ASA Blue/Gray
 

Who here owns a set of these? I recently purchased them, and I must say it looks nice! It particularly looks good under the lights. Recently during the heat wave, my partner and I wore the combination of powder blue and grey, and it looked sharp as all heck! A couple of questions:

1) why did ASA introduce this? It is kind of odd that when MLB went to an option of powder blue shirts, ASA went to a dark navy option.

2) I was very surprised that ASA didn't have its umps wear the blue/gray at least ONCE during the World Cup - would have been a nice way to plug it!

3) Anybody think that it is going to be the standard uni of the future? in many, many ways the navy blue trousers are a relic of the past...they certainly are hotter than than the heather gray, plus one little bit of dust makes them look sloppy. A LOT of HS associations (not NY though) mandate the gray these days..not to mention all the people that work both softball and that 'other' game. I can see the navy trousers being phased out over the next 10 years or so....

...lights the match..waiting for the flames....;)

Seattle Metro is predominately Heather Gray pants with Powder Blue shirts. We'll wear our Navy Shirts on a whim - if the crew on that field wants to... but both (or all three) umps have to wear the same. We don't use the Navy pants at all.

In my area ASA is strictly dark blue pants and light blue shirts. Long pants mandatory for fastpitch, shorts optional for slow.

High school for Ohio mandates heather grey pants and dark blue shirts in both baseball and softball.

Those are the only choices offered, nothing else is a allowed , so I've had to buy both. I do get to mix it up a bit in the local summer leagues, where the uniform codes are less stringent.

Metro Phoenix has not used the Navy Blue pants for FP for some time. There are occassions when a National tourney comes in that the UIC will want to use the Navy Blue pants and/or shirts, but not very often.

Our normal uniform of choice is the powder blue shirt with the heather gray pants.

The only thing uglier than powder over gray is dark blue over navy. Gray of any type, heather or otherwise, are not forgiving in the least bit. Don't believe me, watch some of the televised games where gray is worn. Some sweat so much, it looks like they . . . . .well, you get the idea.

I love the "they're cooler" BS because that's all it is. You want cool, wear shorts. You want really cool, get off the dirt. The gray pants will gather and retain as much heat as the blue because that heat is rising from the ground, not the sun.

Even better was when umpires would argue the gray is cooler and then want to wear the dark blue shirts. Sort of defeats the argument, doesn't it?

Obviously, I'm a powder over navy person, but I can accept dark blue over heather gray for evening games.

And before anyone asks, yes, I've worn all combinations mentioned, except the dark over navy.

Our "official" look is powder over heather grey, but we will occasionally go with Dark blue over powder, and even more rarely, cream over heather or even red over navy. I like the red over Navy look - but it's not one everyone owns.

We've used the Gray trousers with either powder or Navy blue shirts in Pa for some time. Like other areas, the grays are required for high school. It's about 50/50 for ASA.
That's OK in cooler weather, but for those who sweat like I do - lemme wear the Navy trousers. On warm days, working the plate, I end up looking like I'm wearing 2-tone pants when wearing the grays.

I really don't care which uniform (except no red), but I wish we could stop wasting money on constant changes and insistence on logos. :(
We usually wish for the same rules among sanctions, but we can't even get to wear the same uniforms. :(

One of the reasons I heard Henry Pollard once use was that so many umpires work HS & college ball, it makes it easier for them if ASA would approve gray.

My opinion, screw the HS & college umpires. Why should someone working a particular association have to purchase multiple uniforms because someone else wants to work another association? I get the privilege of paying the extra expense for a uniform of which will get minimal use so others who can afford to purchase the additional uniforms can have it easier.

I will adapt to ASA, but if they returned to a single uniform, that would be fine by me. That way the umpire pays only for the uniforms of the associations which s/he chooses to work without placing any additional burden on those that don't make that extra money.

I have it.
 

If your game starts before noon, you wear powder blue/navy. After noon to 6pm, powder/grey, after 6, navy/grey. :D

This is approx the schedule and uniform rotation that we followed for a national that I worked a few years ago.....

