The role of the statistician is to record predetermined statistics for players and teams either electronically with a statistics program on a computer, tablet or smart phone or manually with a paper template. It is often recommended that statisticians use the electronic option for collation speed and accuracy.
Some local Australian domestic competitions do not have the resources to record complex statistics however most senior competitions do in an attempt to provide national consistency at the higher levels of competition.
The effective recording of statistics usually requires at least two people. One to “call” the game by commentating every event which requires statistical recording and the other to “record” the game by making the statistical entries and following the caller’s instructions. Typically the pair would swap roles at the conclusion of each quarter. The ideal operation for the statistics bench is to use an additional two persons. One is the “backup” who operates a backup computer in the event the main statistics computer crashes and the second person is an “observer” who assists the “caller” if any statistics should be missed.
Between play, the statisticians are required check their stats for player fouls and points against the scorer’s sheet. They then supply each team a copy of the stats so the coaches can identify scoring patterns, player productivity and leading scorers and rebounders.