Umpire procedures
Umpiring for GTAAA
To be an umpire for GTAAA, a person must be at least 13 years of age and must demonstrate an adequate knowledge of the rules of baseball or softball by either attending a GTAAA umpires’ clinic, be certified by another umpiring organization or have the approval of the umpire directory or GTAAA Board. All umpires must complete a GTAAA volunteer form for the year in which they are umpiring. Anyone interested in becoming an umpire for GTAAA can send an email with their intentions to
umpires@gtaaa.org.
Umpire Assignments
All umpires will be given a login to umpires.gtaaa.org. It is the umpire’s responsibility to go to the site and indicate the dates he/she is available to work. In general, game assignments will be assigned 2 weeks in advance so it is best to mark your available dates at least 3 weeks in advance.
When a game is assigned, an email notification will be sent to the umpire. Upon receiving the email, the umpire should go to http://umpires.gtaaa.org to accept or decline the assignment. Assignments which are not accepted within 72 hours may be reassigned to a different umpire. There is no penalty for turning down assignments.
For umpires who prefer receiving text messages, all phones that receive texts can be set up to receive email as texts. Contact your cell phone provider to find out the email address for your phone.
Unable to make an assigned (and accepted) game
Inevitably, there will a reason an umpire cannot make a game which has been assigned and accepted. That is understandable. In this case, please reach out to the umpire director to let him know. If it is more than 48 hours before the game, an email to
umpires@gtaaa.org should be sufficient. If it is closer to game time, the umpire director can be reached via phone/text at 847-660-8665. In any instance, make sure that your email/voice mail/text is received and confirmed. A non-confirmed notification will be treated the same a no-show. A no-show is not showing up for a scheduled umpiring assignment without notification. After one no-show, an umpire may be given another opportunity depending on circumstances. A second no-show will result in the umpire no longer working for GTAAA.
After game is completed
After completion of an umpiring assignment, an umpire must return to the web site at http://umpires.gtaaa.org and mark the game as completed. This is your acknowledgement that you worked the game and will start the payment process. It is not necessary to do this step immediately after the game, however it should be done within 48 hours of the game being completed.
Umpires are not paid for games that are canceled due to the weather or other circumstances. Umpires will be paid for games that are started and subsequently canceled, so umpires should go online and mark these types of games as completed.
Payment
Approximately every 2 weeks, the GTAAA treasurer will get a list of games worked (this will be derived from the entries on the web site--games not marked as completed will not be able to be paid) and will write the umpire checks which will be placed in the concession stand at Veterans' Park for pickup.
Scheduling
In general, there will be an attempt at distributing the assignments to all available on umpires. However, it will not be an even
distribution. Assignments will be based upon many factors including work history, observations by various umpire
evaluators and coach feedback.
Umpire appearance
GTAAA will be instituting a dress code for umpires starting with the 2013 season. It will be communicated out to the umpires prior to the start of the season. Please contact the umpire director at
umpires@gtaaa.org for more information.
Rules
In addition to the standard IHSA rules, umpires should be aware of the special rules for the level they are umpiring. These rules are available for download at http://umpires.gtaaa.org
Game Day Responsibilities
Pre-Game responsibilities
Umpires are responsible for getting the game started on time. That means the umpire must arrive at the park at least 15 minutes prior to game time and be geared up at the field ready to go 10 minutes before the game. Umpires who are not at their assigned field 10 minutes before game time may be replaced.
5 minutes prior to the start time, the umpire should call a meeting of the managers. The umpire should cover the ground rules and discuss any questions that may arise.
Keep the game moving
New pitchers are allowed 8 warmup pitches. Other pitchers are allowed 5 warmup pitches between innings. Encourage the managers to get their teams on and off the field quickly. This is important as all games have time limits and we want to get as many innings completed as possible.
Cell phones
Umpires are not allowed to be texting or making or receiving phone calls between innings. Umpires are the only ones at the game who are being paid to be there and are expected to act professionally. Between innings it is the umpire’s responsibility to make sure teams are moving on and off the field quickly.
Issues
If the umpire has any problems with a manager, coach or player during a game, it should be reported to the umpire director after game regardless of whether or not the situation resulted in an ejection.
Expectations
Umpires are expected to hustle on the field and get out from behind home plate to make their calls.
It has always been the desire of GTAAA to utilize reward the youth of our community with the opportunity to umpire our games. We expect those who are given that opportunity to make the most of it and act in a professional manner regardless of age. We want people leaving our parks saying “Can you believe how well those GTAAA kids umpired those games?” It sounds so much better than “What can you expect, they’re only kids.”