I wish I knew who made that "choice" It is the WORST possible uniform combination possible.....ridiculous..... if youre gonna wear the stupid grey..wear it with the DARK blue... ridiculous

were all heather grey here for travel ball stuff (JO and mens).. leagues some blue is worn. to me looks nice

ASA needs to authorize the tan shirts!

black for winter :)

Not to mention lavender for spring and rust for fall.

Give me a break. :mad:

"Ooohh. The major leaguers wear this, that and the other. They look neat". Just an example of the number of sheeple in this country. If you want to be a MLB wannabe, go work baseball.

If you want to be an umpire, keep the uniform simple. What's the problem with being unique and having one uniform? It's not a fashion show out there, is it? And I'm not just talking about ASA. The guys that wear red, green, white or yellow shirts, the same goes for them. That's the uniform, why does someone always think that different is better?

Why is there a feeling that if the other guy does it, you have to do it? Sounds a bit like some people have an inferiority complex. IMO, if you need to keep up with the Jone's and it affects someone else, move to another neighborhood.

Heaven forbid we want to look good instead of the tired old baby blue.

:D

Any way, MLB wears light blue. We need choices though! I'm pro choice for Ump uniforms.

But no one said lavender (oddly except you hmmm), although it might be a good contrast for fall ball for ASA's light blue, so i'm suprised its not used...or Perhaps .. pink.

wtf you talkin bout willis?

The Tan looks sharp and cool (heat wise not "Cool :cool: ".) Its a good uniform.

I'll admit I just like the black cuz I like it. Its of little value.

You old timers are fading, and with it, your tenuous grasp on preventing us from looking good while umpiring slips.

You are right about the having to purchase many different shirts though.. its hard enough to make uniforms last 2-3 days or more during a big tourney with one color (in our area is grey/cute blue) and that would be much worse if we were allowed to look good but needed the ASA logo on them... no argument there.

AT LEAST, and I thank god for this, we can wear the heather grey.. the blue pants and baby blue shirt is the worst looking uniform there is. We need to go to a darker grey though, perhaps more like the MLB guys get to wear ;)

RANT ON

ASA Logos..

On EVERYTHING.

If there were ASA underwear, half this board and the umps I work with would run out and buy them.

ARe you kidding me?

Why must ASA Logo be on everything.

I had a UIC at a tourney ask me why I didnt have an ASA ball bag.

OK, My hat has ASA, my shirt has ASA... Im pretty sure everyone at the tourney grasps the fact that we are ASA..

But ASA makes us into their walking neon sign with their lame insistance on LOGOs on everything.

I made up for the fact I dont have a lame ASA ball bag by pulling out my ASA line up holder :rolleyes:.

And guys, ASA socks are for slow pitch.
When a FP umpire is changing and I see they are wearing ASA socks.. I just shake my head. He needs a slap.

ASA underwear coming soon.. pre order your set today.. you know you want some, especially you mike. :D ;)

rant off

My thoughts, not that you care....
 

I like the powder over navy look. I think it looks really sharp.

That being said, I have no problem wearing the various other combinations. I like the Dark blue over gray, but really like the powder blue over gray. But I think the navy blue ball bags look really good with this combination.

I like the gray because they don't show the dirt as much as the navy blue pants. But the gray really look bad when I sweat (which is all the time). I did a game last year here in Indiana where it was a normal summer afternoon (92 degrees, 99 percent humidity) and by the end of the game my pants were wet down to my knees...disgusting I know.

For my national we are wearing gray pants and powder blue shirts. But I'm taking the others just in case.

What is the definition of "uniform"?

All the choices only costs $$$ because have to buy them all so the umpiring crew is wearing the same uniform.

Do football, basketball, etc. referees get a choice of color?

This fashion-industry uniform racket only seems to apply to diamond sports.

It is bad enough I have to buy different shirts for the different associations, but to have to buy 2 or 3 different shirts for EACH one?? Makes me long for the Elbeco days (well, almost).

BTW, we are all heather gray here all the time... all associations, daylight and under the lights. Don't give anyone ideas, OK?

Excellent post wade.

