Little League World Series Umps

[Publius]

[QUOTE=Multiple Sports;903047][QUOTE=PeteBooth;902943][QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Multiple Sports

To be completely honest, I see a real trend in officiating today, where guys
are stepping out on the field or court poorly trained or not trained at all and are either in it for the money or are volunteering...

...but nobody is owed anything in officiating.....

Paying everybody the same begets poor officiating. Why would someone invest in training if they're in it for the money, and training does not result in a return on that investment? If the 3-year dropout rate is any indicator, most people who step on a court or field don't think officiating is all that enjoyable, so people who want good officials need to make getting better a worthwhile proposition.

Nobody is owed anything in officiating, sure. That cuts both ways: Game participants aren't owed good officials, either. I'm so sick of hearing how 'X' team or league "deserves the best officials." They all get pretty much what they deserve, and nowhere is that more apparent than the LLWS.

In both my observations and experience, in amateur baseball, generally, the better you pay the umpires, the better the umpires you get.