Jewellery rules.

[bobbrix]

again, youth girls fast pitch ....(11 year olds)

"no jewellery" rule ...
players are supposed to remove all jewellery (except medical id bracelets/chains)

one team shows up and some of the players have those
round bandaids covering the fronts of their pierced ear rings

your calls, please !! let the covered jewellery stay or have them take the bandaided earrings off ????


(( not sure if the rule is their for sun reflections or
for safety or maybe both ??? ))


thanks in advance ... bobbrix

[AlabamaBlue]

Gotta come out. The rule exists for safety purposes, to avoided earrings being ripped out, or necklaces from choking or breaking opponents fingers.

[alabamabluezebra]

It really depends on the set of rules that are in effect.

NFHS - No Jewelry
ASA - No exposed jewelry.
Dixie - In our district, no jewelry. Others may be different.

There are some lively threads concerning this subject on every softball officiating forum I've visited.

[kellerumps]

If I can't see, I don't worry about it. For all I know, the girl has an infected ear

[blue]

ASA refers to exposed jewelry. If the player covers the earring with a band-aid, the jewelry is no longer exposed. That's good enough for me, regardless if I know there is an earring under the band-aid or not.

[bobbrix]

as always, a host of excellent replies ... thanks

i always try to get them removed ... what about puncture wounds from those earring points if they get hit in the side of the head ??? (maybe I'm too fussy)

anyway, this is a great example of what we get paid for, making judgements

[Skahtboi]

bobbrix:

What rules are you using? As has already been noted, if there is a no jewelery rule such as Dixie and NFHS have, then it has to come off. If, like ASA and USSSA, it leaves it to the discretion of the umpire, then I would have to rule according to whether or not I deem it dangerous.

alabamabluezebra:

It should be the same in Dixie everywhere. This is a rule, it is in the book.

2:05 For safety and injury prevention; casts, jewelery such as wristwatches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, hair barrette, hairpins, ponytail holders that are made of a hard substance, rings, or any other items deemed dangerous by the plate umpire SHALL NOT BE WORN during the game.

The capitalization is the way it is written in the book. The penalty for failure to comply to this rule is removal from the game.

Scott

[bobbrix]

yes, Skahtboi, i'm just pointing out that the judgement of one umpire is not the same as the next

i ump in canada, so we use CSA rules

in fact, i had a coach ask me this the other day, that he wants to know how we will rule if any of his players bandaid their earrings ... i told him i would get some opinions of others and told him how i work it, and i told him to expect different 'judgements' from different umpires

just goes to show that no matter how they write the rules, there's always someone out there with their own interpretation

so, i came here for the opinions of others and now i have lots of them !!! ... thanks to all

[Duke]

NFHS - It all comes out. No if, and or buts. Pretty straightfoward rule. Ever notice how all softball players seem to get their ears pierced just before the season starts...Player: "Ump, I can't take them out I just had my ears pierced." Ump: "Oh ok, you can leave them in. You just can't participate in the game."

[Skahtboi]

Yeah Duke, I have had to make that call more times that I can count. There has to be some law of nature that explains this!

Scott

[alabamabluezebra]

2:05 For safety and injury prevention; casts, jewelery such as wristwatches, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, hair barrette, hairpins, ponytail holders that are made of a hard substance, rings, or any other items deemed dangerous by the plate umpire SHALL NOT BE WORN during the game.

I guess the key words are "deemed dangerous by the plate umpire". Some umpires, associations, and/or leagues can be less vigil than others. Even though we instituted a "zero tolerance" policy on jewelry (especially earrings) in our district, we still have umpires that allow girls to cover with tape or bandaids. It causes alot of grief for those that enforce the rules set by our UIC. Since most of our umpires are new and inexperienced, they tend to take the path of least resistance refusing to make the tough calls like illegal pitches, 8' circle violations, slinging bats, etc.

[Andy]

Originally posted by Duke
NFHS - It all comes out. No if, and or buts. Pretty straightfoward rule. Ever notice how all softball players seem to get their ears pierced just before the season starts...Player: "Ump, I can't take them out I just had my ears pierced." Ump: "Oh ok, you can leave them in. You just can't participate in the game."

Two more comebacks:

I don't think your holes will close up in the hour and a half it takes to play this game.

Oh, you just got them pierced? And how long have you known that this game today was on your schedule?

[Skahtboi]

alabamabluezebra:

To paraphrase some others on this board, if you have people in your association that are refusing to make the tough calls, ask them why they are taking the money for the job that they do. Let them know that umpiring is not about choosing which rules to apply and which not to, it is about enforcing the rules. Not doing so constitutes fraud of sorts when they are taking the money and not doing the job. The only choice they have is to do it by the book or to not do it at all.

Good luck!

Scott

[alabamabluezebra]

Scott,

We have an extreme shortage of umpires in our area especially during the HS season. AlabamaBlue has documented some of his experiences on this forum. Like he stated, we have a number of umpires that don't belong on the field due to health issues, lack of interest, or inexperience. Many of the HS umpires that call after their season is over don't even crack the Dixie rulebook before calling games. There are very few umpires in our association that aggressively study and discuss the rules. I don't know the best way to correct the situation since I am not in a position to legislate changes. Since I have two young daughters playing, I feel obligated to continue umpiring to help make a difference for the girls. As a manager of a team, I try my best to educate the team parents but I understand their (parents) frustration when an umpire calls a batted ball resting on home plate "foul", not allowing a girl to advance to first after HBP because the ball hit the ground first, etc. I can't wait for the civility of football season!

[Skahtboi]

Ouch! Sounds like you have a long row to hoe there. Good that you stick with it and are diligent in rules study/application. Maybe, just maybe, you will eventually make an impression on the newer, less skilled umpires.

Scott