The Ref Stop

Use of whistle

R

Redref34

Well-Known Member
Level 5 Referee
Had some feedback recently..

Try to vary your tone of whistle, every time you whistle it’s loud and sounds like something serious is happening.

Now I use a tornado 2000 which is very loud and I like it because it gets attention when I need it to, it’s something I have always used.

I do obviously vary length of whistle and have never had anyone say this during my promotions.

My question is.. should I change my whistle type? I haven’t come across many others using the tornado 2000.

I never thought this was a problem for me but having received this feedback I am starting to question it.

Thanks
 
The Ref Stop
Redref34 said:
Had some feedback recently..

Try to vary your tone of whistle, every time you whistle it’s loud and sounds like something serious is happening.

Now I use a tornado 2000 which is very loud and I like it because it gets attention when I need it to, it’s something I have always used.

I do obviously vary length of whistle and have never had anyone say this during my promotions.

My question is.. should I change my whistle type? I haven’t come across many others using the tornado 2000.

I never thought this was a problem for me but having received this feedback I am starting to question it.

Thanks
Click to expand...
Doubt changing the whistle will make any difference
Only use the whistle to restart on those occasions indicated in the guidance section of the book. Not regular free kicks etc....

For careless/regular free kicks, focus on blowing the whistle for an extremely short duration. 100-200milliseconds. Very short, sharp peep
That's it.... your serious whistling will automatically stand out. Although of course, there are occasions when you should be 'giving it everything you've got'
I think that short duration whistle communicates confidence. It kinda shows that you're not rattled in the game and that things are under control
Folk always tend to fixate on the longer duration blow being the problem. Don'y get me wrong though. Spectators must hear that short peep, so don't be meek with it
 
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Big Cat said:
Doubt changing the whistle will make any difference
Only use the whistle to restart on those occasions indicated in the guidance section of the book. Not regular free kicks etc....

For careless/regular free kicks, focus on blowing the whistle for an extremely short duration. 100-200milliseconds. Very short, sharp peep
That's it.... your serious whistling will automatically stand out. Although of course, there are occasions when you should be 'giving it everything you've got'
I think that short duration whistle communicates confidence. It kinda shows that you're not rattled in the game and that things are under control
Folk always tend to fixate on the longer duration blow being the problem. Don'y get me wrong though. Spectators must hear that short peep, so don't be meek with it
Click to expand...

Good advice thanks. Nothing that I don’t already do though.

This was a big cup final and I was quite heave on the whistle because of the occasion, not sure there was any problems with that given the occasion
 
Redref34 said:
Good advice thanks. Nothing that I don’t already do though.

This was a big cup final and I was quite heave on the whistle because of the occasion, not sure there was any problems with that given the occasion
Click to expand...
I think you've just answered your own thread.

I normally do what the person who provided feedback suggested (whistle as @Big Cat said), just not on this occasion because it was a final (heaving on the whistle).
 
Not sure if this was standard for most people or not, but on day 2 of my course the tutors gave us the most valuable lessons... We had half an hour of just running around blowing whistles, trying to sort our tones out. If your course did the same, absolutely do this. Also, a cup final shouldn't really change the whistle tone. It's exactly the same as any other cup match, just with better teams (usually).
 
Redref34 said:
Had some feedback recently..

Try to vary your tone of whistle, every time you whistle it’s loud and sounds like something serious is happening.

Now I use a tornado 2000 which is very loud and I like it because it gets attention when I need it to, it’s something I have always used.

I do obviously vary length of whistle and have never had anyone say this during my promotions.

My question is.. should I change my whistle type? I haven’t come across many others using the tornado 2000.

I never thought this was a problem for me but having received this feedback I am starting to question it.

Thanks
Click to expand...

My advice is to have a few whistles with you at all times. Along with the one you have, always have a spare, be it pealess, or with a pea. The sound of the whistle can depend upon the acoustics of the ground, as well as weather conditions. What can easily be heard in a stadium may not be heard on a windy wet day on an open park pitch, though it looks like you have no problems with being heard 😝

However, at the end of the day, it’s how you use is it that is important - short and sharp for trivial fouls and re-starts and long & sharp for reckless/serious challenges to denote the severity of an offence, leading to the issue of a yellow or red card. A long sharp whistle could also be used for offsides but only when there is a potential clash between a forward and goalkeeper - all other offsides a short sharp whistle signal will suffice.

Also, to take into account, the whistle is predominantly used to stop the game & at appropriate re-starts. Use of arm and/or voice should be made at many other re-starts, if not all.
 
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Being comfortable with your whistle, agility and timing is IMHO a really important tool. It also clearly differentiates hopefuls from more capable referees.

I think you can learn any whistle and get variety out of it. But some whistles (e.g. Valkeen) are like instruments and give you easiet access to a wider palette of tones and parps!

Practice on your own - and the tongue 😛- is one thing.

And then there are so many (common sense) applications - not loud blasting every restart in a penalty shoot out, when to whsitle a corner, when to add a double stop before a yellow card, the tiny foul beep - and my favourite, the shut-the-f-up-mega-blast:)
 
Gabriel said:
Ha 🤣 I love this one when needed! When do you resort to absolutely all out? I've gone loud but I think I've only ever used this all out one once
Click to expand...
Valkeen full blasts are handy if there’s any standing mass con type situation, especially if there are raised voices - it stuns, also can prevent someone saying something they will regret.

Full blast maybe not so useful if it’s two players on the floor about to kick each other. Somehow multi beeps more appropriate then.
 
santa sangria said:
Being comfortable with your whistle, agility and timing is IMHO a really important tool. It also clearly differentiates hopefuls from more capable referees.

I think you can learn any whistle and get variety out of it. But some whistles (e.g. Valkeen) are like instruments and give you easiet access to a wider palette of tones and parps!

Practice on your own - and the tongue 😛- is one thing.

And then there are so many (common sense) applications - not loud blasting every restart in a penalty shoot out, when to whsitle a corner, when to add a double stop before a yellow card, the tiny foul beep - and my favourite, the shut-the-f-up-mega-blast:)
Click to expand...

Agree with most, though what tends to frustrate me is both underuse of whistle (not consistent following cautions, treatment of injuries and substitutions), as well as over-use eg to direct players at throw ins when only a few yards away, indirect free kicks following offside taken from deep within own half of the FoP, or a long blast to confirm offside when ball play is near or far side, close to the half way line etc.
 
David G said:
Agree with most, though what tends to frustrate me is both underuse of whistle (not consistent following cautions, treatment of injuries and substitutions), as well as over-use eg to direct players at throw ins when only a few yards away, indirect free kicks following offside taken from deep within own half of the FoP, or a long blast to confirm offside when ball play is near or far side, close to the half way line etc.
Click to expand...
So true. Not using the whistle can also benefit the relationship with the players.
 
Big Cat said:
Doubt changing the whistle will make any difference
Only use the whistle to restart on those occasions indicated in the guidance section of the book. Not regular free kicks etc....

For careless/regular free kicks, focus on blowing the whistle for an extremely short duration. 100-200milliseconds. Very short, sharp peep
That's it.... your serious whistling will automatically stand out. Although of course, there are occasions when you should be 'giving it everything you've got'
I think that short duration whistle communicates confidence. It kinda shows that you're not rattled in the game and that things are under control
Folk always tend to fixate on the longer duration blow being the problem. Don'y get me wrong though. Spectators must hear that short peep, so don't be meek with it
Click to expand...
Good God. We have a referee who measures his whistle duration in milliseconds. 😂
 
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