Quote:
Originally Posted by mbcrowder
Count me in the minority, I guess. I like having options (assuming your partner has the same thing you do). I like the cream over grey or cream over navy look especially when it's near or over 100 degrees. I like the navy over grey when it's colder. Powder blue over grey is the rule around here, but we are allowed to wear what we like (other than red) provided our partner matches.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skahtboi
I must be in that same minority.
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I know a number of our MN people read this board, so this post may be impolitic, but I'm going to rant anyway.
When I started umpiring, it was "summer" girls fastpitch teams only and everything was ASA. The state ASA association required us to wear their shirts (ASA-like powder blue, but with the state association's logo on them) and heather gray pants, official ASA hats with a "current year registered" iron-on patch on the hat. After a few years of ASA only, I started doing high school ball. Their uniform required powder blue shirts, but with red/white/blue trim and no logos on anything (hat, ball bag, shirt, jacket... no logos). So, I bought new shirts, hats, ball bags and jacket.
Then, politics and power plays started in summer girls ball. First, a number of the local teams/leagues started an organization and affiliated with AFA, and after a couple of years using the high school uniform for AFA, they required that we use THEIR local shirts (ASA-like, but with their logo) and then a year later required we use the AFA shirts (black and gray). AFA promptly folded here due to more politics (involving the same people who started it here in the first place) so I got to use my new AFA shirts for one season. The local group that brought in AFA then started up a female division of the former all-male NAFA and required that we use their shirts and hats. More politics ensued and several leagues / communities went back to ASA and/or went to USSSA (which required red U-trip shirts and U-trip hats).
Understand, I haven't moved; I'm with the same umpire association; the local leagues / towns that I umpire girls fastpitch have not changed, I'm still pretty much calling in the same tournaments, but now to get a decent number of games and to umpire in all of the same tournaments I used to umpire in, I need uniforms for ASA, NAFA, and USSSA, while I have in my closet obsolete uniforms for AFA and the local organization.
Now, the MSHSL (high school) has decided to obsolete the power blue w/red/white/blue trim shirts and go with the power blue with navy/white trim, but no logo (maybe not coincidentally, the same as our local NCAA umpires wear). So, next year, I'll have another set of shirts joining the obsolete stack in my closet.
Now, I decided to call high school ball, so the initial HS uniform is on me. But when the same summer leagues / teams in just a few years time go from ASA to AFA to local to NAFA to NAFA+ASA+USSSA uniforms, all for (as this umpire on the outside looking in sees it) political reasons (not to mention money), and, (perhaps at the request of the NCAA umpires???? - pure speculation there...) the MSHSL changes shirts, it gets old (and expensive). Next year, when the red/white/blue high school shirts are no longer legal, I will have almost as many obsolete shirts in excellent game condition as I will have active shirts... and I would have more except I now need to have 3 completely different shirt / hat sets for the same set of teams and tournaments that used to be covered by one.
Maybe I'm supposed to feel grateful, or at least lucky, they all use heather gray... but that's the ONE thing I wish they would change since heather gray promptly fades to brownish-pink well before the pants themselves become unserviceable.
Options? Spare me.