I wanted to take this opportunity to pass along some information pertaining to softball umpiring for 2018. I hope this helps you get a head start on planning your officiating schedule.
USA Softball will again have a full schedule of tournaments this summer. I hope you can plan these into your umpiring schedule. Below is what we have at this time. We are also working to create opportunities with summer league play.
*Dates Tournament Sites*
June 1-2-3 Dayton Metro Kettering Fields
June 8-9-10 Cincinnati Metro Mid-American/others (7/10 fields)
June 15-16-17 Queen City Showdown (U10-18) Mid-American/River City West (10 fields)
June 22-23-24 Kings Island Showdown (U12-18) Tealtown (12 fields)
Gold Qualifier Mid-American (4 fields)
June 29-30-July 1 Total Kaos Bill Cappel Sports Complex (5 fields)
July 6-7-8 Region 9 Qualifier (U10-18) Mid-American (4 fields)
*High School Umpiring:* Those of you who umpire high school softball in Ohio should be receiving the annual mailing from the OHSAA of rule books, etc. If you umpired last year and do not receive this mailing in the next week or so, please check your status on MyOSHAA and you may need to contact the OHSAA. Your mailing address may not have been updated or there may be a problem with your renewal. *The latter must be taken care of by the end of January*.
Local rules meetings begin Feb. 5 for Blue Chip and Butler County and Feb. 8 for Southern Ohio. Complete listings for meeting dates and state rules meeting information is on the OHSAA web site.
*Mechanics Clinic: * Cincinnati will host an OHSAA Mechanics Clinic on Sunday, March 4 at Lakota East High. This is a great opportunity for all umpires to brush the rust off of their skills for the coming season.
*Other Training Opportunities:* We are still working on the date for the annual USA Softball of Cincinnati Clinic. You should receive the annual communication from Jerry Fick in about two weeks with this and other information.
*New Umpire Schools:* We will again offer two weekend umpire schools, one in Dayton (March 10-11) and one in Cincinnati (March 17-18). These schools afford people interested in getting involved in umpiring the opportunity to earn their OHSAA license and USA Softball certification by attending a two-day school. We are in need of new umpires. Please share this information!
Looking forward to seeing you at the rules meetings.
Tom Hathaway