Regular Season Assignments
New umpires will have most games scheduled at local diamonds featuring teams in their home Minor Association. Wherever possible, CASUA assignors try to limit travel for new umpires.
Depending on the community, the regular season starts as early as the first week of May, and runs through the months of May and June. Regular season games are a maximum of seven innings and 1 hour and 45 minutes in length. Most minor games are about 1.5 hours.
Here are some key things you need to know:
Assignor: CASUA’s Assignor can be reached at [email protected]
Assigning of games: Games are assigned through the RAMP online scheduling platform.
If you umpired in the CASUA last year, you will use the same RAMP assigning account you created in 2022.
New umpires can go to the link above, and set up an account. For youth umpires, please ensure that your email and a parent’s email is included.
Each umpire should download the RAMP Assigning app to a mobile device.
During the season, umpires will receive email notifications of games that have been assigned to them, and the information will also appear in the app.
The umpire will be given a deadline to accept or decline the assignment. Umpires are not to switch or pickup games without going through the proper process in the system. Details about how the system works, and what will be expected of each umpire will be explained at the annual clinic.
Minor Softball Game fees:
- 2 umpires assigned: $40 per umpire per game
- 1 umpire assigned: $50 per umpire per game
- From that per game rate, each umpire has $5 allocated to cover the costs associated with assigning. That means each umpire will take home a minimum of $35 per game.
Umpire payments: Umpires are NOT paid on the day of the game. Records are kept by the Assignor, and cheques are issued twice during the season.
For youth umpires, cheques are issued in mid June (to cover games in May) and then in mid to late July, at the conclusion of the minor softball season, for games officiated in June and July.
Please remember that the executive members are volunteers, and cheques are processed and issued as quickly as possible. The process also involves invoicing minor associations, and receiving their payments to ensure we have sufficient funds to cover payments to umpires.
The expectation is that each umpire will monitor his/her schedule in the system for accuracy. If there are any errors, the Assignor should be contacted immediately.
Cancellations
If a game is being cancelled due to weather or other factors, that will occur no later than two hours prior to game time on the day of the game. Assignor will inform umpires as soon as possible once cancellation has occurred. Umpires are not paid for games cancelled by the deadline (two hours prior to game time).
Umpires who show up to a diamond to start a game where teams do not show up – and proper notification was not given – are paid in full for the game. The umpires are to inform the Assignor in this situation.
If a game starts, but is subsequently stopped or cancelled due to weather, umpires are paid a full game, but must notify the Assignor so records can be updated.
Tournaments
Tournaments run typically Friday night through to Sunday afternoon. The schedule of tournaments in Zone 4 will be posted on the CASUA website and RAMP assigning platform. Any umpire interested in working at a tournament is to indicate his/her availability on the assigning platform.
Tournament game fees vary slightly from regular season games because there are multiple games at one location and because Minor Associations use tournaments to raise funds for the betterment of the game. No Assignor fees are assessed for tournaments. Fees are paid by the tournament Umpire in Chief on the last day an umpire works at a tournament. Occasionally a tournament committee may present one cheque rather than cash, in which case payment will occur as soon as possible after the tournament.
Tournament game schedules are established by the Umpire in Chief for the tournament. The UIC will contact each umpire by email or phone to confirm scheduling.
Game fees, travel reimbursement, and meal allowances or access to the snack bar are all negotiated prior to the tournament and communicated to the umpires prior to the tournament by email. Umpires requested to travel to a tournament are asked to car pool to save costs. Meal allowances typically include water, and one meal and soft drink per four hours at the diamond (candy, chocolate bars, chips are not included).