Minneapolis ASA wears powder blue and navy pants almost always. St. Paul allows either combination.

The other ASA organization here is powder blue and gray but they have their own shirt. The by a powder blue shirt with a left chest pocket and then put the organizations emblem on the right chest area. it looks incredibly stupid and unbalanced but that will soon end because ASA is dying here. AFA and USSSA are taking over in terms of numbers.

AFA wears gray/slate or gray/gray/ or black/gray.

Basketball officials have the choice of either traditional wear of the new grayish shirt (byt that shirt has not been apporved fully yet).

Baseball here has many choices. Football still wears the same traditional uniform.

Other stuff...
 

When I do local leagues, often we mix and match, meaning for the first game we will wear powder blue/gray and the second powder blue/navy. Or we might wear powder blue/gray and then navy blue/gray.

I've worn red/navy as a solo crew before...looked really sharp!

Football? Some groups wear the traditional. Others choose to wear traditional for varsity games, White shorts for JV, Black shorts for Jr. High...but then again, they have short sleeve and long sleeve shirts, collared or no collar, etc. Some groups wear traditional socks, others black socks/white socks. Some wear specific association hats, etc.

You get my point.

To clarify...we did not wear the navy shirt with the navy pants at any time.

It was either powder over navy or navy over grey.

This happened before you came on the staff, Darrell.

Looking fashionable/cute/sharp is meaningless.
Uniformity/cleanliness/neatness/professional is meaningful.
Imitating MLB is as useless as imitating NFL/NBA/MLS.

No reason for logos either, just a plain shirt and plain trousers and plain ball bag and plain cap and plain jacket and plain shoes in whatever color combo it would be. Just the same uniform for all sanctions, all leagues, all tournaments, etc.

The guiding principles should be enabling each umpire to have a full uniforms for whatever they work, multiples if needed, at the least practical cost.

Hijacking the thread
 

I once knew a lady named Jean I happened to see her at church one night and said, "Hi Jean." Then I thought about the word Hygene and I said, "I bet you hate that." Then, she said, "It's better than Hijack."

Does anyone here do NSA White shirt with black pants? I will be doing NSA this fall and was wondering where to get the stuff.

:eek:

Opinions are like a$$holes; everyone has one, and believes everyone else's stink!! Well, here's mine.

In our area, ASA isn't remotely the only association, but it is considered the one with the best umpires. The teams expect a certain level of professionalism and expertise, and compare others to ASA as the level to be attained. In that light, we believe it is important that ASA umpires stand out with a standard (uniform) uniform. Our standard is the original ASA standard; powder blue with navy blue. Powder with gray is acceptable, but it so everyone else. We generally only use the dark blue top with gray on championship days, to give a special atmosphere to those games.

We don't want to be like "all the others". We want to be clearly distinguished by the uniform we wear; and it seems to work here. Powder and navy means ASA; and that is considered the best.

Re: NSA uniforms.

The NSA nationals are presently being held in my home city, Columbus, Ohio. This week-long event features 374 teams and all games are held in one location, the 32 diamond Berliner Sports Complex.

That's a lot of teams, a lot of diamonds, a lot of games and it all takes a lot of umpires! Kind of makes me wish that I had decided to pay the $35 fee to become NSA-registered earlier this spring. At the time, I didn't anticipate calling any NSA sanctioned games this summer, so I passed on paying the fee. It would be great to be calling games in this huge tournament atmosphere.

I stopped in to watch a few games last night. Of the dozen or so umpires I saw, each was wearing heather grey pants with the white NSA polo shirts. I'm not sure if they've chucked the black pants altogether- they don't sound like much fun in 90 degree, high-humidity weather- or if the grey pants are considered optional.

I do have one of the white NSA shirts in my "collection". I bought a like-new one on eBay last year for eight bucks! The shirts are cool and comfortable.

All the NSA umpire gear is available for sale at their website.

I knew WHEN it happened..I just want to know who to kill for the stupid, devisive decision...... but at least were not wearing that RIDICULOUS red....

I found the website, Thanks
The black pants are for SP; I will be doing modified but the UIC is requiring the black pants. I will find out more at the clinics like 1 or 2 man etc etc

1 man? at a "national" wow....

