Timekeeper

A timekeeper is the official responsible for measuring and controlling time during a contest. Where a referee or umpire judges the play itself, the timekeeper looks after the clock — starting it when action begins, stopping it during breaks, stoppages and dead-ball moments, and signalling clearly when a period, round or race has run its course. In many sports the timekeeper works from the sidelines or an official's table rather than on the field of play, keeping an accurate record of elapsed and remaining time so that players, officials and spectators all know how much of the contest is left.

The same idea takes different shapes from sport to sport. In games played to a running clock, the timekeeper starts and stops the game clock through the halves, quarters or periods and marks their end with a buzzer, hooter or whistle; some of these sports add a separate countdown clock that limits how long a side may hold the ball before attempting to score, which the timekeeper or a dedicated operator manages. In combat sports the role times each round and the rest between them, sounding a bell or gong to open and close them, and may time counts or hold-downs. In racing, timing officials record how long competitors take to finish — increasingly with electronic systems — and watch that the clock starts cleanly. Timed heats and set-length routines elsewhere work the same way: a fixed allowance of time that the timekeeper counts down and signals at its end.