Headset
 

Just thinking out loud…

Everyone has a cell phone. New AirPods (and likely others) have great noise cancellation, some even carry certification as hearing aids. In decent shape, the battery life is good enough for a whole match and more. And you can use only one at a time, while the other one charges in the case. 3-way calling is also a thing. And with an internet connection, I’m sure there are apps for decent conferencing and such.

So…why not use it as a ref headset?

I've wondered about this as well. I use Discord a good bit. Problem is having an internet connection as most gyms in my area seem to block cell service.

Many USAV tournaments I work specifically say that we're not allowed to use ear buds as earplugs. I'm not 100% sure why -- maybe it just looks like we're listening to a podcast while officiating or something? :D

But maybe it's just a "look" that the higher-ups don't like. So I don't foresee it becoming a common practice anytime soon.

I have bone induction headphones that aren't nearly as hideous or obvious as the airpods. There's a version that looks like a radio headset via the mouthpiece extension.


Another functionial issue with phone based systems is you have to know how to keep a phone call from interrupting your connection with your partner. There's settings that can do this but you must do them or you will lose comms with your partner until the phone call is dealt with.