At the last meeting, I obtained board approval to offer 3 scholarships to the Western Region Little League Umpire School, a week-long academy conducted in San Bernadino.  The scholarship pays for tuition only, the candidate is still responsible for their own travel and incidental costs (the $300 tuition covers training, dorm-room type accommodations and yummy institutional food).   Let me know if you are interested; dates

have not been posted but the schools fill up fast.

Yes I have thrown my hat in the ring for UIC for 2010, but feel free to nominate yourself too (it is an ELECTED position)!  Terry Emmel has volunteered for Softball UIC, and we still have an open assistant UIC

for baseball.   I had my hands full just doing the 90' baseball, and can really use some help.

If you've decided to 'hang it up' for umpiring and don't know what to do with that fabulous Navy blue umpire shirt, and you think it still is in reasonable condition, I will take them back and recycle them, since umpire uniforms are expensive.  Also, if you want never to hear from me again, this would be a great time to hit the 'reply' button and ask me to take you off distribution.

For those of you who earned the equipment incentive and if you did not make it to the distribution I conducted July 4th, I have not forgotten you and will figure out how to get your stuff to you, I may try to have another 'breakfast with the blues at the buzz'.

That's it for now, as always feel free to write or call with question, concerns, etc.!!

Thanks for volunteering!

William Bigelis

Sky Valley Little League UIC

360-387-0355 (cell)

425-288-6757 (work)

360-668-9872 (home)

All teams must provide at least one umpire. That person can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, neighbor, you name it. Wherever possible volunteers will be called upon to work games in which their child is participating. If this becomes a problem, umps will be moved around. If a team does not provide an umpire, there is no guarantee that one will be assigned for their games.

T Ball, A, Minors, each team will provide umps for their own game. Home team will provide the plate ump, visitor the base ump. Junior and Senior umpire volunteers will be assigned to cover some of these games, letting the parents take a break. As often as possible, Juniors and Seniors will be use to fill in absences. If an umpire knows he/she will not make it to a game, he/she needs to inform the Umpire in Chief as far ahead of that game as possible.

Majors, Juniors, Seniors, umps will be assigned to games from a pool of experienced umpires and volunteers from individual teams. Major, Junior and senior coaches are not exempt from recruiting at least one umpire volunteer! In some cases, these umps will work games in which "their" team is participating, but that will not always be the case. Team umps will draw some "byes" due to the use of umps not associated with teams.

Assignments will be posted on the web site. Any umpire who does not have Internet access needs to inform Umpire in Chief. Assignments will also be sent out by e-mail. It is the responsibility of each umpire to make sure he/she knows their schedule each week!