umpires conferring

[wadeintothem]

I actually had this debate recently whereby a coach was saying (fairly vigourously) by rule that me and my partner could not confer because a judgement call is not "appealable". He also said that the other coach could not even ask about it because the call wasnt protestable.

Obviously the layman's usage of the terms"appeal" does cause them confusion as they misread rules.

If an umpire thinks that he is missing a part of the puzzle to make a call that his partner may well be able to provide, it is entirely appropriate in many instances for an umpire to go to his partner.

Because of the nature of some calls and/or the positioning of partners at certain times, it would be inappropriate to go to them because they do not have a credible vantage. In those instances, you are actually throwing your partner under the bus if you cannot stand firm on your call.

I think UMPIRE training and experience will let you know when your partner can provide credible (i.e. "saleable") input.