How can I be sure to stop play?
A timely How this – Fred’s getting in training in case he’s called up to referee the World Cup Final. But How can he be sure his whistle is up to the job? Read on…
Toot! Fred’s whistle sounds shrill enough, but it’s one of the old kind, with a cork pea in it.
As the pea rattles around, it makes that shrill warbling sound we like so much. But what happens if the pea gets stuck?
What if it jams in the opening, like this? That’s exactly what happened to a chap called Ron Foxcroft, who was refereeing the Olympic Games basketball final back in 1976.
He saw a rules violation, blew his whistle, and… nothing happened. The pea was stuck, no sound came out, and the players carried on playing. Frustrated, Ron invented:
The pea-less whistle!
Yes, it’s perfectly loud enough.
So now, Fred can referee a match – basketball in this case. Wait – that’s umpiring, isn’t it?
No time to argue, Gail’s about to…
…commit a foul. Oh, that really is foul. Who needs to see Gareth’s knobbly knees? Ref!
Gail may think she’s got away with it…
…she may take the shot…
…she may even score…
…but there’s no mistaking the shrill call of Fred’s whistle. McKenna – sin-bin for you! Hah!
You can find out more about Ron’s whistle from his company, Fox 40. So that’s How you can be sure to stop play – and that’s How for now. See you after the World Cup!