Tell us how you REALLY feel!!

And I thought with the tagline of Blue/Gray maybe we might be talkin' Yanks/Rebs . . . was sure Mike would get into that one!

I've been on both sides of that stone wall.

:D

The USSR/red ****s., the logo is on the cap, shirt and shorts. Heck, put ASA on your AS_. lol

My 2 cents, just to get it off my chest
 

I'm breaking my silence on the uniform discussions that are occassionally on the forum. I've been hesitant because I've only been certified for 4 years, but I consider myself an astute umpire/official in all of the sports I work - and one who takes appearances very seriously - I despise wearing shorts, (I only work slow pitch), and internally cringe when I meet my partner who has the ASA-diamond logo on his jacket, or is wearing an earring, or a watch, or a ballbag as the BU. I'd also like to preface my post with the following: I would never even have the incllination of secretly rolling my eyes at my UIC's direction in choice of uiniforms for any league or tournament I have ever or will ever work, and I mean no disrespect at all to anyone on the forum who has differing opinions from mine. That being said:

Technically, I don't feel powder and navy "mean" ASA. It can also mean ISF, various little league sports, etc. "ASA" means ASA. So if I was wanting to distinguish myself, I'd wear stuff that says so, as there are a multitude of uniform combinations out there in baseball and softball. But I get your point for your area.

Now I realize I haven't been doing this for anywhere near as long as most members of the forum, and that I'm probably younger than most as well (I'm 31), and I'll admit I do not know much of the history, unfortunately for me (as I'm very into officiating and team aesthetics, uniforms, history, etc.) of ASA umpire uniforms, but I'll offer what may be perceived as my young, upstart, over-influenced-by-what-I-see-on-television opinion.

It seems to me that some resistance to uniform change comes not just from personal preference for the look of one over the other, but also from simple resistance to change (in this area), in general. I understand this, as I have already developed my own opinions in certain areas in this way. But my thinking involves not just softball, but other sports as well.

For instance, when I first got into officiating basketball, the big discussion had just basically ended and it had been decided that belts were no longer acceptable for looking like a top-tier official. There was resistance. I heard about it. But it has become accepted now, to the point where it's laughable if someone wears a belt to work anything above a 7th grade game. I agree with the powers that be, in that the uniform looks better without a belt. The decade before, the collared shirt was done away with. The collared shirt came from wanting to look more formal, I assume, and was a carryover from earlier uniforms. It is now gone, and the uniform looks better for the change, in my opinion.

Pleats are a touchy subject in softball for some reason, I've discovered. Just not acceptable. I don't quite understand why, beyond people's opinions that I've read on this forum (which I respect), and tradition. In basketball, pleats are sort of still an item of discussion, but not for anyone wanting to move beyond high school. It's now just accepted that pleats are the uniform for college, etc. I think they look great (and, if I may be so bold, I think they make my skinny figure look a lot better). I also think they look great on MLB umpires - I realize that it is borderline sacrilege to reference "that" and "them," but I think most of those guys look pretty good in their pants - and contrary to what others have expressed, I feel it looks more formal, and less like leisure-wear. As far as pants go in general - most softball umpires I see working college or youth tournaments - depending on their size, build, and we'll call it "shape," tend to look like their pants are just a hair too tight. The flat-front, form-fitting navys don't do much for people that have stuff hanging over the belt, in my humble opinion. Through my somewhat "younger" eyes, it looks very dated - even when there isn't anything covering the belt buckle.

As for the blue vs. grey pants discussion, I'm on the grey side as well - when I worked my first tournament, I must admit, I was a bit surprised to see some umpires show up with powder and grey - I had never seen it before - and didn't like it - I think most of my aversion, however, was for their lack of uniformity with the rest of us, and lack of following directions(as the UIC had directed powder and navy), but as time went on, they grew on me, and now are on me from time to time - whenever the assignment permits and I know that my partner will be wearing them, anyway.

