When is a sub a sub?

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

On the serial subs subject

How long is too long between the subs approaching the substitution zone? I denied one request in my match yesterday because they came about 5-10 seconds apart. I allowed one where the second sub was there about the time I was finished reporting the first one. But I wonder if I should have denied that one too.

That is a judgement call on your part. For me, if I have reported the first sub to the table and waved her in, I'm not allowing any more subs. And I tend to be pretty quick at getting subs into the game and moving along.

If there is a noticeable delay between subs coming up to the zone, but not enough for me to deny the second sub, I will say something to the coach. "Coach, please send all of your subs up at once." Most of the time, that takes care of it. After that I'm a lot less lenient on delays between subs entering the sub zone and will deny a second sub or assess a UD penalty.