2012 ARIZONA ASA DISTRICT UMPIRE CLINICS

2012 Arizona ASA Southern District Umpire Clinic

"Take it to the Field"

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Clinic check in is from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.
Clinic Begins Promptly at 8:30 a.m.

Desert Christian High School
7525 E. Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ  85710

Presenters

• Joe Robinson - ASA Rocky Mountain Region 13 Umpire-in-Chief
• Don Fishel - Arizona ASA State Commissioner
• Wally Latall - Arizona ASA State Umpire-in-Chief
• Tom Carle - Arizona ASA Deputy JO Commissioner
• AZ ASA South District Umpire Staff

Cost for the Clinic will be $15 Payable by Cash at the Door

The Clinic Includes:

• Continental Breakfast, Lunch, and Drinks
• A Presentation on the Insurance Benefits available to ASA Umpires
• ASA Presentations - 2011 Southern District "Umpire of the Year" (Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch)
• 2011 Southern District "Most Improved Umpire of the Year" for both Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch
• Educational Workshops for all levels of umpires
• Free Gift to all Attendees
• Equipment sales, Raffles, and Prizes

All clinic attendees must be a registered umpire with AZ ASA prior to attending the clinic.
(To Register with AZ ASA online Click Here)

ATTENTION NORTHERN DISTRICT UMPIRES !!

The Northern District Umpire Clinic is coming to Kingman High School on Sunday, March 11, 2012.

Details Coming Soon !!

2012 PLAYS OF THE MONTH

January 2012 Plays and Clarifications

The “Plays of the Month” have been developed to help assist and generate discussion of ASA softball rules and interpretations. Please review the attached document for the March Plays of the Month.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to open the Rule changes. If you do not currently have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, click on the link below to install the free version of this software on your computer.

2012 ARIZONA ASA UMPIRE REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN

Please note, the ASA Board of Directors recommended an increase in dues for 2012 and the ASA Council voted and approved an increase for 2012.  These are the fees that we as a Local Association, Arizona ASA, must pay to the National Office per the ASA Code for Umpire Registrations.  These increases are necessary to off set the rising cost of Insurance Premiums which rose due to high loss ratios as well as increased costs associated with conducting more thorough and comprehensive background investigations.   Though these costs are fairly significant to our Association, our commissioner has decided only to pass on to you a $5.00 increase in your fees and the rest of the costs will be absorbed by the operating funds of Arizona ASA.  We in the AZ ASA remain low in cost of umpire registration fees in comparison to the majority of the other Associations within our Rocky Mountain Region 13 and within our neighboring Pacific Coast Region 14 and the Pacific Northwest Region 15.

Registration Fees for 2012 are:

• Certified:  $55.00
• Registered:  $45.00
• Youth:  $30.00

As stated above, this year there will a more complete and comprehensive background investigation conducted on all Arizona ASA Umpires.  With that said, there is a revised Amateur Softball Association Notice of Background Check and Consent Form.  You may complete the Form and mail it, or you may scan it and send it as an attachment to an e-mail.  For 2012 we also need a legible Photo Copy of your Drivers License, which you can scan and send in an e-mail with the Consent Form or mail it.

Significant changes at the bottom of the Form are:

• Full Middle Name IS required
• Drivers License Number and State of Issue IS required
• IF you had a prior residence in the past 5 years, you must list it
• If you know your ASA ID Card Member Number you must list it.  If you do not know it, or IF you are a New Registration, please leave blank.
• For the line that requests Desired Position with ASA, please list Umpire

This will be the last year we will be asking all umpires to provide all the requested information again on the Registration Form.  This year, all this information will feed into a Master Database.  Once you are established in our System, in future years, if you are a "Renewal", the ease and speed with which you will be able to Register will be phenomenal!

Unsure of your District?

If you are unsure what District you reside in, please click here.

It is our Goal this year to have all Umpires Registered prior to the Clinic Dates.  If this is accomplished, your Umpire ID Cards, along with your ASA Membership ID Number, and the 2012 Rule Book/Umpire Manual should be available to you at the Clinic.

This year, for you convenience, we will be offering the option to pay your Umpire Registration Fee with PayPal and you are strongly encouraged to do so when it becomes available.  If you are paying by Money Order or Check, please make checks payable to Arizona ASA.

If you do not scan and e-mail the Background Check and Consent Form and the copy of your Drivers License and/or if you are paying your Umpire Registration Fee by Money Order or by Check the mailing address is:

Arizona Amateur Softball Association
State Umpire-in-Chief
29834 N. Cave Creek Road, Suite 118-294
Cave Creek, AZ 85331

Register Today!    

