penalty box timers (2)

PENALTY BOX TIMERS (2)
Time the skaters' penalties once butt is in seat. Notifies Penalty Box Manager or Referees if player
leaves early. Stop time between jams. Record time served for skaters still in box at the end of the 1st
period.
*I don't recommend smartphone penalty timer apps. There is a high probability that phone battery
will die out before bout is over. Some people swear by them, so it's your call.
Penalty Box Timer Manual
You will be given:
• a clipboard with Penalty Box Timer stat sheets and a pen
• a clipboard with three timers marked B, B, and J
You will be positioned behind one of the team's penalty boxes, close enough for the players to hear
you.
Your job:
• all pitch in for the set-up/tear-down of the penalty box
• learn how to start, stop, and clear timers before the beginning of the bout
• time all penalties and record them on the penalty box tracking sheet and follow the guideline
summary listed on the clipboard
• grab an outside referee if you need to communicate
• if fans are interfering with the box, alert security immediately; if you need to, wait until the end
of the jam and call an Official Time-Out to address the problem
• pay attention to the job, not the game (it's hard…we know)
Rules:
• the skater must enter the box legally, without passing the point of no return. If any part of her
is still in front of the line of no return, she is legally in the box. If not, she has to skate out and
back around to enter legally. If she refuses, inform her that you are not timing her penalty until
she has entered legally.
• a penalty is one minute long, and starts when the girl is sitting down; not hovering over a chair,
not knocking the chairs into the stands with a slide. Butt on seat. She must also be sitting in
the correct spot... her team's Jammer spot if she's a Jammer, one of her team's Blocker spots if
she's a Blocker or Pivot. If she sits on the correct team bench but not in the correct seat, it is
okay to start timing her as she moves to the correct seat. If she’s on the wrong team’s bench, wait
until she’s on the right one. If she is hovering over the seat, inform her that you are not timing
her penalty until she is seated.
• 10 seconds before the end of skater's penalty, say “(Colour) (Number) Stand.” (eg. "blue #2,
stand") She must stand. Again, no hovering over the seat. She must make the seat available to
another Blocker if need be. If she refuses, stop her watch until she complies.
• when skater's time is up, say “(Colour) (Number) Done.” (eg "blue #2, done") Time it so
“Done” is said at exactly 0 seconds. She can wait to exit the box until the pack is past her, or
she can skate out of the box and wait. Do Not Say “GO!” or demand that she leave.
• make sure skater doesn't leave early. If she does, have the penalty box manager use the
whiteboard to notify a referee to retrieve her... she has committed a new major penalty AND
needs to serve the X seconds she blew off. If you successfully retrieve her yourself, notify a ref
immediately to officially call the penalty.
•
•
⁃
⁃
⁃
•
•
•
•
if two Blockers are already serving penalties and a third comes towards you, wave her off, back
into play. Once one of the Blockers stands up, you can signal her to come back. If she doesn't,
signal a referee or have the supervisor use the whiteboard. No matter what, let the supervisor
know what is going on... timing gets complicated once you have more than 2 Blockers in the
box. You can NEVER have 4 Blockers... one must always remain on the track.
the timers pause:
at the 4th whistle of the end of a jam
during time-outs
at the end of a period (if there are skaters in the box, note the colour, number and time served
for each and give the info to the supervisor. The skaters will have to return and finish the
penalty.
the timers restart at the first whistle of the next jam.
when the skaters line up, make sure they have accounted for any girls in the box. (If they have
a Blocker in the box, there should only be 2 Blockers and a Pivot in the pack. If their
Jammer's in the box, they don't get to start with a new Jammer). If there's a problem, notify
the Penalty Box Manager.
be aware of your surroundings. Skaters come into the Box at great speed and not always with
the greatest control. You may want to put a hand on the back of the chair/bench they’re coming
towards, to keep it from going flying or ramming back into you.
also, be an extra set of eyes for the Penalty Box Manager. Watch the inside track officials to see
if they are trying to signal the Manager, and let him/her know if they are.
Timing Jammers:
(Section 7.4 in the WFTDA rule set) Timing gets most complex when you are timing Jammers. It is
vital that you have read and understand
Section 7.4 before the game. In order to prevent Jammer-less jams, the rules go as follows:
• Jammer 'A' goes to the box. Timer begins as normal.
• Jammer 'B' gets called out, comes to the box.
