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Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA
Actually, I'm referring to all facets. The incident to which I referred was a national, not a local friendly. Then again, the HS & college games in this area pay good enough to afford whatever uniform is necessary.
Speaking of motivation, would not the expense of multiple uniforms actually make it more difficult to get umpires to register and/or attempt to move up the ladder?
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In my view, there is no excuse, other than laziness, for an umpire to show up at any game assignment (let alone an ASA national fer cryin' out loud) without the required uniform(s). If they can't afford the proper and required uniform parts (ALL of them), then they should decline the assignment. The very least would be to communicate the problem in advance; your umpires did not even do that (even though you asked). I assume this was properly reflected in their evaluations.
I agree with you that there is no need for ASA to allow multiple uniform combinations as full-fledged ASA National Championship Finals to accomodate the uniforms the possible umpire pool owns. ASA should set the uniform standard for those tournaments based on the image they want to put forward for their umpires, and require umpires to obtain the proper uniform, or go home.
However, for the so-called "regional nationals", the story is different. The umpire pool for these is (by my experience) almost exclusively local. For those, the tournament UIC needs the flexibility (I would think) to ensure he has the games covered with qualified umpires.
On a personal level, I'm with Steve - I spend the money necessary to have the proper uniforms and to keep them looking professional. AFA in my area allows either black or gray shirts. They prefer black non-logoed hats and black non-logoed ball bags, but they allow navy blue for both hats and bags to accomodate local umpires. So, when I do AFA tournaments locally, I have in my kit all combinations, so I can match whatever my partner shows up with.