The 2022/23 VSBL season is off to a great start, and we thank all clubs and members for supporting grassroots baseball. We want to continue growing our baseball community, and one of our key priorities moving forward is umpire recruitment and development.
We need your help to identify current and potential umpires who would benefit from the BV Umpire Pathway, which is overseen by our newly established Technical Operations Committee.
Over the past month, we have restructured our umpire program by investing in two casual positions, the BV Umpire Officer – Operations and Umpire Officer – Pathways. Randall Vavra is responsible for umpire administration and communications, ensuring current umpires have the support and resources they need, while Stewart Howe is focusing on pathway development and educational opportunities with a series of info and training sessions.
Together, we are looking to address the ongoing challenges with umpire recruitment, and this starts with the clubs. We know many of our clubs have older junior players (U16/U18) and senior players rostered on to umpire U12 and U14 games. This is great to see, and we strongly encourage clubs to continue these efforts to engage players in game management and umpiring.
To assist with junior club umpires, we are pleased to introduce the BV Green Vest Umpire Program. Every summer club will receive four green vests for volunteer umpires to wear while umpiring junior games. These vests will clearly identify umpires in training and serve as a reminder to players, coaches, parents, and spectators to always remain respectful, even if the call doesn’t go their way.
In addition to green vests, we will also be streamlining the BV Green Shirt Umpire Program, which identifies beginner umpires who are interested in furthering their umpire training and development. We are asking all clubs to step up to the plate and recommend at least three players or individuals for the BV Umpire Community Coach Program. This could be current players, coaches, parents, or spectators who are interested in officiating and gameday management.
These club recommendations will be a great starting point for BV Umpire Officers, who will connect with these potential umpires to offer equipment, training, and paid opportunities to umpire throughout the season. This will help us build our base and upskill current members to ensure a new generation of umpires can come through our pathway. Please submit your recommendations HERE.
Thank you in advance for your support of the BV Umpire Pathway. We look forward to building a bigger, brighter future for baseball in Victoria with more umpire recruitment, education and development.
View more umpire information and resources on our website, including umpire expressions of interest and the BV Umpire Pathways Program.