Immediately:
Jammer 'A's timer is halted and she is sent back to the track. Do not clear the timer. Jammer
'B's timer begins. Jammer 'B' only serves the exact amount of time that Jammer 'A' served.
Allow her to stand 10 seconds before releasing her (at 35 seconds if a 45 second penalty, for example)
• if the Jammers both come in simultaneously, they serve 10 seconds and are sent back out
simultaneously. This can happen during gameplay, or if both are sent to the box after a jam has
ended.
• if Jammer 'A' is in the box, then released when Jammer 'B' joins her in the box, then pulls
another Major/Penalty Minute while 'B's still in the box, Jammer 'B' stays and Jammer 'A'
serves the entire 60 seconds.
Watching the Lineup:
For the most part, Referees will check to make sure that there is an appropriate number of skaters on
the track, accounting for skaters in the box. If you notice something they do not, notify one of the
outside referees immediately. They will wait until after the whistle is blown, then send the excess
skaters back to the bench. Do not tell the skaters. That is considered coaching, and thus not
permissible.
Multiple Minute Penalties:
Sometimes, a skater will wind up with two or more major penalties, or a major and a fourth minor
penalty. If this happens, a referee will signal you by tapping his forearm and flashing you the number
of minutes needed. (See WFTDA hand signals in Appendix C)
Dealing with Foul-Outs/Expulsions: (Section 7.5 in the WFTDA rule set)
When a skater fouls out by either having too many penalties, or is expelled for a severe penalty, she is
sent to the locker room. In her place, a substitute (usually the Captain) will serve her penalty minute,
and the rest of the team skates short exactly as if the ejected skater was the one in the box (if she was a
Pivot, the sub is a Pivot; if a Jammer, a Jammer.) Substitutions only happen between jams, since
they'll already be short one once the skater is sent out. A Referee should let you know when to start
timing the penalty. Any time carried into the next jam is served by the Sub.
Getting the Referees Attention:
This is one of the more challenging parts of the job. If a skater takes off early, or there is confusion
about your waving off a skater, or there is a medical problem, or any time you need the attention of a
Referee, try to get the attention of the nearest Outside Referee. They will be able to help you either
deal with the skater in question or get the head referee's attention to deal with the problem.
You will have a whiteboard and markers to notify the referees if you need a skater retrieved. Circle
the number if it is a skater who left early and needs to serve the remainder plus the one-minute Illegal
Procedure penalty, and leave it plain if it’s a skater you had to wave off from a full penalty box and
need retrieved. Know ahead of time who will be watching for that. Sometimes it will be the inside
whiteboard person, sometimes the penalty wrangler, sometimes one of the inside pack referees. Ask
before the bout.
Guideline Summary:
PENALTY BOX TIMER
▪ one (1) minute per penalty unless ref calls two (2) minutes
▪ start timer only once skater is seated
▪ at ten (10) seconds remaining on timer announce penalty colour and
number to stand (eg. "blue #2, 10 seconds")
▪ at zero (0) seconds announce penalty colour and number done (eg "blue
#2, done)
▪ skater cannot skate clockwise to enter the box
▪ skater may skate clockwise to reenter play
▪ 3rd Blocker may be seated only if there is ten (10) seconds remaining in
another Blocker's penalty
▪ stop ALL timers at 4th whistle ending jam
▪ restart timer at 1st whistle beginning next jam
▪ skaters only allowed minimal talking/ allowed to ask timer how much time
is remaining
▪ helmet panties must remain on helmet while in box/ only allowed to
remove mouthguard once seated
▪ skaters must leave between periods
▪ leaving penalty box before penalty is complete will result in a major
penalty
▪ skaters must re-enter pack behind all Blockers including her own
▪ time-outs may not be called, or gone to, from the penalty box
▪ team-mates/coaches/managers may not enter the penalty box, but may
communicate minimally outside of the area (no gameplay talk)
Penalty Box Timer Suggested Set-Up:
The simplest method is to use a clipboard, 3 kitchen timers, clearly marking it with 'B', 'B', 'J'
respectively. The clipboard markings correspond to the chair markings.
THE PENALTY BOX ITSELF (Section 2.7 in the WFTDA rule set)
To set up a penalty box for a bout, it must:
• Have seating for 1 jammer and 2 blockers for each team, 6 total (NOTE: I recommend AGAINST
chairs with arms… this was just the clipart available to me. I can’t draw worth a darn!)
