New ASA Shirts
 

In honor of "going green" this year, ASA has announced that they will permit a new style shirt for ASA umpires.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7...4016e67361.jpg

The "Blues Go Green" shirt will be available on Officialgear.com later today, and will start at $29 per shirt (the extra $4 going towards "go green" programs).

I almost forgot what day it was....

...And was hoping that maybe ASA had come out with a new shirt that didn't breathe like Saran Wrap or have the texture of sandpaper! :D

New shirt was developed to allow the umpires a place to use those old pink buttons.

The matching pants would be khaki that will show every bit of sweat and dirt, but will look cool!

And let's not forget the all-black Docksiders, Bass or Clark deck-shoes. Socks are optional.

It's one of my better 'Shops... :D

Now we have something to do with the grey pants that have turned lavender!!!

Actually, all joking aside, that would be a cool shirt IMO.

You guys who are in the know ASA wise....is there any possibility of this happening:
1) Any time soon?
2) In the foreseeable future?
or 3) No?

There was some discussion at the last ASA Council meeting on this issue. ASA properties has been researching some alternative fabrics, but they have said that the issues they are running into are the durability of lighter weight fabrics and the cost. Evidently, the lighter weight fabrics cost more.

I seem to remember a thread about this as well. I will see if I can find it.

Here it is: http://forum.officiating.com/softbal...ghlight=shirts

umpire bears the cost. ASA make the profits, they just pass on the cost.

Smitty puts out an affordable, well made umpire shirt with performance fabric.

Somehow, I've managed to get this far in life without depending on the ASA to make the cost/quality/wear-ability, etc. decisions for me in all of my other items of apparel. Why does ASA feel the overwhelming desire to "protect" me from myself when buying uniforms?

Just offer a choice! What's wrong with that? Let the umpires make their own decisions on what trade-offs they want to make on durability, fabric, and cost!

As I said in the other thread, if they want to tackle a useful issue with uniforms, fix the heather gray fade to pink in nothing flat issue.

IIRC, this came up at the NUS in Burlington this year. They wanted to get the shirts sometime this year, but there are issues with changing over the inventory and getting the supplies up.

My understanding from a couple sources is that they'd probably go with something more like the Dalco shirts.

New shirts for ASA...
 

will be out middle of April, according to our Region UIC. He put this out on 25 March. Said cost would be about $32.00.

Purchase Officials Supply (in Akron) has been supplying our local high school group (in Columbus) Smitty brand shirts with the Ohio High School Athletic Association embroidered on them (a more intricate design than "ASA" and with multiple colors of thread) for $25. Their regular price through their website is $30. Plain Smitty shirts, with no logo, run $24.

Oh, yes...and they include a pocket!:D

These are lightweight shirts using "high-tech" fabric, they breathe, they're generously cut and roomy. So I guess that shirts like this can be had for just a tiny premium over the old ASA shirts.

Unless Dalco has changed their material (which wouldn't be a big surprise, since most of the manufacturers seem to be going that way) these were always some of my least favorite shirts. The material was stiff and wrinkled easily. No matter how I washed or dryed them, they came out wrinkled and they's get more wrinkled just hanging up in the closet. The material was so stiff that it wasn't even like normal wrinkles. It was more like hundreds of small permanent creases! And the mesh on these was so wide that you could read the logo on your chest protector or undershirt.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Well, look who emerged from his cave!:p