Stadium Clocks

[misfitdingbat]

How do you as referees feel about stadium clocks being used as the official game clock? I see pros and cons. It means you have to handle your mechanics on the clock extremely tight as when to stop and start after an injury situation or in a time wasting situation is critical. I know football (the pointy kind) officials will hold the clock and wind only on the signal from the referee. Do you do that if you want to recover time that ran off before you signaled the stoppage for an injury? Communication (pre-game) is a key to how this is handled, but when time is kept on the field you can just add those seconds at the end and noone is the wiser. We are generally not used to working with a stadium clock. What are some opinions from around the state?

[happyjack]

I've yet to work anything other than college where a stadium clock was the official time. Since college stops/starts on referees signal, and also for subs, cards, and goals, not that big of an issue. Would be a bigger isssue for FIFA if they didn't know about adding time, and an issue for high school if they don't know the correct stopping reasons

[dulac]

I have the clock operator stop the clock 2 minutes before it hits zero. I've never found a high school clock operator to be efficient. They don't pay attention when the ref indicates stoppage. They also aren't aware of the rules when the clock should automatically stop, such as when a player is carded. Just makes more sense for ref to control the clock.

[f]

the clock should never stop, high school rules are dumb

[misfitdingbat]

Dulac,
If you had a referee running the clock, who knew when to stop and when to start (even if you didn't do the mechanics of wind and kill), would that be acceptable? ShreveDad ran the clock for several games in the Shreve Gator Cup this year and did a great job but in tournament no stoppages except major injuries. He also ran it for some of the varisty district games and was spot on if what I was told was correct. Would that situation work for you?

[number3]

There are barely enough referees to cover games in some areas. Having another one to run the clock would be impossible...

...except if it's done on the field, of course

[dulac]

misfitdingbat said:

Dulac,
If you had a referee running the clock, who knew when to stop and when to start (even if you didn't do the mechanics of wind and kill), would that be acceptable? ShreveDad ran the clock for several games in the Shreve Gator Cup this year and did a great job but in tournament no stoppages except major injuries. He also ran it for some of the varisty district games and was spot on if what I was told was correct. Would that situation work for you?

If I had a fellow ref I trusted, I'd surely let them run the clock.

Some old timers may remember when there was a league called the Eastern Indoor Soccer League. A professional minor indoor league with 7 teams in the southeast. (Lafayette Swamp Cats won the championships in the only two seasons -97 and 98) The time was kept on the arena clock and was managed by a referee. I have to say it did add excitement to the game (as if needed any) but it did make the refs job a little more difficult. There had to be a lot of communication between the officials to make it work. PREGAME was a must. I remember very lengthy pregames.....

Side note - What was kind of interesting is there were a multitude of referees on each game. Two floor officials, 1 AR and a 4th in the box, 2 penalty box assistants and two goal judges. I cant remember but I am not sure if there was a timekeeper or the AR or 4th managed the clock.

[lakeview]

Is it a requirement that the clock be turned off with 2 minutes to play? Or is this just a custom?

[number3]

It is done as a courtesy for the spectators. Both coaches agree prior to the game (well, at least, in spirit) that the official time will be kept on the field.

[misfitdingbat]

If the stadium clock is official, it is not turned off until the horn sounds and at that point the half or game is over. Stopping at 2 minutes is normally done if the referees are keeping the official time on the field and do not want confusion if the horn sounds (confusing the players) or if the clock hits 0 (confusing the spectators). In this instance the clock is run as a courtesy to the fans so that they will have a general idea of the time remaining. At least that's the way I seen it when I've been involved. Currently believe that the plan is to use the stadium clock as official in Shreveport in the finals - this is partly why I started this thread. I may end up being the one who has to run it.

[over40player]

I have done college games and the ref. controls the clock by signals. It only takes a minute to walk down and talk to the ref about stoppages and signals if you are operating the clock. I have had ref's just walk over and verify signals and tell me when there are stoppages. In college the clock stops if the wind changes direction or it seems that way, but it counts down to the horn with no injury time, so very second counts. My question is are the clock stoppages the same for college and high school ? Would the assocation support official time keepers at games or is it easier to keep it on the field?

[happyjack]

i don't think the officials would mind, as long as teh person doing the game was qualified. The schools would not want it, they don't want to pay another game fee...i think some schools actually lose money on soccer games