Whistles
The whistle is the referee's best friend.  It is through the use of the whistle that an
official can control and exibit their individual style of people management during the
contest.

Whistles are made from either metal or plastic materials and are available in pea or
pea-less (the little cork ball inside).  The unwritten color standard for officials is black
and
always carry a back-up.

Its Official Sports offers a wide variety of whistles from the top 3 manufacturers -
Acme, Balilla, and Fox.
Characteristic
Advantages
Disadvantages
Metal
Traditional standard,
durability and best tone
qualityquality
Heavier, higher cost, effected by
cold weather and regular
cleaning required.
Plastic
Light weight, economical
and the largest  variety of
colors, tones & pitches
Less durable (shorter-life) and
less resonance.
Pea
Produce the most variety
of tones and pitches
May be overblown, regular
cleaning required.
Pea-less
Lighter weight, no moving
parts to stick, penetrates
crowd noise and distance.
Mono-tone, less variety, higher
cost
Our recommendation for the beginner of outdoor sports is the plastic whistle, one
of each - pea and pea-less.  For
indoor sports the recommendation is pea-less - two
different ones.  For
experienced officials we suggest both plastic and metal pea
whistles.

Cleaning Tips
Pea-less whistles - a) soak in vinegar and water for a few hours or alternatively b)
with baking soda and water overnight.  

Baking soda gives the whistle a sweet clean taste.

Pea whistles (3 choices)
a) Soak in baking soda and water an hour or two before the match.  This will give
you a better sound by keeping the cork moist and clean.
b) Soak in vinegar and water for a few hours.
c) Drop in a pan of boiling water and baking soda for less than one minute.
Lanyard - Neck
The choice of officials for over 25 years
$2.00
Whistle - Acme Thunderer Metal
Smallest, shrillest, most popular
$9.25
Lanyard - Wrist
Preferred for keeping the whistle handy
$2.00
Whistle - Fox Classic 40
Used by NBA and NFL Officials
$9.25
Lanyard - Smitty
Attaches to the zipper of shirt or jersey, avoiding the risk of injury
$2.75
Whistle - Balilla Arbiter
Hand-made, highest quality, high shrill, high pitch, maximum resonance
$11.00
Whistle - Acme 559 Big Boy
Compression molded for maximum resonance (deep tone) and strenth
$4.25