Jewelry - per ASA
 

I worked an ASA tournament this weekend and had a partner who tried invoking the NFHS version of the jewelry rule. He told the teams that absolutely no jewelry was permitted.

As he was PU for our first game, I let it slide and no one really complained.

Since ASA leaves it to the umpire's discretion as to what may be considered dangerous, I halted his soapboxing on the matter our next game where I was the PU. Some girls had stud earrings and one or two had those little stud nose piercings. My opinion was none of those were dangerous.

I thought I recalled seeing something in writing somewhere where an example of "studs were OK, but hoop type earrings were not" was noted. It's not in the rule book and I checked some of the plays and clarifications on the ASA website. Since NFHS bans jewelry altogether, I know it wasn't there.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, or did I just dream it up. Maybe it was on this board that I saw it, but a search didn't yield what I was looking for.

Thanx for any pointers.

In ASA it is purely umpire judgment. Yours may be different than mine. For that matter, I can almost guarantee that.

IMJ, if it can hurt a player other than the wearer, it comes off. Otherwise, I'm not their mother or coach.

I like this idea. They take the risks for themselves by wearing it. The other players shouldn't be at risk if someone decides to wear jewelry.


Also, as an aside. What is USSSA's rule on jewelry for youth fastpitch?

I only wish society agreed with this sentiment. I tend to judge all "head jewelry" (ears, nose, etc) dangerous...seeing a girl at 3B get hit in the ear and have a stud earring driven into her skull bone will do that. They had to remove it with pliers.

USSSA is no jewelry, they tend to more or less follow high school rules.

On this matter, I think we're pretty closely aligned.

Thanks for providing an example to prove IrishMafia's point.

The jewelry was a danger to the player wearing it....not any other player.
Her choice.

Well, "tending to judge" is a lot different than "mandating" in this case.

There are many safety items for players in the form of batting helmets, face guards (although still not regulated as far as I know by NOCSAE), catcher's gear, braces, padding, etc.

Yet the game still poses injury risks. Given that, the game allows batters to swing as hard as they can with a defender a foot or two away from them. Players at most age groups are allowed to utilize metal spikes. Head-first slides are not prohibited. Collisions between players, while not commonplace, are not unheard of.

I will ask wreck league batters to remove wrist-watches. Even this is getting a bit trickier because some of these devices are now heart monitors and/or "fitbits". I had 16U girl's team member come to the plate with what I thought was a cell phone in her back pocket. Turned out to be an insulin pump.

Should adult coaches be required to wear helmets, or remove their earrings? Could have easily been a coach struck in the ear and in need of pliers during his/her ER visit.

Let common sense prevail, although I'll admit it may not be very common at times.

Oh, BTW, since we've gone off on a slight tangent, no one has answered my original question:

I thought I recalled seeing something in writing somewhere where an example of "studs were OK, but hoop type earrings were not" was noted. It's not in the rule book and I checked some of the plays and clarifications on the ASA website. Since NFHS bans jewelry altogether, I know it wasn't there.

Does this sound familiar to anyone, or did I just dream it up? Maybe it was on this board that I saw it, but a search didn't yield what I was looking for.

I can't imagine ASA (or anyone else) being that specific as to what is OK and what is not. Too much liability exposure, I would think.

As to your original post, it is not just the PU who has authority to ask players to remove jewelry; your partner has that authority also. If I am partnered with an umpire that wants to strictly apply the NFHS-like rule in "our" game, I have no issue with it. It is his judgment.

I do remember someone saying that, probably on this forum, maybe another. Definitely too specific for a rule book or any published interp.; and probably too specific for consistent application. I err on the side of caution, but I know many don't.

I think there's a line like that in the CCA manual regarding what jewelry is permissible for umpires to wear.

I like the no jewelry for players in high school. Takes away any possible differences in judgement.
As an aside, I was once hit by an errant pitch that hit my ring finger in such a way that the edge of my wedding band cut me. Ever since, I've kept my hand behind my thigh or knee. No, I'm not removing my ring. Married 51 years to the same great lady if you're interested.