Scheduler Program
 

As the President of a local Board, I'm interested to find out what online computer programs are being used to schedule your umpires to cover games.
Thanks!

Local association uses The Arbiter (www.thearbiter.net).

It isn't cheap, but makes life easier for the assignors.

And for the umpires!

Our association just bought a program this year called referee assistant. The secretary of our board really likes it - I think it only cost about $80, so it might be an alternative for someone who can't afford the more expensive programs.

Yup, My college groups use it and a local group just signed up.

I believe the annual licensing fee for Arbiter is $4/umpire; not sure of the up-front fees. For a large organization it is well worth it.

We have 200+ BB and SB H.S. umpires; 60+ schools, and 6,000 games to schedule each spring. Arbiter does it all in minutes. (Of course there is a lot of data entry prior to reaching the scheduling runs.) Umpires have a lot of control; we can go to on-line calendar and block out days or time slots that we are not available; we can block teams or schools; it handles partners, and differentiates between BB and SB umpires (thank God for little favors!). It will schedule different levels (Var, JV, FR) based on umpire ratings. When the AD wants to add a make-up game in the middle of the season, Arbiter shows the Assignor who, at what level is available, and can communicate on-line to both the umpire and the AD.

Our schedules are on-line; the system auto e-mails for changes or new games being added. It sends out reminder e-mails a couple days ahead of game time. You see all the game details, partners phones and email address, school data, AD and Coaches; even can show maps to schools.

We spent a year evaluating systems before selecting Aribiter. In our third year we got mad at them and went back into the market to research again. Came to same conclusion, so we settled our differences and went forward with the on-line system. They are simply the best. And tech support is very strong.

WMB

I also strongly prefer TheArbiter. Pricing is actually based on the number of users and options; here's a look at my pricing screen.
Maximum Officials 80 0 $5.00
Sub-Assigners 1 0 $25.00
Payroll 1 0 $49.00
Check / 1099 0 0 $50.00
Evaluation 0 0 $99.00
Penalty Report 0 0 $99.00

I believe the max is $6 for up to 50, $5 for 51-99, then $4 for 100+. These are annual charges. Options include adding subassigners, payroll module, check writing and 1099 module, and evaluations. The key here is that being web-based, your officials can check the system from anywhere and anytime, update their calendar multiple times a day, if necessary. Sites have direct links to Mapquest. Your assignor can give varying levels of permissions to individuals, as he sees fit; some may be allowed to view their partners before accepting an assignment, board members can see the master schedule, some can be allowed to self-assign. Umpires can block individual sites, teams, or partners; the assignor can do those blocks without the umpire knowing that John refuses to work with him.

Even better, when you belong to multiple associations (even in different sports), it is impossible to double-book. Once one has assigned, you are blocked on other associations. When you block a date for personal reasons, it can block you in all (or just some) associations at once.

It is simply the best. And fairly intuitive to use; both for the umpires, and the assignors.

arbiter is great.. not sure you can go wrong with it.