I find it totally stoopid that NFHS doesn't list a chest protector nor shin guards (if memory serves) as required umpire equipment.... maybe they want us to get hurt? :confused: or just maybe they think that COMMON sense would dictate what a umpire would wear?
We have a few guys in our association that wear nothing but a face mask (well ok, they wear the required uniform too ;) ) and I didn't start using a nad protective device till last year (deedudee, here's your sign) kinda weird how protecting the nads reduces flinching on low pitches ..lol

Wearing Chest Protector
 

It goes beyond the Ump getting hurt. We've contracted to officiate a game. We're the binding arbitrator (don't we wish the coaches and fans truly believed that). An umpire hurt becomes an umpire less efficient. An umpire hurt to the point of leaving a game leaves the game without proper coverage. The chest protector may be a little uncomfortable in the hottest of weather, but in general it's part of the assurance you bring to the game. Trying to be macho about it is, to me, putting ego before responsibility. Wear the CP.

Page 19 of the NFHS 2008 and 2009 Umpires Manual has the following:

A mask with a throat protector is required in FP...

The inside-style chest protector and leg guards are strongly recommended in both FP & SP.

Shoes should be solid black with no white or colored markings.

A ball bag is mandatory for the plate umpire.

The fitted cap shall be navy blue and is mandatory for all umpires. The fitted cap shall never be worn backwards.

Male umpires shall wear a protective cup.

So there are some clear requirements and some strong suggestions.

Ted

Curious as to why they're more interested in protecting our twigs 'n' giggleberries than they are in protecting our hearts, ribs and collarbones.

Perhaps they are hoping we will produce the future generations of arbiters. :D

Well, they may be right, considering my father was an umpire before me.

Guess its easier to administer resuscitation when your heart stops from a chest hit... than the former. (don't even know what kinda rehab you'd have to get for a lower unit shot) although one of my good friends told me about his lower unit getting mashed by a grounder that jumped up and bit him while he was working the bases (I've worn a cup ever since... on the plate... not the bases :D )

Don't know 'bout you, but I'm sure there are a few Hot Moms in the stands I'd love to see try. :D

Social experiment. If you're too stupid to not wear a chest protector, they want you thinned from the herd. The same concept should apply to warning labels. :)

I've always worn a cup, on plate and bases. Just one less thing to worry about.

I wear a cup, and I only call SP. On really bad nights, I even wear the small soccer-style shin guards. That ball doesn't hurt much the first time, but it always finds that same spot on my shin bone.

You've heard of "Chinese water torture." I call it "Slow Pitch Catcher Torture."

Ah yes, I know it well. Especially the catchers that are too afraid of being closer than 10 feet to the plate. :rolleyes:

on the bases too? dang. after a 6+ game day i'd be chaffed like a mofo. :D

What can I say, I like my boys. :D

Two anecdotal incidents...

This was about three years ago. In the men's fastpitch league where I play, they follow ASA rules in respect to catcher's equipment. There are always one or two grizzled old catcher's that skip the chest protector. Saw one take a foul ball right to the collar bone- snapped it like a twig. Finished his season and even now, a few years later, he is still having problems with that arm. And, he now wears a chest protector!

This one was last weekend where I work indoor games for a high school league. A couple of the other umpires I work with are FED-certified blues. A few of them are mainly just employees of the indoor facility who have done some rec ball.

One of the rec guys was behind the plate wearing an ill-fitted catcher's chest protector. I had always regarded this as an accident just waiting to happen. I showed him my "real" umpire CP and talked to him about wearing it properly in the past.

Sure enough, it finally happened. He took a foul ball where the CP had drooped down away from his neck. This one didn't break the bone- it dislocated the joint where the collar bone connects into the front of the shoulder.

Yesterday, his arm was in a sling and he will be laid up for an indefinite amount of time.

lol.. i feel ya... you.. not them. :D