I reviewed the new Jam Timer iPhone app a couple of days ago and I had promised that I would also review the penalty timer app from the same developers so here it is...
Format - iPhone/iPod Touch
Publisher - Fearless Code
version - 2.1(v190)
Price - £1.19
This app has been out for a while (although has been updated several times) and it's one that has caused many an NSO to coo over how good it is, while at the same time causing many discussions among the refereeing community.
The main benefit of Penalty timer is that it allows 1 penalty box NSO to time all 6 seats on 1 device and is programmed with the rules governing jammers in the sin bin.
The app is very configurable and has several timer modes including 1 team, 2 teams, 1 teams blockers, 2 teams blockers, 2 jammers and custom setup. The option is also there to enable the jammer rules from section 7.4.
The team colours can be chosen from either 6 pre-set colours or a custom RGB slider.
The main interface is well designed and clear and allows the individual seats to be timed and reset as well as providing overall Start and Stop buttons for the start and end of jams. There is functionality built in so that if one jammer is in the penalty box being timed and the other jammer starts being timed it automatically resets the original jammer and assigns the timed served to the new jammer. This is also compliant with the 7.4.1 rulings about the original jammer returning to the penalty box and serving the full minute (The jammerless jam scenario).
This updated version allows the time for an individual seat to be increased or reduced by 1 minute (or outright edited) which allows for multiple penalty minutes to be served correctly.
When a timer counts down and gets into the final 10 seconds the clock turns red and then flashes when it hits 0.
Like the Jam Timer app this isn't a substitute for an NSO with knowledge of the position but can ensure that it takes the juggling out of the job.
I have found this app to be a lifesaver for scrimmage training sessions when NSOs aren't in abundance and so 1 person can be left in charge of the entire penalty box.
As with any app that is installed on a phone/device of this nature, ensure that it is switched into Flight mode to avoid those embarrassing moments when a text or call comes in just as your jammers are sitting down.
Thursday 26 May 2011
Tuesday 24 May 2011
Derby Gear Review - Jam Timer App
Format - iPhone/iPod(with OS 4.2+ installed)
Publisher - Fearless Code
Price - £1.19 on iTunes appstore
So, a new derby app hits the virtual shelves. This is the second iPhone app for derby by Fearless code and this one again will be a useful addition to any NSOs arsenal. Fearless Codes first app was Penalty Timer(which I'll review later on) and that was a big hit among leagues that can't get a whole posse of NSOs to their practice sessions. This app is also going to be a big hit and here's why.
The interface is nice and clear with the period clock ticking down at the top of the screen and the jam clock at the bottom. There are nice big Start Jam and Stop Jam buttons as well as a Start Timeout button. It clearly displays the jam number which is something a Jam Timer normally wouldn't need to know but is useful for other NSOs to check on.
It will automatically switch into the Jam Interval timer as soon as the jam is stopped and there is an option for it to auto start the next jam when that time runs out.
Pressing the Start Timeout button will give you the option of a team timeout or an official timeout.
All of the timings can be pre-defined and saved as game types (it comes already configured with standard WFTDA and WORD timing sets) so you can change all aspects such as number of periods, period length, halftime length, jam length, jam interval, timeout length and a few others.
I think there will be the usual concerns by Head Refs all over that the iPhone/iPod shouldn't be used for actual bouts as they aren't designed for timing.
My only concern is that my stopwatches(and this is probably true of 99.9999% of stopwatches in the world) have lanyards attached already so I can't drop them. Also sports stopwatches are generally designed to be given a hard time and so are going to be much more resilient that the fragile iPhone/iPod.
This unlike the Penalty Timer app is never going to be able to do the majority of the jam timer NSO role as you still need to blow the whistle and judge the pack distances etc so you still need to know the rules and be a comptetent jam timer, but it certainly takes the juggling of watches and whistles out of the picture.
I would have liked it more if it tracked the number of timeouts each team has taken but that is something for the next version I suppose.
Overall a nice little app and one that will be handy for scrimmages and practice sessions but maybe not for full open bouts where a dropped iPhone could cause problems.
P.S. I should probably say that if I was a Head Ref and someone was wanting to use this I would be insisting that the iPhone is switched into flight mode for the entire duration of the bout. Last thing you want is a phone call or text in the middle of a jam...
Publisher - Fearless Code
Price - £1.19 on iTunes appstore
So, a new derby app hits the virtual shelves. This is the second iPhone app for derby by Fearless code and this one again will be a useful addition to any NSOs arsenal. Fearless Codes first app was Penalty Timer(which I'll review later on) and that was a big hit among leagues that can't get a whole posse of NSOs to their practice sessions. This app is also going to be a big hit and here's why.
The interface is nice and clear with the period clock ticking down at the top of the screen and the jam clock at the bottom. There are nice big Start Jam and Stop Jam buttons as well as a Start Timeout button. It clearly displays the jam number which is something a Jam Timer normally wouldn't need to know but is useful for other NSOs to check on.
It will automatically switch into the Jam Interval timer as soon as the jam is stopped and there is an option for it to auto start the next jam when that time runs out.
Pressing the Start Timeout button will give you the option of a team timeout or an official timeout.
All of the timings can be pre-defined and saved as game types (it comes already configured with standard WFTDA and WORD timing sets) so you can change all aspects such as number of periods, period length, halftime length, jam length, jam interval, timeout length and a few others.
