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Originally Posted by MNBlue
I will usually buy some new piece of equipment every year, and I generally have a 'newer' umpire willing to take my old piece of equipment off my hands. Saves them money, and gets the old equipment out of the house.
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Excellent idea. That does help the newer umpires get the proper equipment they need when the vets decide to "trade up" to something else. Sometimes, I've given away older indicators or brushes to newer umpires, especially when they show up without one (or sometimes both).
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Originally Posted by MNBlue
Obviously there are some pieces of equipment that can't be shared, and those will have to be covered by someone. A loan system could be set up. I do know that our association runs a balance to cover accounts receivable that have to be written off. We could certainly float a loan for new umpires to get them started.
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The only hitch with these loans is the problem the "lender" would face if the ump decided that umpiring just isn't for them after a short time. You wouldn't want to send that umpire to collections, but if you're going to invest money into getting them equipment, you'll need some guarantee that you'll get your money back.
I only call SP, and I added up all of the equipment I was wearing tonight. The total came to $280 for just one uniform. Granted, some equipment is used for multiple nights (shoes, sunglasses, ball bag, cap, belt, etc.), but that's still a good chunk of change for just one uniform. A new umpire would probably have troubles coming up with that kind of money before calling a single game.