ORONO – University of Maine basketball fans may have noticed a slight change this season in the behavior of game officials at Alfond Arena.

Officials are often seen reaching to their waists to touch a small, black, plastic box attached to their belts. The box is a transmitter that is part of the Precision Time Systems device that controls the clock.

America East has joined most of the NCAA’s major conferences and the NBA in using Precision Time devices for all basketball games.

“They just feel like it’s a better way to ensure that the clock starts and stops when it’s supposed to,” said Barbara Jacobs, coordinator of women’s basketball officials for America East.

Precision Time takes most of the guesswork out of game clock operation. The game official controlling the throw-in restarts the clock with a press of the button on the belt pack.

The clock stops automatically whenever any of the officials blows their whistle.

“It’s a slick system,” Will Biberstein, UMaine’s associate athletic director for internal operations, said of the system, which cost more than $3,500.

“It kind of takes out some of the error source from the minor officials,” he said of the clock and scoreboard operators working at courtside.

While the clock operator still manually turns the clock off and on as before, those actions are secondary to the button-pressing and whistle-blowing of the game officials.

“It has been better,” Jacobs said of any problems involving proper clock operation that might previously have been experienced in the conference.

The devices operate by way of a radio transmitter.

The belt pack is connected to a microphone by way of a cord that runs under the official’s shirt and up the length of the lanyard attached to the whistle.

When the clock is running and the whistle blows, the sound goes through the microphone and into the belt pack, which sends a signal to the base unit on the scorers’ table and immediately stops the clock.

“Hopefully, the system decreases the number of stoppages in play to keep the game at a good pace for everybody involved,” Biberstein said of any problems that could previously have arisen from someone neglecting to start or stop the clock at the right moment.

“It just adds that extra component of being more accurate to make it as fair as possible for both teams,” he added.

The clock operator is still required to start and stop the clock manually. That ensures proper clock operation in the event the belt pack fails to operate properly.

The clock operator’s job remains critical during the final minute of a game or overtime period, when the clock must stop on each made basket and be restarted once the ball is inbounded.

Since officials do not blow the whistle in those situations, the clock must be turned off and on manually.

Jacobs said most officials needed only a few games to get acclimated to the Precision Time system and have experienced very few problems.

Biberstein explained the 3.2-volt lithium batteries used to operate the Precision Time belt packs system are required to be replaced prior to each game to ensure adequate power.

UMaine plans Saturday events

The UMaine athletic department is sponsoring two events Saturday, centered around the Black Bears’ noon America East women’s basketball game against Binghamton, in conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Students of all ages are invited to hear UMaine women’s coach Cindy Blodgett kick off the program with a 10 a.m. speech on the importance of education and athletics. UMaine student-athletes will then lead discussion and activity groups on goal setting, nutrition, exercise, teamwork and education/discipline.

The program, sponsored by Weight Watchers of Maine, is free. It is part of a corporate sponsorship formed for the “Bears of Tomorrow” program, which introduces Maine school children to athletic opportunities available at UMaine and encourages interaction with team members.

For more information on the program, contact Justin Swanson at 581-1086 or e-mail justin.swanson@umit.maine.edu.

Special $5 group game tickets also are available, in advance only, by calling 581-1086.

UMaine also is taking part Saturday in the NCAA-sponsored “Pack the House” Challenge.

The goal is for schools to set a women’s basketball attendance record. UMaine is bringing in youngsters who participate in Bananas Cub Club Day and A+ Attendance Day as part of the initiative.

UMaine leads America East with an average women’s basketball attendance of 2,319. The school record of 5,892 fans was set Feb. 1, 1998.

The halftime entertainment for Saturday’s game includes the Machias Little Dribblers youth basketball group and an exhibition game involving teams from the Maine Senior Women’s Basketball League.

There also will be a postgame autograph session with UMaine players.

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

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