Record keeping in rain/wet weather

For me a soft pencil works well on a wet record sheet.

This reminds me of a comment regarding the US space program where millions in taxpayer dollars were spent to develop a pen that would function properly in zero G (the consumer version of which is popular with many referees), whereas the Soviets, short on money but long on common sense, simply brought pencils.

Sherman

 

Try polyester (Mylar) drafting film

Try polyester drafting film (most commonly known by the brand name Mylar). I learned about it from fellow mapmakers for working in the rain (and on hot days, which is just about as bad since I sweat a lot).

Any pencil or pen or marker will write on it. A medium to soft lead pencil is probably best for your purposes. One of the characteristics of polyester film is that it can be erased without a trace. So keep your eraser away from it unless you mean to erase something. If the film gets really really wet and chafes a really really lot in your pocket, light writing could conceivably be obliterated. If you are concerned about this, use a permanent pen, such as almost any ball point pen.

There are special pencils and pens for writing on drafting film. You don't want them, they're expensive and they're for beautiful drawings done at a drafting table, not for notetaking outside in the
rain. Any pencil or pen should do. But just to be sure, try it out in the sink or shower before you have your first rainy game. You might find that your particular pencil lead or pen ink runs like mad when it gets wet (although this is mainly a problem with certain colored pencils). If so, try another.

You can get polyester film at any place selling engineering and drafting supplies, and at most places selling art supplies. Office supply places usually won't have it but it's worth asking if you can't find any other supplier locally. Try looking in your yellow pages under "Drafting supplies" or "Art supplies". It comes by the sheet and by the roll. The smallest sheet you can buy will probably give you enough for a bunch of games. But it will take a good strong pair of scissors to cut it.

Here is an example of a place you can buy it on line (just for illustration, you probably don't want to buy it this way unless you are supplying your whole referee association):

http://www.currys.com/drafting/prodinfo.asp?SubcatID=206&catID=11

Here is some more information about the material from a manufacturer (you won't be buying it here unless you want a square mile):

http://www.grafixplastics.com/drafting.html

For your purposes, exact specs are unimportant but if you have to choose, a good selection would be matte 1 side, both sides is fine too; 4 mil (.004 inch) thickness, 3, 5, or 6 mil is fine too. Matte refers to the slightly roughened side of the plastic; this is the surface you write on (the un-matted side is smooth and shiny and you can't write on it). 4 mil is about the thickness of very heavy paper, but no matter what the thickness, polyester film is extremely tough, you can't tear it if you try.

The only important thing to remember to ask for, is polyester (Mylar) film. Not acetate, not vellum, they can't take the elements.

 

I like the cards I got from www.writeoncards.com because I can use pencil in addition to any type of pen. With pencil, I don't need to bother with nail polish remover to clean them between games, although sometimes I do miss the smell!

 

The cheappest solution I ve found is to put strips of medical tape on the back of your yellow and red cards and write on them with pencil......WE all have cards........tape is 2 bucks a roll!

 

I've never had a problem writing with a permanent marker on the write-on red and yellow cards. It doesn't wipe or wash off unless you apply force with alcohol (or lick a thumb and scrub hard). I keep a tally of the scores on the top of my yellow, doing so discretely to keep the players from being confused when pulling the card out of my pocket. Then you just have to find shelter after the game and transfer the info down to the game card/referee report/match report.