[Tru_in_Blu]

We're actually in the middle of a large invitational ASA tournament this weekend.

Our UIC has had a rough time getting umps to cover 10U (single ump games during pool play) and 12U thru 18U+. (First I've seen the 18U+ category. I don't think it's a classification from ASA. Could have been made up for this type of tournament.)

We've got a couple/few guys from out of state, we're using some of our slow pitch guys on bases, and we've got 2 or 3 umps who cannot work plates for various and sundry reasons.

Our temperatures reached into the mid-90s on both Friday and Saturday which is not uncommon for NH.

I'll second the notion about an umpire shortage. It also didn't help that there are 2 other ASA invitational tournaments going in in NH this same weekend, further exacerbating a difficult time of finding umps to work.

I know we're using some folks that might otherwise not be asked to work but because of the shortage we're pressed into using them.

For Sunday, we've got folks working as many as 5 games and there are breaks in between games. But there are some that have 4 games in a row.

And, like many areas, we have the dollar chasers. And we have stupid umpires who say they can work 4, 5, or 6 games a day. These are the folks that the UIC needs to protect from themselves. But when you're scrambling, you have to make concessions. We had a lot of drop-outs, and today had a couple of umps go down.

I'm at the point where I tell my UIC that I'm best for 2 games a day, with or without a break in between. If he's really stuck, I'll do 3 games but not in a row. Right now I've got 2 for tomorrow which suits me just fine. I know trying to fill a bracket with a bunch of umps that can only do 2 games a day isn't realistic, but that's what I can comfortably manage these days.