Patrick

[Paddy]

Hi Larry,

just to add to what Alex wrote, one of the reasons that we don't wear gray is because in international softball (read ESF and ISF) you are supposed to wear navy blue pants and light blue shirt. The rules that we normally play by are ISF rules (translated into dutch off course) so that makes us wear the same colors.
Our federation took our light blue shirts several years ago and made us wear the same as the baseball umpires, just last year they gave us grey pants as well. And just like Alex said some feel like we look to much like baseball umpires now and don't like it at all. It doesn't make a big difference to me, but then again I was the only umpire at our last meeting to say so. The rest wanted to go back to navy blue.
Hope that answers your question.
Maybe for next year the organisation can aarange light blue shirts, but that won't make a difference this year.
BTW reading some websites I see that a lot of federations don't have strict dress code. From what I read if you are doing ASA one state requires navy blue and another requires grey or is there a logic in it.

Bye,
Patrick