shot clock this weeekend

didds

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but nobody returns from the DBL these days either! at any level!
 

Rich_NL

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Well, it's connected in the sense that the two clocks stop and start in sync

But regardless of how it's operated, no logic in having one count up and the other count down
I've yet to meet anyone who finds it confusing, or have a conversation derailed by the misunderstanding.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ;)
 

crossref


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I've yet to meet anyone who finds it confusing, or have a conversation derailed by the misunderstanding.

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds ;)
What a silly post ..

The reason for noticing this is that they are just about to introduce a THIRD clock in the ground .. the shot clock

You don't think there is any advantage in having all three clocks count in the same direction?

Does it matter if they change from ground to ground, from week to week ?

Of course we can all cope if they go in different directions, but why not make all three count the same way?

Anyone know which way does tje shot clock count?
 
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Rich_NL

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You don't think there is any advantage in having all three clocks count in the same direction?

No, as I'm not aware of any disadvantage. I was presuming you were aiming at confusion being the potential problem.

Does it matter if they change from ground to ground, from week to week ?

No, within a second you know which way it's going. And you know if you've spent 10 or 80 seconds preparing for a conversion.

Given rugby doesn't work on a drop-dead timer and can continue until the ball goes dead, it seems practically clearer to count up and keep counting. Many sports where a buzzer goes and the game stops after a certain elapsed time have countdowns - especially sports with frequent clock stops like basketball, NFL, etc. The only odd thing about the rugby method is that you can have a try scored at 43' and then later one scored at 41' :) But having tries scored at -3' in both halves is also strange.

A countdown is clearer when a point has to be marked in the play. In that sense, a shot clock should probably sensibly count down - moreso when there are fans who might not know whether a penalty is 60 or 90 seconds, say.

In that sense, a card counter could go either way - it marks the point at which the player can stand up and wait to come on, so could be a countdown... but you have the flexibility of having to wait for a pause in play, so you could argue for a countup, too. The countdown is again clearer for people who might not know whether the card is a 10-minute yellow or a 20-minute red...
 

crossref


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Counting down has the advantage that it doesn't require any rugby knowledge to understand

Otherwise you are relying on people knowing that a half is 40m (15s) 35m (u19) or 10m (extra time) or 5m (7s), and a card is 10 (or 20 or 2) and that a kick is .. well, I bet shot clock will go down)



Counting down has the disadvantage of working out what to do past zero. Does it become a negative number counting up ? Or just disappear?
 

RemainingInTheGame


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I think there is a design element as well.

I'm not sure older clocks could do 'negative' signs, so if there was a need to show/info people of the overrun (like with a rugby half), then you went up.

For things like YC and shots clocks where it just matters when they ended, they went down.

Basketball is a good example, period times go up, and shot clocks go down.
 

crossref


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For things like YC and shots clocks where it just matters when they ended, they went down.
But for the game clock also .. it just matters when it ends, so that should count down as well.

There's no logical difference right ?

Choose which you prefer (up or down) and have them all the same
 

RemainingInTheGame


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But for the game clock also .. it just matters when it ends, so that should count down as well.

There's no logical difference right ?

Choose which you prefer (up or down) and have them all the same
Agreed: but I think with a game half, some people like to know it went for an extra 5min, but for a shot clock or card that is never relevant.
 

crossref


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Agreed: but I think with a game half, some people like to know it went for an extra 5min, but for a shot clock or card that is never relevant.
But for a card it is

If it is interesting to know that a half actually lasted 43mins (it is) , then it's also interesting to know that a YC in fact lasted 13mins

(But I think finally you might have hit on the logic ! It's based on exactly that mistake: forgetting that a YC in fact always lasts more than 10mins and that it would be interesting to know how long)
 

Phil E


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But for the game clock also .. it just matters when it ends, so that should count down as well.

Game clocks that count down have to stop at 00:00 they can't go into minus figures (limitation of the timekeepers equipment), so you can't see how far past the 40 you have gone.

Game clocks that count up can keep going past 40, showing how much into overtime we are.

Different competitions (PRL, EPCR, etc) do it different ways, no idea why, but it's never been an issue apart from having two sets of code for the big screen clock to remove the yellow card after 10 minutes game time, and remembering to change it for each competition. The big screen clock itself gets its feed from the timekeeper.

Are we done yet?
 

crossref


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Game clocks that count down have to stop at 00:00 they can't go into minus figures (limitation of the timekeepers equipment), so you can't see how far past the 40 you have gone.

Game clocks that count up can keep going past 40, showing how much into overtime we are.
That is a good reason to count up, and would apply to YC timer as well, so that should also go up.
 

Phil E


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That is a good reason to count up, and would apply to YC timer as well, so that should also go up.

Why does the yellow card clock need to go up? Its fixed at 10 minutes game time and links to the game clock, so it would never need to be more than 10 minutes (unlike the game clock)
 

crossref


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Why does the yellow card clock need to go up? Its fixed at 10 minutes game time and links to the game clock, so it would never need to be more than 10 minutes (unlike the game clock)
Ok the contrary, players always stay out for more than 10mins as they have to wait for next break in play

Just as it's interesting to know that a half actually lasted for 42mins playing time, it's equally interesting to know that a YC lasted for 12 mins playing time
 

Phil E


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Ok the contrary, players always stay out for more than 10mins as they have to wait for next break in play

Just as it's interesting to know that a half actually lasted for 42mins playing time, it's equally interesting to know that a YC lasted for 12 mins playing time

No it isn't.....only to you.
 

crossref


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No it isn't.....only to you.

Game clocks that count up can keep going past 40, showing how much into overtime we are.
but if that's a good feature of a game clock that counts up (I agree, it is a good feature) why wouldn't that also be a good feature on a YC clock?
 

Rich_NL

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There's no logical reason to have them all the same. They count different things, with different end conditions. It's only your personal taste that everything be aligned.
 
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