Giving Game Fees back

[IowaMike]

I don't work for free. The only time I have was a benefit basketball game for a kid who was fighting cancer, which is a completely different thing altogether. They are playing a tournament to make money and they want you to pay to work it? That's pretty ballsy in my opinion. I'd tell them no thanks and look elsewhere. As a previous poster noted, we all spend a lot of money on equipment, local and state association fees, and sometimes clinics as well. I do it because I enjoy it but I also consider it a part time job to earn some extra cash. If they can't afford to pay umpires, then they aren't doing a very good job of running their tournament. I don't know about the area where you live, but most assigners and schools in my area would be pretty hesitant to blacklist an umpire for refusing to kick back money to work a tournament, because they are pretty difficult to find anymore. There are a million places I can pick up games if I want to, so I'm certainly not going to work for free and would be even less likely to pay to work.