if an coach has an electronic communications device because he/she is an emergency response professional, then he/she is allowed to have or wear it.

ASA 4.7.5 does not support this.

Remember, these rules are for championship play, not local leagues. If you want to allow this in local Tuesday night league play, that's your prerogative. I would only ask to make sure that said radio does not pose a distraction to other players.

But as far as ASA is concerned with respect to Championship play, this is not allowed.

Period.

yeah, I gotta read better. I didn't even notice the ASA in the subject till you pointed to it. I was thinking FED.

This was brought to the attension of the SoCal UIC at the Rules Clinic. He stated as long as the Iphone was beening used as a scorebook it is legal.

Which is the exact opposite the region 7 UIC said.

he broke it down pretty simply: If the electronic score-keeping device had the ability to communicate in any way to another device or could also take video, it should not be allowed.

a 'PDA' as long as it did not have the ability above would be legal.

Ok so when I come out to Region 7 No iphone.l When you come out to Region 14 Yes iphone. But let's not forget Socal is the Fastpitch mecca. :D

I agree, and there will be no exceptions. And I am not concerned about the communications as much as I am the bulkiness and danger to others should they get involved in a play. If it is small, like a cell phone, pager, etc. they can keep it in their pocket where the umpire cannot see it. If it goes off and they need to respond, that individual may elect to leave the field and respond accordingly.

I deal with police, firefighters and EMTs all the time on the field. If the need to have communications equipment, someone on the bench can monitor it while they elect to enter the field.

If they have a problem with that, I guess they shouldn't have planned to be on the field while they were working.

Around most of small town America the firefighters and EMT's are volunteers. They aren't "working". They're on call. They go about their daily routines untill the beeper beeps.

If we're ONLY talking Tuesday night rec league, I have no problem with allowing an on-call emergency services worker keep his radio on his belt so long as:

1 - It doesn't cause any major distractions on the field (ie., constant chatter)
2 - It doesn't pose any safety problems for anyone.

Most of these radios are now pretty small. I can't imagine the radios I've seen causing any problems on the field, and the wearer can turn it down pretty easily.

Common sense needs to be applied here. By rule, would I be justified in having him remove it from the field? Yes. Am I going to ask an emergency services worker to do so? If the two conditions above are met, my answer is no, I won't ask him/her to remove the radio.

Yes, that is mainly to I am referring. But it really doesn't make any difference to the thread.

Again, if it is that small, it can go in their pocket where the umpire cannot see it to rule upon....

In my area, a radio is kept in the dugout and can be heard by the players on that side of the infield.

Common sense should tell the umpire to insure the safety of other participants. Would it be a rarity if someone was? Absolutely. Is that a reason to forego the rules? I don't think so.

BTW, if you are in an area where police officers are required to be armed at all times, do you let them on the field with a sidearm? Of course, you don't. Why? Because common sense tells you that doing so places the other players in danger.

A sidearm is a deadly weapon. I've yet to see a radio in .40 S&W, but call me when you see one. I'd love to test it out on the range. :D

In leagues, we let plenty of rules slide all the time. Do we force the players to all wear 100% matching uniforms? Tuck in their shirts? Keep from stepping out of the dugout for a smoke? No. Are these rules always in writing? No, but we're exercising common sense. The leagues here have made it clear to us that the emphasis is on participation, not solely on competition.

ASA rules are written for ASA championship play, not for Tuesday night rec league. So if the tempo set by the league is that we should focus more on participation while maintaining safety and the integrity of the game, AND the radio does not pose any safety threat (unlike a loaded sidearm), I see no problem with letting someone like an EMT keep the radio on his person if he's on call. I may ask him if he could put it in the dugout, and I could easily sell him on the idea. He'll probably comply, but I won't push that issue. There's wiggle room.

If it's an ASA tourney, on the other hand, then there is no wiggle room.

It is a hard, protruding item that is not part of the uniform or game equipment. IMJ, it is just as dangerous as a radio attached to a belt. Understand, I'm beyond the communications point, but items not allowed in the coaching box in general.And I do understand the difference between championship play and local ball. However, I've never played or umpired in any league that did not use championship play rules with specific amendments. However, the default was always the rule book.

I'm sensing that there is a tendency here to give firefighters/EMTs special treatment. I don't buy it. For that matter, wouldn't it make sense to be more cognizant of and more stringent in the enforcement of the rules involving player's safety at the rec level than in a highly competitive atmosphere?

I suspect most emergency response professionals can get away with just setting down their device, but doctors have a special predicament.

doctors are bound by doctor-patient privilege. they can't have so-and-so's cancer status, or procedure being announced or being fielded by anyone, so they might not want to put down that cell phone w/ push-to-talk feature. they could find themselves in liable and in legal hot water over a very small careless leak of information.