A&H

how to cope with cold

M

Martin97

New Member
Level 8 Referee
Temperatures in Belgium are slowly declining lately, almost below freezing point. Weather forecast for the weekend is not looking good.

My question as a new ref -only used to relatively 'normal' temperatures-: how do you cope with cold weather, especially: do you have some kind of special way to keep your hands warm, so you can keep on writing down goals and booking players? :)
 
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The Referee Store
I put Vaseline on the backs of my hands. Helps to stop them getting too cold so I can still write etc.
 
Dose of "Manup" before you head out.

Really though - hand warmer in the pocket (type with saline solution that you "click" http://www.heatinaclick.com/ )but fo gods sake don;t use Deep heat or similar as these are stimulants that expand the blood vessels to create the feeling of heat but only makes the skin feel warmer as your body dissipates more heat out, thus it actually cools.
 
I have a par of ref gloves.... Only to be worn on the most serve of days!

Yes I said it. Let the roasting commence!

Deep heat + under armour + running around a lot covers the rest! Edit: did not know that about deep heat!
 
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6 foot, 120kg, plenty of insulation. Still hit 15mph sprint and cover 10k a game!

Great runing the line - people thend to stay back (only broken 1 toe so far, but his fault for wearing Uggs).
 
@Ryan It's not the usual cold, that's not the problem. Obviously, running more is an effective solution to that ;)
It's the specific cold which affects the hands.
 
The specific cold? Can't blow the whistle because your mouth is freezing? Cannot hold a pen because your hands is a block of ice?

:D

Been there.

"Did you just blow the whistle ref?"

"I tried my best mate" :D
 
Hahah, okay, this conversation has now officially gone out of control :p
Still thanks for the useful information (in the beginning of the discussion)!
 
If you're doing a junior game there's often parents selling cups of tea that can be sought out at half time if you're quick and sneaky about it ;)
 
@heedmatt the tea is a great idea. Worst part of my game on Sunday was it was really windy, and every now and then with a gust a whaft of sausage and bacon being cooked by the insight tea fan would float over the pitch. Such a tease!
 
The bacon and sausage van by the pitch situation is one that needs to be urgently dealt with.

Let's just say the 42 minutes added time at full time for my bacon butty and tea breaks in the 7' 16' 22' 38' 46' 66' and 78' minute were not appreciated, but what can you do. Its a catch 22 situation.
 
HertsFinest said:
The bacon and sausage van by the pitch situation is one that needs to be urgently dealt with.

Let's just say the 42 minutes added time at full time for my bacon butty and tea breaks in the 7' 16' 22' 38' 46' 66' and 78' minute were not appreciated, but what can you do. Its a catch 22 situation.
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Worst part was it was about 500 yards away. So only when there was a particularly strong icy blast of wind and you are caught wondering why you come out on such cold mornings, that's when you'd catch a whiff of it. It's out fail whenever it happened one of the lads playing would mention it!
 
A cold ref is a ref not concentrating on the game, so wear whatever you want to keep warm! And if anyoen takes the p***, it's a good starting point for banter (ie give it back!)
 
SM said:
I have a par of ref gloves.... Only to be worn on the most serve of days!
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I have some Adidas Climacool Gloves (really thin but super hot) and the first time I wore them a player jokingly said "Thats a fine ref!" with a wink. Thought nothing of it. Then the second time I wore them weeks later, a player, but stone faced said, "Ooo, refs breaking the rules already!"

Is there some "Ref Wearing Gloves" law I dont know about?

PS Under my ref kit, its Adidas TechFit Shorts and Body Armour with that HeatGuard (or whatever its called) on top.

Even at sub zero, im never warmer!

Follow up to the above too, when I bought a Ref Starter Kit, it had a thinsulate style hat... with the FA badge embroidered on to it... But I dont think ive ever seen a ref wear a hat? Along with the magical "No Gloves" rule that I dont know about - is there anything about the refs headwear?
 
I use hand warmers when its really cold. Only £1 out of the local garage and stick one in my pocket and keep another in my hand, keeps the hands nice and toasty whilst running about

Silhouette said:
Follow up to the above too, when I bought a Ref Starter Kit, it had a thinsulate style hat... with the FA badge embroidered on to it... But I dont think ive ever seen a ref wear a hat? Along with the magical "No Gloves" rule that I dont know about - is there anything about the refs headwear?
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A hat would be a non-starter. All about setting standards, players aren't allowed to wear hats unless its the keeper
 
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