The whistle of Classico comes from Canada

This Sunday Classic in between Real Madrid and BarcelonaAnd blows the whistle with the Fox 40. Juan Martinez Munuera Use this famous Canadian whistle, a product of the family business that earns 15,000 a day. It sells 170,000 a year in sports, defense and first aid in Spain. Its inventor, Ron Foxcraft He tells EFE how he created it in the 70s.

“I’m so excited every time the World Cup comes on TV, and I’m been the referee at the 1976 Montreal Summer Games when the referees use it on my whistle or at the Olympics,” he explained to EFE. Whistleblower father Ron Foxcroft, who sells at an average price of $ 8 per unit in 140 countries around the world, has become one of the referees of all kinds of competitions, such as the World Cup in recent decades. Football or NBA.

Alicante ‘Made for Sport’ (MFS) imports Fox 40 whistles into Spain and distributes about 30,000 units each year for the football division, including those used by First Division referees, but they also provide all sports and other sports activities, such as safety and first aid every 17,000 months. Will be provided up to.

MSF Purchasing Manager, Ruben PerezHe told EFE that many professional league referees ask them to “customize” their whistle by adding their name, surname, license number or nickname made by laser on both sides of the object. 1 square centimeter.

These whistles were much appreciated because their 115 decibels would not fail in the rain. They cost 5.99 euros (the classic one) and 9.19 euros for those with a silicone mouthpiece, chosen to prevent teething and gain a more comfortable grip.

In the seventies, Foxcraft He was a growing businessman with a growing family and the owner of a trucking company in Hamilton, a Canadian city about 70 kilometers southwest of Toronto.

But Foxcraft, who works every day at the age of 76, is also an athlete who has been sidelined from football by injury, and he turned his interest into a basketball officer.

“We had some money. I had invested everything in my transportation company. To pay for more food, he refereed the NCAA College Basketball Tournament. I was the umpire in the first game Michael Jordan (then known as Mike Jordan) played against North Carolina in 1981, “the businessman proudly explains.

By then, Foxcraft already had its pluses and minuses with traditional whistles, which used a ball, often made of carcass, to produce their characteristic sound.

The Montreal Games may be the worst moment during the men’s basketball final. Foxcroft had to endure the wrath of nearly 18,000 spectators who watched the match because a Yugoslav player did not punch an elbow to a United States player.

This is not because Foxcroft did not see or mention it. But when he failed to blow the whistle the ball got stuck and the whistle did not sound.

Many years later, in 1984, during the pre – Olympic Games in So Paulo (Brazil), he had the same situation in front of 15,000 spectators.

“It simply came to our notice then. Someone has to design a whistle regularly. When I returned to Canada, I recently hired a genius, Chuck Shepherd, a designer and industrial engineer. I borrowed $ 150,000 and we worked together for three and a half years. We have another engineer, a Ph.D. We hired a sound scientist and a music teacher, ”Foxcroft recalled.

“Three and a half years later, we now have two prototypes, the Fox 40 Classic,” he added.

The problem now is selling it. For two months, he didn’t really sell a dick.

Until 1987 he was a referee for the Pan American Games held that year in the American city of Indianapolis.

Foxcraft picked up two of its prototypes, which cost $ 150,000, and one day early in the morning, at 2:00 a.m., he began to whistle at the house where the remaining referees were staying.

“People were fascinated by the beautiful piercing, pulsating, 120 decibel whistle sound and ran away. Asked if he could buy one. I, following the recommendation of my wife Mary, told them that it was not possible because all my shares had been sold. But if they want, they can place new orders, ”he says with a smile.

That weeka, Foxcroft v.He laid the foundation of his empire by selling 20,000 whistles for six dollars each.

The Fox 40 Classic Whistle quality quickly spread its popularity beyond the gaming world. Foxcraft began to produce it in decorative colors, and it was widely accepted by whistleblowers, search and rescue teams, the Coast Guard, and the security forces.

“I’m so proud of it because this whistle saves lives. Just this week, a skier got lost in the mountains of western Canada after rescue. Suppressed emotion.

“Despite my 76 years, these stories continue to haunt me every day,” he adds.

Every year f.Oxcraft, His children and his staff, who share the management of the company, add new features to the design. Now, one of the 41 whistle models of the Fox 40 is used in most sports leagues around the world.

Foxcroft acknowledges that basketball and football are its best sports markets, but currently 60% to 70% of its total sales go to the security and search and rescue segment.

We are saving lives, ”he concludes proudly.

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