USSSA Illinois

[RichK]

I may be wrong, but don't most TDs pay a middleman umpire to schedule umps into a tournament? That person is losing a gig (and relationships with umpires who he would schedule). I assume tournaments in the past have folded the cost of that 'service' and relationship into tournament costs, so this isn't a new service/cost but a replacement and at a drastically higher rate. It probably will relieve some tournament directors that are less experienced from the burden of hiring umpire assignor/umpires, I would assume.

 

[marriard]

Received this email this morning. Curious what everyone thinks. The cynic in me thinks this won’t really do anything but raise tourney fees.

Honestly - and it was not 100% clear what they are doing now or what this changes - but if things were absolutely NOT working, I do appreciate that they are trying SOMETHING to change the current situation.

This weekend in Florida I had a conversation with the Regional Directors of one of the local sanctioned bodies about umpires since his events have grown and he has had to expand the pool of umpires he uses (and some of the idiots he initially wasn't using are starting to creep back in). Basically I told him that no one is doing anything to develop umpires, so if he wants better umpires then maybe it is him who makes the investment in helping make that happen. We shall see.

 

[Cougars]

Honestly - and it was not 100% clear what they are doing now or what this changes - but if things were absolutely NOT working, I do appreciate that they are trying SOMETHING to change the current situation.

This weekend in Florida I had a conversation with the Regional Directors of one of the local sanctioned bodies about umpires since his events have grown and he has had to expand the pool of umpires he uses (and some of the idiots he initially wasn't using are starting to creep back in). Basically I told him that no one is doing anything to develop umpires, so if he wants better umpires then maybe it is him who makes the investment in helping make that happen. We shall see.

Forgetting the cost issue, I do wonder if the partnership will result in a bigger pool of umps for USSSA to pull from? Our organization uses Official Finders to schedule umps for league games, friendlies, etc. All of those umps are "patched", but not necessarily USSSA. (I admit to being a little ignorant on what it takes to be certified for each association). If the partnership requires and/or encourages the umps to become available for USSSA, then it could be a good thing for those tournaments (again, ignoring the cost increases).

 

[marriard]

All of those umps are "patched", but not necessarily USSSA. (I admit to being a little ignorant on what it takes to be certified for each association).

To be certified in a sanction: somewhere around $50-75+, about $125-$175 for 3 shirts and a cap and your own equipment (mask, chest protector, pants, shoes, shin guards, ball bags, indicator, belt).

There is no exam or training requirement for most sanctions (except NFHS which has an open book exam anyone could pass if they know how to do a search) - PGF requires me to be a current NFHS official.

Not a lot of hoops to jump through except for some initial cash layout for equipment and some uniforms. The cash layout and equipment replacement is however the largest $$$ amount for any sport I have officiated.

 

[The Man In Blue]

I may be wrong, but don't most TDs pay a middleman umpire to schedule umps into a tournament? That person is losing a gig (and relationships with umpires who he would schedule). I assume tournaments in the past have folded the cost of that 'service' and relationship into tournament costs, so this isn't a new service/cost but a replacement and at a drastically higher rate. It probably will relieve some tournament directors that are less experienced from the burden of hiring umpire assignor/umpires, I would assume.

It doesn’t impact me, but here is my objection as an official:

Yes, you would have a person (typically a UIC) scheduling umpires. But this move goes beyond scheduling ...

Officials are constantly reminded that they are independent contractors. By consolidating all of my pay under this assigning organization AND having this organization issue my pay, I would argue that I am now an employee of this organization. By giving this organization control over my training and requirements above and beyond the sanctioning body, I would argue that I am now an employee of this organization.

I appreciate what they are trying to accomplish: bring in in new officials and providing training. I just don’t care for the method of contracting a temp agency that also provide concession workers and hall monitors.

 

[Fury_Mike]

To be certified in a sanction: somewhere around $50-75+, about $125-$175 for 3 shirts and a cap and your own equipment (mask, chest protector, pants, shoes, shin guards, ball bags, indicator, belt).

There is no exam or training requirement for most sanctions (except NFHS which has an open book exam anyone could pass if they know how to do a search) - PGF requires me to be a current NFHS official.

Not a lot of hoops to jump through except for some initial cash layout for equipment and some uniforms. The cash layout and equipment replacement is however the largest $$$ amount for any sport I have officiated.

Is the certification cost an annual fee?

 

[Fury_Mike]

No question that something needs to be done to increase the number of umpires and develop youth in the trade. I guess I'm not seeing how this directive gets us there. It feels more like a new revenue stream for USSSA.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Is the certification cost an annual fee?

Yes. My costs just to register each year:

USSSA = $60

NFHS (IHSA in Illinois) = $70 for the first sport, $20 for second sport, and $15 for each additional sport (3 sports for me, $105)

USA = USA is the only one who does not publish the cost. I‘m not 100% certain on this as we pay two fees (one USA and one clinic fee) at the same time, but I want to say the total is about $120.

I gave up my PONY license a few years ago, it was $25.

I have not registered for PGF, but it is $30.

Add another $30 for my local association dues ... and I have considered joining a couple more at about $30 apiece ... plus assignors who charge a fee (supposed to go away under IHSA) ...

 

[The Man In Blue]

No question that something needs to be done to increase the number of umpires and develop youth in the trade. I guess I'm not seeing how this directive gets us there. It feels more like a new revenue stream for USSSA.

The organization they have contracted “specializes” in hiring and training young officials and pairing them up with older officials for mentoring. It appears it started as a guy who was doing assigning for a few schools or organizations and then made a business out of it. Looks like he does assigning for a number of Chicagoland organizations. They have expanded into other sports, concession staffing, and hall monitors.

A decent concept ... but farming it out to a contractor is probably not the best way to accomplish this.