Another Silly Mechanics Question

[jkumpire]

For those of you veteran guys, a question.

When I was first instructed in the "arcane' mechanics of volleyball officiating, I noticed two things:

1. Many veteran officials would always ask captains if they are ready after time outs.
2. Umpires always whistle at the end of time outs then signal to the crowd the TO's left for each side. This is the proceedure in the FED manual.

So, I started asking captains if they were ready, and a bunch of stick in the mud guys say: "don't do that, it's not in the manual." So, I stopped. After a TO, I now will say to both sides: "Ladies here we go", then call for serve.

And where I work, nobody down whistles the end of timeouts. And unlike a lot of guys who are down, I use my whistle a lot in a match.

So, what are things like where you work? Do you ask Captains if they are ready after TO's or not? In your area do most down people call the end of timeouts with a whistle?

To me, asking captains if they are ready after a time is not an unreasonable thing to do, but it is not really necessary. And having the umpire blow the whistle to let the ref know the TO is over is pretty silly, with a 15 sec warning buzzer, and the fact that a lot of teams don't use the full time of time outs.

Thanks for your help, and opinions.

[FMadera]

Umpire responsibilities, as listed in the rulebook and casebook, are pretty clear that a whistle is to be blown by the umpire if both teams are ready to play before 60 seconds have elapsed to end a timeout.

Most people around here don't do it, but I do, and you are supposed to. It signifies the "official" end of the timeout.

[jkumpire]

That's why I do whistle the end of TO's, at least in HS matches (I don't in JH).

But I can understand why people don't. It's pretty silly to do isn't it? And under the rules when does a time out end, if both teams are on the court before the :60 are up?

By using the whistle are you not saying that the teams are ready to serve? So what if you have a sub coming in legally, or a Libero replacement after the TO? Do I do my business, then blow the whistle so everyone at the concession stand sees we are readys to play, since everyone in the gym sees it? And if we are using multiple courts in the same facility, doesn't that just add an unecessary whistle to a situation with too many whistles already?

Yes, the guy who is up will see all this, and not call for serve until he sees everything is ready. So I ams asking is the something the Rules committee ought to look at changing, or is there some rationale that mekes more sense for doing this other than "The Manual says you do it."

[FMadera]

[QUOTE=jkumpire]That's why I do whistle the end of TO's, at least in HS matches (I don't in JH).

But I can understand why people don't. It's pretty silly to do isn't it?[quote]I don't think so. It's our way of communicating that BOTH teams are ready to play. Often you'll have players chatting on the court, and instead of verbally saying "we're ready to play," the whistle does that. Also, since libero replacements may not legally take place until the timeout is over, it's a great way to say "and now, you can make replacements."

And under the rules when does a time out end, if both teams are on the court before the :60 are up?

When the whistle blows, if done correctly.

By using the whistle are you not saying that the teams are ready to serve?

No, you are saying the timeout is over. When the U gives the court back to the R (remember, when the U whistles to signal a timeout, the U has control of the court until he/she gives it back to the R), THEN he/she is saying "we are ready for a serve." Until then, the U has control of the court, so the R shouldn't be blowing the whistle. This, of course, is assuming you actually have a U who gives the court back to the R...

So what if you have a sub coming in legally, or a Libero replacement after the TO?

Administer the sub or let the replacement take place, THEN give the court back.

Do I do my business, then blow the whistle so everyone at the concession stand sees we are readys to play, since everyone in the gym sees it? And if we are using multiple courts in the same facility, doesn't that just add an unecessary whistle to a situation with too many whistles already?

If that's your rationale, why bother blowing your whistle when the ball is down either? I mean, everyone sees that too, right?

[TimTaylor]

As Felix said, it's part of the protocol when the U/R2 gives the court back to the R1. Not many folks here do it, but I always blow the whistle to signal the end of the time out.

Go watch a college match & you'll see it's part of the R2's protocol as well, and they always do it.

[Andy]

Thanks, guys....I learned something new today.

I have always blown the whistle if the table did not sound a warning buzzer at :15, but never to signal the end of the timeout.

Question - if one or both teams use the full 60 seconds of the timeout, does the buzzer signal the end of the timeout, or would U2 still blow the whistle?

I'm interested in NFHS interps, as that is the dominant ruleset I'm using right now.

[FMadera]

Originally Posted by Andy

Thanks, guys....I learned something new today.

I have always blown the whistle if the table did not sound a warning buzzer at :15, but never to signal the end of the timeout.

Question - if one or both teams use the full 60 seconds of the timeout, does the buzzer signal the end of the timeout, or would U2 still blow the whistle?

I'm interested in NFHS interps, as that is the dominant ruleset I'm using right now.

Umpire blows the whistle to end a timeout if both teams are ready to play prior to 60 seconds.

If the buzzer goes off, no need to blow the whistle.

[jkumpire]

Folks,

I appreciate the responses, I don't totally buy the FED rationale, but since i'm not on the Rules Committee, it doesn't matter.

If some one can answer my other Q, I would appreciate it. That is the one I care more about.

[Andy]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

If some one can answer my other Q, I would appreciate it. That is the one I care more about.

I meant to do that with my last post, but got sidetracked....

I, too, have seen some officials ask the captains if they were ready prior to resuming play. I started to do that, but soon realized that getting the captains attention was more often than not difficult. I noticed that quite a few of the captains around here were setters and they were busy calling a play, or encouraging their teammates, or otherwise preparing for the next play.

So now, I just scan the court and make sure that all players appear ready for play and my partner is ready, say something like, "Here we go" and signal for service. No evaluator or assignor has ever said anything to me one way or the other regarding this issue.

[MCBear]

The only time that I ask the captains if they are ready is at the beginning of the match. After that, I scan to see that the court is ready, that my umpire has given the court to me and then I blow the whistle and beckon for serve.

[refnrev]

Originally Posted by MCBear

The only time that I ask the captains if they are ready is at the beginning of the match. After that, I scan to see that the court is ready, that my umpire has given the court to me and then I blow the whistle and beckon for serve.

__________________________________________

I do... then no coach or player one can ever say, "My team wasn't ready." The captain just told you that they were. I'd say most do ask around here. Most do not blow the whistle prior to end of TO.