Patent shoes/belts are another no-no in softball as of now, as well - unfortunately, in my opinion. The same thing happened in basketball. And it is now near the same as the way those previous basketball discussions ended. I've heard, as the primary argument against them, that they "take away from the game" and/or "draw attention to oneself." I disagree - beyond looking at someone's shoes and thinking, "Man, those look nice. He/she looks good out there." I'm certainly not trying to draw attention to myself in basketball, and have never heard anything to that effect. I'm also not trying to draw attention to myself in softball when I take the field wearing my Honig's patents ever since they came out, and I have never heard anything to that effect on or outside of the diamond, either - other than the multiple, sincere compliments I get from players each month on how nice they look. They certainly are easier to clean - rephrase - wipe off in between games - and the shine is fairly instant when doing so. For that matter, the shine, even when getting covered in dust, is durable throughout most of the games, even though somewhat diminished, depending on the playing surface. That certainly isn't the case with normal shoes with a shine in the dust - god forbid a fresh, wet one. Some military dress uniforms require patent shoes - I don't feel that the intent is to try to draw attention to oneself. It just looks snappy. We're after the shine, right? In the end, that's what we want? That's what my shoes accomplish. And it's 1 instead of 10 minutes spent preparing them every night/in between games.

I'm not advocating or even talking about "immitating the pros," but I think that the directors of those officials' associations probably have a pretty good idea, with rational explanations, about what looks as professional as the job will allow (most of the time), and that some can, perhaps, be learned there from time to time.

Softball uniform change: I do know that softball shirts used to be button-up short sleeves. They're not anymore. I'm pretty sure that the current shirt could be made as a button-up - but it's not. I have to imagine a possible reason for that is that it's no longer seen as necessary to uphold the integrity of the uniform. (The button-ups most likely came from when umpires wore suits, and suit-shirts, I assume.)

I won't even get into the football uniform, as it just makes me giggle, in and of itself. I do hope someday soon I'm no longer wearing a collared shirt. A collar? With the rest of that get-up? I just don't see the need. But then I don't see the need for knee-highs and knickers, either, I guess. But no collar on that ridiculous outfit would be a small, but welcome change/improvement for me. The sad thing is, with as much time as I spend devoted to thinking about this stuff, I can't come up with any real improvements to that thing.

Change happens. And I'm okay with the "one softball uniform for all" argument, I suppose. I let my umpiring/officiating speak for itself - but I certainly do like giving it a headstart with a sharp uniform.

Incidentally, I was lucky enough to receive an assignment at the Men's D Slow Pitch West National in Santa Clara, CA scheduled for 8/31-9/4 (I am ecstatic, proud, and very grateful) and we are wearing powder with grey.

Some things to think about.

Most softball umpires cannot afford custom tailored pants.

What distinguishes ASA is the logo. I have no problem with the logo on the jacket or ball bag. The idea is to promote ASA.

The Elbeco (button-up) shirts looked bad when wet especially on an oversized umpire not wearing a t-shirt. The new shirts are easy to maintain, but the mesh is too tight and doesn't allow the air to flow through as the Mizuno ISF shirts do.

The ASA staff is moving AWAY from formal. This is reflected from the top starting with the elimination of coat and ties once worn by the NUS for clinics.

I don't care what color the uniform is, the only thing that makes it look "sharp" is the manner in which the individual wears and cares for the uniform.

For my 40 years of umpiring, my preference has always been light blue over dark, baseball or softball, balloon or inside chest protector. I will wear the uniform prescribed by the UIC, but that doesn't mean I need to support it's existence and the reason ASA has it. BTW, what I said earlier was the reason Henry gave me, it makes life easier for the guys working HS. To me, that is no reason to force others to expand their wardrobe.

Also, the UIC at a national will usually wear whatever is prevelent in the region the tournament is taking place.

"I don't care what color the uniform is, the only thing that makes it look "sharp" is the manner in which the individual wears and cares for the uniform."

ditto! :cool:

Let me begin my saying that I thought Hawkeye's post was excellent!

