[Jim Porter]

David,

You're in the same boat as the leagues are in my district, nay - - my whole state. I'll be honest - I accept pay as a Little League umpire. Why? Because that's how it works here and has for more than two decades. Leagues in Rhode Island who do not pay for umpires have none. It's that simple. In fact, we discuss fees and dictate that the host team pays the umpires for the district tournament. And we've had three umpires from our district work three different World Series in the last three years - all of whom accepted payment for umpiring LL games.

But those umpires, as well as myself, volunteer our time in other ways. For example, I'm an ADA. I don't get paid for affidavit night, but I'm there for hours pouring over birth certificates, maps, and medical releases. I don't get paid to supervise at tournaments every day or set up brackets or go to monthly meetings.

Also, so that we observe LL's tradition of volunteerism, all of our State Tournaments are volunteer. We do not pay even umpires for those.

So, no worries David. I was just explaining the intent behind LL's preference for volunteers. I can understand why a league feels it necessary to pay for umpires. I would be a hypocrite if I said otherwise.