[Bill S]

Although there is nothing specifically in writing in our rule book or casebook, in this day and age we follow the guidance given by our National UIC.

We all know there are people out there circumventing rules and people are getting hurt.

We absolutely teach to stop play immediately if there is an injury whether it is youth or adult. You can sort thins out later but the health of the player is paramount.

The following is an email from Mr. Cantrell from 2006. Things have not changed much. actually getting worse.

Hope this helps clear this up.

Bill

Hey folks,

This is a friendly reminder to our umpires about injuries in NSA sanctioned play. We have gotten a few this year and for the most part we have done a pretty good job of doing what we are supposed to do concerning injuries. But, some of us have either forgot the protocol or haven't been to a clinic or convention when this was discussed. So in brief I'll go over the procedure of what we are to do when we have an injury on the field concerning the equipment.

1st - someone secure the bat and the ball and never lose sight of it, lock them both in a room, car or somewhere secure.

2nd - Issue the owner of the bat and ball a receipt for the bat and ball

I know that this may sound a little non-feeling towards the injured player but we have directors, fellow teammates, park directors, uic's or our partner on the field to tend to the injured player while waiting on medical personnel to arrive.

3rd - Ship the bat to me here at the NSA National Office @ 101 NSA Way, Nicholasville, Ky 40356.

What will happen to the bat and ball then is this. I will compression check the bat. If the bat compression is lower than what would be normal break in level for that model we will either send the bat to NY university for bpf testing or sent to the mfg if the bat looks to be tampered with.

We have one bat at a mfg now from an injury that looked altered to me when it arrived and I immediately sent it off to the mfg to see what their findings were.

If the player refuses to give the bat or ball up, then we refer to the altered bat and ball rule in the Official NSA Rule Book in Rule 3; Equipment.

Lastly, we HAVE TO HAVE a injury report on file. Even if the injury looks minor, it could escalate to something more serious and we have to have the report on file. This is to protect you as an umpire if the case goes to court, and it gives NSA, and our insurance company firm ground to stand on; that we have done everything in our power to protect our players well being. If we cover all the bases, we are all protected; but it starts with you the umpire, the uic, the director, the zone VP.

Make sure that this is sent to all of your uic's, umpires, directors, state directors, parks, leagues, etc.


Have a "BLESSED DAY"! John 3:16
Eddie Ray Cantrell
NSA/BPA Executive VP & National Director of Umpires