GT v FSU

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by KJUmp

Two years ago (2010) the subject covered almost two pages in the Manual the most salient points to the OP being:

"Umpires are explicitly advised and strongly urged to seek help on the following:
>When they are missing, or could be missing, crucial information needed to make a judgement.
>When they have a doubt.
>When doubt has been created."

"If you are missing a piece of information necessary to making a call, go to your partner, unsolicited, prior to rendering any decision."

"If doubt is created immediately after making your call, then, again unsolicited go to your partner for the information needed."

This season it's down to a paragraph in which the first three sentences read...

"The are times by rule and circumstance that umpires need to ask for help. Going for help does not destroy an umpire's credibility, but allows an umpire to receive a piece of information that was missed when rendering a call. Anytime an umpire seeks help from a partner that partner must have a credible position to give assistance on the call."

And the substantive difference in removing all that prior language? The new NCAA SUP staff that started AFTER the 2010 manual edition DOESN'T agree that the umpire with primary responsibility should turn to an unexpecting umpire with other responsibilities and only secondary (assistance) on this call and should relinquish that call.

So, they didn't reverse the language, they simply eliminated it (leaving one who has read earlier language to wonder what the mechanic is).

From the very top, the preference is for the primary calling umpire to make a call; THEN seek the piece of information that may be missing. The timing is critical in many cases, as subsequent action can be strongly affected by a delayed call resulting from "handing off" your call. Players and teams are used to the coach requesting "go for help" after a play, and they are less affected by that, than a delay in the initial call with subsequent play relying on a first call.

I sat and listened to DV (new staff) and EA (old staff) agree to disagree on this.