I think there will be the usual concerns by Head Refs all over that the iPhone/iPod shouldn't be used for actual bouts as they aren't designed for timing.
My only concern is that my stopwatches(and this is probably true of 99.9999% of stopwatches in the world) have lanyards attached already so I can't drop them. Also sports stopwatches are generally designed to be given a hard time and so are going to be much more resilient that the fragile iPhone/iPod.
This unlike the Penalty Timer app is never going to be able to do the majority of the jam timer NSO role as you still need to blow the whistle and judge the pack distances etc so you still need to know the rules and be a comptetent jam timer, but it certainly takes the juggling of watches and whistles out of the picture.
I would have liked it more if it tracked the number of timeouts each team has taken but that is something for the next version I suppose.
Overall a nice little app and one that will be handy for scrimmages and practice sessions but maybe not for full open bouts where a dropped iPhone could cause problems.
P.S. I should probably say that if I was a Head Ref and someone was wanting to use this I would be insisting that the iPhone is switched into flight mode for the entire duration of the bout. Last thing you want is a phone call or text in the middle of a jam...
Saturday 21 May 2011
Merby? Yeah!
So last night was the first session of Tyne and Fear Roller Derby. The North-Easts first dedicated Merby league.
This is the brainchild of Man Shaped Dog, head ref of the Newcastle Roller Girls who has been trying to get us fellow refs together for some merby action for a while but it's finally come together. The first session was successful in that we had a decent number of guys turn up and most of them could already skate to a decent level so we were able to get onto the basics of skating, falling, stopping and even got onto some whips. First session saw about 16 guys show up (I'm not including myself in this as I have no intention to play merby but I am there with my zebra stripes) so if we get a few more we'll have a good basis for a team.
So, in summary Merby? YEAH!
This is the brainchild of Man Shaped Dog, head ref of the Newcastle Roller Girls who has been trying to get us fellow refs together for some merby action for a while but it's finally come together. The first session was successful in that we had a decent number of guys turn up and most of them could already skate to a decent level so we were able to get onto the basics of skating, falling, stopping and even got onto some whips. First session saw about 16 guys show up (I'm not including myself in this as I have no intention to play merby but I am there with my zebra stripes) so if we get a few more we'll have a good basis for a team.
So, in summary Merby? YEAH!
Wednesday 18 May 2011
So, I started well with this blogging lark!
Hello to the couple of you that have deemed me worthy of a follow.
Sorry about the lack of any substance in a while, I've been busy and here's why.
Since my last post Newcastle Roller Girls have hosted their first and second bouts on home soil (victorious in both) and I have been heavily involved in the behind the scenes marketing and setup for both. On top of that my band Ball of Mayhem (www.myspace.com/ballofmayhem) have also been involved in a massive project as well as gigging like we hate our houses.
The project (which has been vying for my time as much as roller derby!) was to take an E.P. by Swedish folk star Sofia Talvik and re-arrange and re-record it. The idea wasn't just to make her songs faster or play them with loads of distortion but to properly make them into Ball of Mayhem songs. After a few weeks of re-writing we pretty much had the basic structures down and then we jammed them out in the studio before embarking on the mighty process of getting it all down in the studio. That was completed a few weeks ago and after some minor adjustments they are ready for release at the start of June. You can find more about the project and pre-order a copy if you want to here http://music.sofiatalvik.com/track/nothing-quite-so-gentle-2
Derby wise, I have been pushing my on skates reffing stuff and helping to train up some new NRG zebras. There's even the chance that I may have a co-announcer soon so I'll be able to don the stripes and ref some bouts. That will be interesting to see. William Hill will be running a book on how many times I fall into the path of a jammer going at full speed.
I'm also going to be reffing for the newly formed Merby league Tyne and Fear Roller Derby, Our first practice is this Friday so we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, that's a quick update of what's going on.
I promise I'll update this again soon... (I'm going to look back on this blatant lie in 2015 and feel a bit bad).
Sven
Sorry about the lack of any substance in a while, I've been busy and here's why.
Since my last post Newcastle Roller Girls have hosted their first and second bouts on home soil (victorious in both) and I have been heavily involved in the behind the scenes marketing and setup for both. On top of that my band Ball of Mayhem (www.myspace.com/ballofmayhem) have also been involved in a massive project as well as gigging like we hate our houses.
The project (which has been vying for my time as much as roller derby!) was to take an E.P. by Swedish folk star Sofia Talvik and re-arrange and re-record it. The idea wasn't just to make her songs faster or play them with loads of distortion but to properly make them into Ball of Mayhem songs. After a few weeks of re-writing we pretty much had the basic structures down and then we jammed them out in the studio before embarking on the mighty process of getting it all down in the studio. That was completed a few weeks ago and after some minor adjustments they are ready for release at the start of June. You can find more about the project and pre-order a copy if you want to here http://music.sofiatalvik.com/track/nothing-quite-so-gentle-2
Derby wise, I have been pushing my on skates reffing stuff and helping to train up some new NRG zebras. There's even the chance that I may have a co-announcer soon so I'll be able to don the stripes and ref some bouts. That will be interesting to see. William Hill will be running a book on how many times I fall into the path of a jammer going at full speed.
I'm also going to be reffing for the newly formed Merby league Tyne and Fear Roller Derby, Our first practice is this Friday so we'll see how that goes.
Anyway, that's a quick update of what's going on.
I promise I'll update this again soon... (I'm going to look back on this blatant lie in 2015 and feel a bit bad).
Sven
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