• Mark theeg:
seats clearly, denoting a jammer seat and two blocker seats for each team (a J or a star on
one of the seats will suffice) This makes it easier for referees to know if a jammer is in the box.
• Be situated in an easily accessible, neutral area close to the track
At the far end of the penalty box, there will be a 'point of no return'. If a skater passes this when trying
to enter the penalty box, they must continue past and complete another lap so that they enter from the
correct side.Penalty
By WFTDA
best
practices,
if any
part of her is in front of the point of no return line (tip of
Box
Timer
Stat
Sheets:
finger, eyelash),
she
is
legally
in
the
box
and
can
be seated.
*print one per Penalty Box Timer
per bout; suggested printing multiple copes to keep in clipboards
to listbox
Box
Staff and
prior(counter-clockwise)
to bout, for efficiency
Skaters must*Head
skate toNSO
the penalty
in normal
derbydate
direction
If a skater comes crashing into the box and scatters chairs or otherwise disrupts the penalty box setup,
she may be told to put the chairs back in order before sitting and serving her penalty. Notify coaches,
captains, and bench managers of this before the game begins. (This is a RCRD house rule. Not all
leagues do this, and it is not an official WFTDA policy. We use it as a deterrent and reminder to
approach the box safely in a controlled manner.) If using separate chairs instead of a bench, zip ties
can be used to bind chairs together to control scatter.
Ensure that spectators won't wander in or sit down in the penalty box, or try to strike up a conversation
or get an autograph. People should not be interacting with skaters in the box. Use caution tape,
security guards, or some other way to denote that this is a game area, not extra seating or a chance to
chat up the penalty box crew or skaters. Also, do not sit or stand in the penalty box in a way that you
could be mistaken for a skater at a glance.
Make sure that the box is safe to enter... no fans sitting too close to the near side of the box.
If the penalty box is located between the team benches, swap sides on the seats. (Blue bench, black
side, blue side, black bench.) This makes it harder for the penalized players’ teammates and coaches to
communicate with them, deterring possible penalties and temptation for entering the box illegally.
Make sure that the coaches are aware that they are not permitted to come over and coach the girls in the
penalty box...they're there to serve a penalty, not to consult on strategy. If they physically enter the
box, notify a referee. It’s a minor penalty to the captain. They ARE allowed to yell into the penalty
box from outside the box boundaries.
THE PENALTY BOX FORM
Some leagues (RCRD included) use the penalty box form available in StatsBook. Each penalty box
attendant may be handed one; the two timing blockers may handle the paperwork for the one timing the
jammers in addition to their own; or a fourth penalty box attendant may handle the paperwork for
everyone.
The form is filled out thusly.
To keep track of what jam you are on, you will find 2 rows of numbers down the right hand side of the
example:
sheet, one for each period. Cross the numbers off at the end of each jam.
A skater enters the box.
Write down the period, jam number, team, skater number, and position (B for Blocker, P for Pivot, J for
Jammer) in the appropriate boxes.
Example: Blue blocker 567 enters the box in jam 5 of the first period.
Write down what time the skater arrived. If you are using two stopwatches, it will start at 0. She will
stand at 50 seconds and be done at 60 seconds.
If the jam stops or a timeout is called while she is still serving the penalty, note the time on the
stopwatch.
Example: The jam ends and the stopwatch reads 32 seconds. Note it in the first stopwatch box.
If she straddles another jam/timeout, repeat.
Example: She has 5 seconds left. She should be standing, but still in the box.
Do this for each skater who enters the box.
If you are keeping track of the jammers, there is a chance that she will be released early should the
other jammer enter the box.
Example: Blue 127 enters the box. When she has served 24 seconds, White 33 sits down. Blue 127 is
released, and White 33 serves the same 24 seconds that Blue 127 did. She stands at 14 seconds, and is
released at 24.
If the blocker timers are also handling the jammer paperwork, the person timing the jammers will have
to communicate this information to the appropriate timer. (“Blue 127 Jammer done at 24 seconds.
White 33 Jammer serving 24 seconds.”)
MULTIPLE MINUTES
If a skater gets 2 or more minutes, just add it onto the Done time. (120 or 2:00 instead of 60 or 1:00) It
will likely straddle multiple jams.
HALFTIME
At the end of the first period, note who still has time to serve. Transfer them to the second period.