Ext User(Birdman)
21-10-2005, 10:10 AM
more off season crap.. the age strikes again
Time called on measuring time-on
By Michael Gleeson
A RADICAL overhaul of timekeeping being considered by the AFL could
lead to timekeepers automatically stopping the clock whenever a bounce
is called without umpires needing to separately blow the whistle to
signal time-on and off.
Such a change would likely add minutes to quarters, meaning the AFL
could also look at cutting the length of quarters from 20 minutes
before time-on is added.
The proposals stem from a broad-ranging review by the umpiring
department and has included a study of the time lost in two games
during the recent finals series.
A separate timekeeper sat with the official timekeepers during the
matches and measured the amount of time the clock was ticking but no
play was under way.
It was found that about three minutes of playing time a game was lost
just in the period between an umpire calling for a bounce and actually
bouncing the ball.
One option considered was to automatically stop the clock whenever an
umpire crossed his arms to signal a ball-up and then only restart the
clock when the ball left the umpire's hand for a bounce or when thrown
up.
The umpire would not need to separately signal or blow his whistle for
the timekeepers.
At present, time is lost at ball-ups when umpires wait for packs to
clear, then signal their exit path to players before bouncing the
ball.
A change such as that being considered would likely lead to greater
consistency when time-on is applied.
A decision on when to blow the whistle to stop the clock is now
arbitrary and generally influenced by the stage of the game and the
amount of congestion around the ball and how long it would likely take
to clear.
The AFL will examine more matches by video over the summer and if
further reviews reveal large chunks of time — several minutes — were
lost in the average game then there would be a push for change,
possibly as soon as next year. If only minimal time was lost there
would be no case for change.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson confirmed the review
yesterday. "We have had a look at two games and compared the amount of
time lost at bounces compared with the total amount of time-on called
and we are reviewing that information to see how we measure time-on to
see if there might be a better way," Anderson said.
"We will continue to review it and make a decision when we have a
clearer view of how much time is lost in games. No change is planned
at the moment for next season. It is too early to say (if there will
be a change for next year). We just want to know what is the clearest,
most consistent way of measuring time-on. Can we do it better?"
The issue of time-keeping became topical several times this season.
In the Collingwood-Sydney round-13 game, 19 seconds were seemingly
lost, and, after the Sydney-Geelong preliminary final, Cats fans were
perturbed that umpires blew time-on in the close final quarter which
they felt was not the case in the first three quarters.
A change such as the one suggested would eliminate this complaint as
the decision on whether to blow time-on at a field bounce would be out
of the umpires' hands.
Time called on measuring time-on
By Michael Gleeson
A RADICAL overhaul of timekeeping being considered by the AFL could
lead to timekeepers automatically stopping the clock whenever a bounce
is called without umpires needing to separately blow the whistle to
signal time-on and off.
Such a change would likely add minutes to quarters, meaning the AFL
could also look at cutting the length of quarters from 20 minutes
before time-on is added.
The proposals stem from a broad-ranging review by the umpiring
department and has included a study of the time lost in two games
during the recent finals series.
A separate timekeeper sat with the official timekeepers during the
matches and measured the amount of time the clock was ticking but no
play was under way.
It was found that about three minutes of playing time a game was lost
just in the period between an umpire calling for a bounce and actually
bouncing the ball.
One option considered was to automatically stop the clock whenever an
umpire crossed his arms to signal a ball-up and then only restart the
clock when the ball left the umpire's hand for a bounce or when thrown
up.
The umpire would not need to separately signal or blow his whistle for
the timekeepers.
At present, time is lost at ball-ups when umpires wait for packs to
clear, then signal their exit path to players before bouncing the
ball.
A change such as that being considered would likely lead to greater
consistency when time-on is applied.
A decision on when to blow the whistle to stop the clock is now
arbitrary and generally influenced by the stage of the game and the
amount of congestion around the ball and how long it would likely take
to clear.
The AFL will examine more matches by video over the summer and if
further reviews reveal large chunks of time — several minutes — were
lost in the average game then there would be a push for change,
possibly as soon as next year. If only minimal time was lost there
would be no case for change.
AFL football operations manager Adrian Anderson confirmed the review
yesterday. "We have had a look at two games and compared the amount of
time lost at bounces compared with the total amount of time-on called
and we are reviewing that information to see how we measure time-on to
see if there might be a better way," Anderson said.
"We will continue to review it and make a decision when we have a
clearer view of how much time is lost in games. No change is planned
at the moment for next season. It is too early to say (if there will
be a change for next year). We just want to know what is the clearest,
most consistent way of measuring time-on. Can we do it better?"
The issue of time-keeping became topical several times this season.
In the Collingwood-Sydney round-13 game, 19 seconds were seemingly
lost, and, after the Sydney-Geelong preliminary final, Cats fans were
perturbed that umpires blew time-on in the close final quarter which
they felt was not the case in the first three quarters.
A change such as the one suggested would eliminate this complaint as
the decision on whether to blow time-on at a field bounce would be out
of the umpires' hands.