A proposal to standardise the way timed games are ended in 
slowpitch tournament play was the main talking point at the 2012 BASU AGM, held on Saturday, February 11 in Bristol, with 13 members attending. This proposal will be brought to the BSF AGM on February 18 in Manchester.
The meeting also made a number of other decisions regarding 2012 game fees, umpire dress and discipline, procedures for identifying banned bats, payments for “stand-in” umpires and umpire assessors and support for umpire travel when British national and club teams play in Europe.
Officers were also elected or re-elected to the BASU Committee for 2012.
2011 Review
In 2011, BASU umpires covered 26 major tournaments, calling 2,489 games. Two-man systems were used for some games at the Softball World Series and a two-man system was also used at the Premier Nationals, subsidised by BASU.
A new process introduced in 2011 for invoicing tournaments and paying umpires has proved very successful.
BASU would appreciate more proactive participation from players in using the umpire feedback form on the BASU section of the BSF website. This will help BASU monitor umpire performance and address any issues that arise. Any positive comments will of course be appreciated!
Game endings
A major source of controversy over the years at slowpitch tournaments has been the way timed games are ended. Tournaments often differ in terms of the gap between “no new inning” and “game over”, and as a result, some games are played to a natural conclusion in the final inning while other games are ended on time with the final inning unfinished, meaning the final score reverts to the last completed inning.
Now BASU wants to end the confusion by bringing a proposal on game endings to the BSF AGM that, if adopted, will apply across all BSF-sanctioned tournaments with BASU umpires.
The BASU proposal is that all tournaments adopt a policy that “no new inning” is to be called at least 10 minutes before the game is officially meant to end – and that all games are then played to a natural conclusion in the final inning, with no reversions.
To help make the policy work without distorting tournament schedules, BASU is also proposing that:
Captains are required to have line-ups completed prior to the official start time of each game.
In most circumstances, teams not ready on the field of play within five minutes of the official start time will risk forfeiting that game.
In instances where games do over-run, the time lost will be deducted from the next game on the schedule, so that games run to time overall.
BASU Training Officer Chris Moon, who is also the BASU representative on the BSF Executive, argued that umpire discretion in game management, particularly around when “no new inning” is called, should ensure that the majority of games can be played to a conclusion and still finish on time.
Professionalism
BASU wants to ensure that its umpiring services to the softball community are delivered with ever-greater professionalism. To this end, the AGM adopted new regulations on umpire punctuality, behaviour and dress.
Umpires are meant to arrive at tournaments 30 minutes before the first game is due to start, and umpires who arrive less than 15 minutes before that time will be fined. Extenuating circumstances may be considered, but repeat offences will be severely treated.
The consumption of alcohol by BASU umpires until the tournament day is over will not be tolerated.
A concern was expressed at the meeting that the BASU uniform is becoming less consistent, particularly with regard to trousers. BASU is attempting to find a UK chain store that can supply what BASU needs, and the organisation will subsidise part of the cost for its members.
Stand-in umpire payments
Over the past few years, “custom and practice” has developed over the payment of players at tournaments who “stand in” to umpire games that the BASU umpire crew can't cover. Players who were also qualified BASU umpires tended to receive the full BASU fee while others received a fee of £10. But there was some confusion over whether players who were qualified umpires had to umpire in BASU uniform to receive the full fee.
The BASU AGM approved a motion that all “stand-in” umpires, whether qualified or not, will receive £10 per game, to be paid in cash at the tournament. While it is desirable that qualified umpires who “stand in” should wear at least a BASU cap and shirt when umpiring, this will not be mandatory.
The AGM also decided that BASU umpires who act as assessors to monitor new umpires during tournament games will receive the full BASU fee for that game. The umpire being assessed will not be paid, as the assessment is part of the training that leads to a BASU qualification.
Banned bats
BASU will institute a new procedure during the coming season for checking bats, based on practice at ESF and ISF competitions.
The BSF will print tamper-proof stickers that can be put on bats once they have been checked and approved, and BASU umpires working in local leagues and at early-season tournaments will check as many bats as possible and issue stickers for approved bats. This should mean that fewer and fewer bats will need to be checked as the season goes along with regard to the ASA banned bats list.
However, BASU umpires will continue to check otherwise-approved bats throughout the season for cracks and dents.
Support for umpire travel to Europe
The issue of sending umpires to European competitions in support of British national and club teams playing in Europe is becoming more difficult and more expensive for British softball.
The ESF requires each country to send an umpire to officiate in Europe for every team from that country that plays in official European tournaments – and this year, as an example, there could be as many as two slowpitch and six fastpitch teams in ESF competitions.
Umpires are no longer required to accompany teams to specific competitions, which gives the ESF flexibility in umpire assignments. But if eight British teams play in Europe in 2012, eight British umpires have to umpire somewhere in Europe this year.
There are almost no active ESF-qualified fastpitch umpires in Britain, but in the past, we have been able to fulfil our requirements by sending a number of BASU umpires to slowpitch competitions. However, as more slowpitch umpires are trained in Europe, this becomes less possible, and last year, Britain was unable to send umpires to Europe to cover all of our teams in competition.
And the catch is that we have to pay the ESF 750 euros (about £700) for every one of our required places we fail to cover. Along with a number of other countries, we feel this charge is excessive and are fighting this battle at ESF level. But for the moment, the 750 euro charge prevails.
In the past, BASU and the BSF have split the actual travel costs of umpires going to Europe between them so that this burden did not increase the costs of travelling teams. But actual travel costs are always a lot less than 750 euros, and under the new circumstances, support cannot be open-ended.
The AGM's decision was that in 2012, BASU will continue to pay half the costs for umpires that need to be supplied in support of GB national teams (whether that is travel costs or the 750 euro penalty). But this facility will no longer be extended to club teams.
Based on this, the BSF will now need to make its own decisions about what support it will provide.
Efforts are underway on the part of both the fastpitch community and BASU to increase the number of ESF-qualified umpires.
BASU plans to send two umpires to the ESF Slowpitch Umpire Course this year to gain qualification and at least one umpire to the ESF Fastpitch Course.
Meanwhile, BSUK and the fastpitch community are organising a domestic Fastpitch Umpire Course with financial support from the BSF and over 25 people have signed up to take it. The course was meant to be delivered on the weekend of February 4-5 by former ESF Umpire-in-Chief Marlies Struyve, but had to be cancelled because of snow. The course has now been re-arranged for April 21-22, and it is hoped that other candidates will emerge from that course who can go on to the ESF Fastpitch Umpire Course and European qualification.
BASU also plans to hold an Advanced Level Slowpitch Umpire Course sometime this spring for umpires with more than two years of active experience. The aim is not just to raise umpiring standards in the UK but also to provide a bridge for umpires who want to go on to achieve ESF qualification.
BASU Committee
Most of the 2011 BASU Committee will remain in place for 2012, but a few positions have changed. The full BASU Committee for this year will be:
Executive Officers
Umpire-in-Chief: Jes Sandhu
Assistant Umpire-in-Chief: Lesley Morisetti
Training Officer: Chris Moon
Secretary: Robyn Belt
Treasurer: Kate Moon
General Officers
Membership Officer: Peter Jones
Website Liaison Officer: Lesley Morisetti
BASU Representative on the BSF Executive: Chris Moon
Umpire Performance Feedback Officer: Marla Loughborough
Fastpitch Officer: David Hurley
2012 Umpire Game Fees
The BASU AGM decided that there will be no change to these fees in 2012.