In WV, HS mandates powder/heather grey as does our college conference (WVIAC). Because of that, most ASA uses the same. We CAN wear navy/heather in HS and college too. Almost all of our HS and college umpires are in ASA and most donate their time in Little League as well. I personally have Red, Cream and Black too and wear them in LL from time to time. (The cream looks awesome in a night game with black pants, btw.)

I also think Mike had a valid point when he pointed out that it doesn't matter what color - but how it looks. Guys that come on the field with dirty shoes, wrinkled pants, and mustard stain on their shirt should be drawn and quartered! I was critisized on another forum for taking my pants to the cleaners - but I'm too lazy to iron them myself and I want a sharp crease in them. I can usually wash them a time or two in between drycleaner visits but that's just something I choose to do so that I can look my best.

I must have missed the post where someone bought custom made pants.

Now why does this bother you?

I think he means "on the field". I don't know about ASA, but I will not go on the field with a guy that has an earring in or wearing a ball bag if I'm doing HS or LL - it wouldn't happen in college - I only wear a watch if I'm doing ASA or fall ball where there's a time limit on the game.

Why, doesn't you pants have pockets? :)

I dont know about him, but it bothers me when a man does it because it looks lame.

However, that wont prevent me from working with them.

Usually this is at a tourney and with so many games and umps rotating I dont really know how an ump could stomp his foot and say "I wont work with that guy because he looks stupid"

Yep, but it seems to be standard practice around here . . . of course I don't do ASA anymore so it's a moot issue, I apologize for mentioning it.:D

Personally i dont think a watch on a ump looks good... so I dont wear mine.. but i've stopped even wearing my wedding ring after I saw a PU take a shot to the hand that bent in his ring and they almost had to cut the ring off but were able to get some shape back into in and get the ring off his finger.

A few other topics have been added to the thread...

Umpire wearing a watch. My training has been "don't", so I don't (barring brain cramps). Besides looks, a colleague had 2 watches destroyed in the same day by collisions with softballs (they were under his jacket sleeve).

But, I don't use a watch for anything anyway, except for knowing when game time is approaching. For timed games, I use a countdown timer I keep in my pocket. I just hate doing hours-minutes math!

Umpire wearing jewelry. In games where jewelry is forbidden for players (HS, ASA JO ... yeah, I know in the latter it is umpire judgment rather than forbidden, etc.) I just don't think it looks good. I don't mean fashion; I mean a "do as I say, not as I do" appearance. Otherwise, even though I personally don't like body-piercing jewelry, I don't worry about someone else's fashion sense.

Here in Oklahoma, the navy slacks went out about the time the old "embelco"(sp) shirt did. I umpire both FP and SP and in HS FP we're allowed to wear shorts if it's still hot. I know that most HS coaches I've umpired for really don't care if I wear shorts to call their FP games in fact, the HS assigner prefers that we dress comfortable. I also know that wearing shorts in the Oklahoma heat is a lot cooler than slacks. Now for ASA championship play, our state UIC requires the heather grey slacks... Anytime we call at the HOF we always dress our finest...:D

When I worked there, it was powder over navy, no debate, no questions, no options, that was THE uniform, just like the NCAA's.

Mississippi heat is no different than Oklahoma and I would never dream of wearing shorts for a FP game. We wear them for SP but when you have to wear FP gear then shorts are a no no.

Here are our standards:
Fed - Navy/Gray Standard, Powder Blue and Red shirts allowed but still over Gray Pants

ASA - Powder Blue/Gray Pants FP, Powder Blue/ Blue Shorts SP are Standard, Navy Shirt allowed also Gray pants allowed in SP if both umps are same.

This past weekend as I said in this thread (I think), it was a heat wave with temps well over 110 .. I heard 112, 114 etc. This was FP

The UIC said we could wear shorts.

Not one single ump did it.. thankfully.

I do wear them in SP though.

My! My! My! Are we just so taken by our professional standards that we can't dress for comfort? Years ago, my old Metro Assn, UIC, Bill Finley, told me after I asked if we could wear shorts to umpire the Men's Indian FP World Series in OKC in July, "I really don't care if you don't mind looking silly." I wore them that day and no one said anything about them and while the other umpires "looked professional" in their navy slacks, I was comfortable in the 100 degree + heat.

