[Elaine "Lady Blue"]

From my knowledge of other umpires and myself, we know that
if we call a scrimmage game that ASA insurance won't cover us, but we look at it like a pre season warm up for umpiring. If a coach calls our association, we send rookies with a veteran, normal fees are charged and time limit is from 1 hour 15 to 1 hour 30.
If I take one on my own, I don't charge the normal game fee as no one is taking a booking percentage, I negotiate about
maybe $5.00 below and take cash only. Some coaches will pay
more than regular game fees to get the umpires they want for
round robin friendlies or a fund raising round robin with
single elimination.
If it is just a regular teaching type scrimmage, I'll call
it alone w/a parent or coach on the bases, and allow for instructional time. But, we usually only play about 5 innings or 75 minutes. Here again, cash only and below regular rate. We all can use a little practice to get warmed
up for the upcoming season and a chance to follow new rule
changes. It's also a great time to educate the coaches on
new rule changes so they don't have any misconceptions.