Scrimmages - how do you handle?

[Dakota]

For whatever it's worth, here are my thoughts...

The biggest concern I would have would be insurance. Since this is not likely to be an event sanctioned by any of the softball organizations (ASA, ASA, etc.), if you have insurance through them, it probably won't cover you.

Are they looking to you to set the "ground rules"?

If so, and assuming a multi-team format, I'd suggest a 65 minute time limit, additional mercy rule (15 after 3, 10 after 4, 8 after 5), no tie breaker, free substitution, and round-robin (bat-the-bench) batting.

If you have some new umpires, use it as a way to get some experience for them. Make sure the coaches know you will be using some rookie umps, and may need to interrupt the game for a "teaching moment" and that you will tolerate no guff from the coaches about rookie calls.

If I was using rookies, I'd go with some sort of discount on game fees, but not free.

If the coaches don't want rookies, I'd charge full game fees.