first started officiating someone told me I should always remove my wedding ring during games because it could get caught or snagged on a player during the game and could rip off your finger. That stuck with me and I always remove it. I've seen other officials work with their wedding ring on though. The comments around putting the finger whistle in your mouth while clearing up a pile are along the same lines. Do most officials take off their wedding rings (or other jewelry) or is this an unusual practice I picked up early on?

I don't wear my wedding (or any other) ring at all. Several years back, while water skiing, my ring caught on the ski handle and almost took my finger off so for the past 20 + years my ring is a mangled mess resting in my wife's jewelry box.

[Welpe]

My whistle is on a lanyard though I'm not necessarily opposed to giving a finger whistle a try. I also wear my wedding band, even while working umpire.

[waltjp]

Originally Posted by Welpe

My whistle is on a lanyard though I'm not necessarily opposed to giving a finger whistle a try. I also wear my wedding band, even while working umpire.

My whistle in on a lanyard.

My lanyard is around my wrist.

I don't wear a wedding band. Ever!

I don't give sloppy, one-handed signals. Ever!

[ajmc]

for whatever it's worth, the very LAST place you want to put a whistle, when clearing up a scuffle, or even reaching down into a pile of players for a ball (or anything else) is in your mouth. Players bouncing around unexpectedly colliding with whistles, whether they're on the end of a lanyard or your finger can cause a lot of damage to your teeth or mouth.

Sounding your whistle and interacting with players in a "scrum" should always be separate and distinct acts, that absolutely do not mix well.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by ajmc

for whatever it's worth, the very LAST place you want to put a whistle, when clearing up a scuffle, or even reaching down into a pile of players for a ball (or anything else) is in your mouth. Players bouncing around unexpectedly colliding with whistles, whether they're on the end of a lanyard or your finger can cause a lot of damage to your teeth or mouth.

Sounding your whistle and interacting with players in a "scrum" should always be separate and distinct acts, that absolutely do not mix well.

This is the same advice given to basketball officials administering the jump ball -- do not put the whistle in your mouth cause someday you will take an elbow that will then break off some teeth.