Yes.... I AM taken by my professional appearance....... and you should be too.....and you DID look silly..but hey..it was our choice........ I have found that the shorts arent that much cooler than a nice pair of pants...... but the shorts do match the clown nose better....:cool:

Well, if you dont mind looking silly and you have permission.. what more can be said?

Its pretty unreasonable to say to yourself "man I dont mind looking silly and dont care if I look proffessional, why should anyone else"

Jewelry, other than a wedding band (I'm a newlywed), in my opinion, and the opinion of every other high school sport association that I work, looks unprofessional, and is unnecessary. I have (or had, for the most part) 5 holes in my two ears, and a tongue piercing. I don't wear earrings anymore, but when I started officiating (university intramurals and high shool), they all came out as a part of my getting dressed. I struggled with the rationale of this type of thing when I first started officiating, as I, at that time, had what is commonly now called a goatee, and had bleach-blonde dreadlocks that I could put back in a pony tail, and piercings were a part of my daily adornment. I quickly realized, however, that in order to be taken seriously - especially with my appearance as far younger in age than I actually was - I needed to make some changes to make the kind of impression (with evaluators, coaches, players, spectators, etc.) I wanted to on the field/court - and in order to advance to the next level. The earrings eventually went by the wayside when putting them in and out got to be a hassle (doing it 5 times a week). I got rid of the goatee when I started attending collegiate basketball camps. The dreads went during my first year as well - before I actually started working high school anything.

And yes - I'm talking about "on the field" when I say this: I cringe because it's unnecessary decoration that looks unprofessional, in my opinion - not to mention the door that is being opened for snide ridicule by the high percentage of ignorant redneck (no offense intended to anyone here) men that populate the slow pitch game that I love.

I'm all for personal adornment and decoration. I have many tattoos as well. But I would never get them where they would show while wearing any of my uniforms (other than leg stuff - but as I said - I prefer not to wear shorts whenever possible). I don't feel it belongs there. And I most certainly subscribe to the "if they can't have it, neither can you" philosophy.

Hawk,
A few things for ponderance:
- I agree that excessive ear piercings gives a less professional image. What number is excessive to you? One? Two? Five?
- Why isn't there a mention of Umpire Jewelry in ASA 3-6-F or 10-1-C? It's also not mentioned in section 1 on page 197 of the umpire's manual, either. Why do you suppose that is?
- Does your opinion change if a female umpire comes out with diamond studs earrings? If you're the UIC this weekend, and Male Ump A comes out with a small diamond stud and a small hoop in his left ear, are you going to make him take them out? How about the same with Female Ump B?
- What if the ump can't wear a wedding band, so his wedding "jewelry" is a small hoop earring?

I'm not trying to be a jerk, just playing Devil's Advocate for the sake of discussion...:o

Hawkeye... I want PICTURES! I want to see you in your umpire uniform with jewelry hanging from wherever and blond dreads! Did you have an adjustable cap for your pony tail to hang out? :eek: ;) :)

SRW... you won't find any RULES regarding umpire body adornments. It is a matter, as Hawkeye says, of professional appearance; of being taken seriously. It is more the total package than a technical boundary of 0, 1, 2, ... items.

You won't find a rule about wearing a watch, either. Have you ever been told by a UIC or clinician not to wear one?

And, since it is a matter of appearance, yes, there is a difference between female and male professional appearance in our society.

JMO.

Other than a wedding band, we are not allowed jewelry in HS or College around here. It's actually something we get in writing from the clinicians. Personally, I think it detracts from the professional looks to wear an earring. That being said, I do leave my nose ring and tongue ring in because it's just so hard to get them back in once I take them out.:D

That was precisely my point... ;) Every area has their own standards as to what is acceptable and what is not when it comes to jewelry on an umpire. One person's view of what is "acceptable" may not be another's. That's why it will never be mentioned in the rulebook.

Does ASA wear a black patch?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASA-Umpire-Badge...QQcmdZViewItem

They're really navy blue, and that's the old logo patch. I've got a few floating around somewhere.