A deafening whistle sounds in the Ames/ISU Ice Arena. Twenty-seven students are gathered in a large circle on the ice between two broomball nets. Each student holds a silver whistle attached to a black lanyard around his or her neck. After one large group whistle, each student practices their shrill, boisterous whistle individually as the boss looks on.

“You have to put air in the whistle, you have to blow it hard and blow it loud,” said Randy Heimerman, intramural coordinator. “Those players will come on you like vultures if they hear a weak whistle.”

Many students will soon hear those strong whistles because these 27 individuals are part of the fall 2006 class of broomball referees. Heimerman spent two days last week leading a meeting and clinic to prepare them for the start of the fall season.

The referees talked and laughed as they waited for the clinic to begin. Many of the referees only met this week, but conversation flowed easily as they discussed rules, penalties and their own interest in broomball.

“I’m also on a broomball team,” said Amber Jonas, junior in health and human performance. “Our team is called Rough & Ready; we’ve been together since freshman year.”

Jonas’ team is one of 270 teams participating in the fall season of intramural broomball, one of the largest turnouts that broomball coordinators have ever seen.

“There are still some teams trying to get in,” said Linda Marticke, intramural coordinator. “I just don’t know if there will be room for them.”

But Heimerman is more concerned that the referees are ready for the teams that are registered to play. After learning how to correctly blow their whistles, the group learned how to position players for a coin flip, what to do about high-sticking, how to correctly judge penalty shots and what the overtime rules are.

Each broomball game has two referees. Heimerman made sure that each referee knew where they should be standing and what they should be watching for. Of course, everything the referees learned related back to that strong whistle.

“If you see a violation, blow the whistle,” Heimerman said. “Stop the game even if you see someone way on the other side of the ice. Blow the whistle.”

Official broomball games start Sept. 26. The teams will be broken down into two divisions. The first half of the teams will play Sept. 26 to Oct. 26. The second half of the teams will play Oct. 20 to Dec. 3.

The referees who attended Monday’s clinic were excited for the season to begin.

“I love broomball,” said Alan Endler, junior in marketing. “I wouldn’t mind actually playing the game.”

Endler has refereed other intramural sports before, but this is his first year working the broomball games. Intramural officials are paid by the hour, and many officials choose to work a number of different sports.

“I’ve done co-ed volleyball, slow pitch softball and flag football,” Jonas said. “This is just going to be another intramural.”

The intramural program is the third-largest student employer on campus. About 250 student officials are involved in the intramural program at this time. Heimerman said he gets to know a lot of the officials personally.

“It’s fun to see timid people grow into leaders who are willing to take charge,” he said. “We are looking for those people who will be able to take charge.”