Quote:
Originally posted by Tim C
In my association EACH umpire pays 11% of each game fee.
This means our assigning secretary makes from $9 to $11 per game for assigining.
We are also assigned our games from the website and some umpires do not speak with the assignor ever.
Tee
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Tee, I assign about 9 million games in Chicago (or so it seems). While the rates you mention sound comparable to us, it is not the umpire who pays the fee, it's the leagues and schools. We ensure that the umpires are getting rates at or above scale so they don't have the same perception you do...that they are paying our fees. The schools don't have issue, and some of the summer leagues scowl at it, but we position it to them as a convenience fee and they buy in.
Another thing to keep in mind is the amount of time spent by the Assignment Chair negotiating rates, keying in schedules, answering frivolous emails, getting calls at home at nite, and on and on. And as far as the web goes...I too do all of my assigning via the web, and there are some days where I step back and tell myself the Unabomber was on to something! Technology's not all that it's cracked up to be at times.
Some Assignors I know put their entire schedule on the Arbiter on a first come, first serve basis. The ones who should be upset about that are the clients, not the umpires.
My only point is I don't think too many people understand all that goes into assigning when it's done right. And that the individual umpires should not be rubbed by the fees the Assignor gets unless they feel they are getting sub-market rates.
JC