If you have any questions regarding the 2012 AZ ASA Registration process,
please contact your local District Umpire-in-Chief.

THE 2011 ASA UMPIRE EXAM IS NOW CLOSED

The 2012 ASA Umpire Exam On-Line with Instant Results should be posted no later than 13 January 2012.

In 2012, Arizona ASA will be one of four Local Associations Piloting the Nationwide On-Line Exam that will be announced shortly by the ASA National Office.

THREE (3) ARIZONA ASA UMPIRES APPROVED AND SELECTED FOR "ELITE!"

Rich Eddings (SP), Aaron Burns (FP), and Andy Williams (FP) join an "ELITE" group of Men and Women with their selection as an Amateur Softball Association (ASA) "ELITE" Umpire. Please join me in congratulating these three outstanding Arizona ASA Umpires for this great achievement. As the State UIC I take great pride in the success of others and I could not be more pleased and proud of Rich, Aaron and Andy. We had three umpires apply for this program and all three AZ ASA Umpires were selected. Their selection as Elite Umpires is a tremendous accomplishment considering ASA has over 35,000 registered umpires and now, after the selection of the 2012 Group of Elite Umpires, there are only 386 Elite Umpires in ASA. Below is information about the ASA Elite Umpire Program.

Elite Umpire Program

This reward program is the highest honor an ASA umpire can obtain other than selection to the ASA Hall of Fame. The program was launched in 2003, with 153 umpires approved in February of that year. There are currently 360 qualified umpires that have been selected for the "Elite" program. Members who are approved as "Elite" umpires can apply for their international certification (ISF), and are the only umpires selected for the National Championship Series (SP) and the Armed Forces Slow Pitch Championships. In future years, it is anticipated that "Elite" umpires will be selected for major Fast and Modified Pitch Championships. To become eligible for this program, an umpire must have been an ASA registered umpire for at least seven (7) years and a current member in good standing. The umpire must have participated in at least four (4) national championships, and umpired in two (2) in the same category of play and from the championships listed below:

• FAST PITCH: Men’s Major, Women’s Major, Men’s Master 40-Over, Girls 18U ASA/USA Gold, Men’s "A" or Women’s "A".
• SLOW PITCH: Men’s Super, Men’s Major, Men’s A, Men’s B, Men’s Industrial (previously Major or A), Men’s 16" Major, Men’s Masters 35-Over, Men’s 40-Over, Women’s Open (previously Major or A) CO-ED Major.
• MODIFIED PITCH: Men’s 9 Man Major, Men’s A or Women’s 9-Player, or Men’s 10-Player. The ASA/USA "Elite" umpire application fee is $40.00 and is non-refundable.

The umpire will receive a lapel pin, a navy ASA/USA "Elite" cap, membership card, framed certificate, and name listed in the ASA Hall of Fame. Three passport size photos should be attached to the application. Deadline each year is October 1. Applications will be reviewed at the November Council Meeting and applicants will be notified shortly thereafter.

I encourage all AZ ASA Umpires to apply, when eligible, to the various Awards Programs available to the ASA Umpire. A complete description and eligibility requirements for those programs can be found by going to the link below. Learn about the Medals Programs, the National Indicator Fraternity Program, the Elite Program and the ISF Certification Program by click on this link:    http://www.softball.org/umpires/index.asp

Again, a hearty congratulations to Rich Eddings, Aaron Burns, and Andy Williams on their well deserved selection as ASA ELITE UMPIRES!!

2012 UMPIRE RULE CHANGES & COMMENTS

2012 Playing Rule Changes

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to be able to open the Rule changes. If you do not currently have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer, click on the link below to install the free version of this software on your computer.

ASA NATIONAL UMPIRE SCHOOLS

The purpose of the ASA National Umpire School is to develop each student's individual talents and skills as an umpire. Because of your interest, we realize that you have the pride and attitude it takes to become one of the best softball umpires in the nation. Our goal is to bring out the best in your talent and ability.

Each ASA National Umpire School is run by a team of National Umpire staff members, who serve as the clinicians. With a ratio of at least one clinician per 25-30 students, each participant will receive hands-on personal instruction on both fast pitch and slow pitch umpiring including base and plate mechanics. At the Fast Pitch and Slow Pitch Advanced Umpire Schools, instruction is focused on Fast Pitch or Slow Pitch only. The ratio is also one instructor per 10 students for the two Advanced Umpire Schools.

Contact the school coordinator shown below for an application and payment information. Following is a list of 2012 ASA National Umpire Schools:

ARIZONA ASA STATE UMPIRES

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