From our Chairperson Rich Kollen, your assigners, and the CCSUA Training Staff:
We wish our umpires and their families a wonderful Holiday Season. It has been a rough two years with COVID, but we seem to be back on track starting in late January with college softball. Let us not forget Roger Denny and Vince Rojas, who passed away this past year.
Important meeting dates
CCSUA MEETING annual meeting (Zoom)– January 16, 9am to 2pm
NCAA SUP meeting (Zoom)- January 15 – 9am Pacific time
Pac-12 meeting – January 15 time tbd
From the Assignors – Joanne Venditto
COVID PROCEDURES….
All conferences are deferring to the university/college procedures in their CITY/COUNTY.
All officials must be vaccinated; exceptions in those conferences where a few schools allow for testing when a medical exemption has been approved by the Conference Committee on COVID Protocols. If you want to apply for an exemption, you will have to get written medical exemption from your doctor and ask for the exemption that you submit to the Conference Commissioner. No guarantee you will get it. None of the college event staff are available to check testing or exceptions, so most of the colleges, just would like vaccinated officials in all sports.
UNIFORM
The new uniform for the NCAA will not be available until January….and that is a maybe!
However, it is determined that this uniform is just for post season play in 2022 season. So don’t rush out and order it as you cannot use it in any of the conferences service by the CCSUA assignors.
ANNUAL NCAA JANUARY MEETING
The annual NCAA January meeting will be virtual but I do not know the platform yet. If you are an NCAA registered umpire you can be on the call. However, most umpires do not go to an NCAA post season so there is just one reason to register……to get rule book and mechanics book. The casebook is on the NCAA Central Hub. The CCSUA membership is kept pretty much up to date with added features re the mechanics and the rules on the CCSUA website thanks to John Bennett.
RULE BOOK AND MECHANICS BOOK
The rule book is now available. Those not registering for NCAA can go to that site and purchase a book (it is a NEW RULE BOOK YEAR)
Only minor changes in mechanics, so John Bennett will surely cover this on the CCSUA website when the mechanics book is published.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE…..For those of you working this conference….
New patch this season….don’t have it yet
Travel by airline to a conference series….. MUST BE DONE THRU THE CONFERENCE TRAVEL AGENCY (no more book your own flights).
Those of you going to Hawaii and needing to book a flight…..You can take the extra time, but keep your personal hotel nights separate. You can probably work with the designated travel agent to figure out the billing. I am waiting for game times and the travel agency contact information.
From the Assignors – Terry Ching
Here is the breakdown for each conference that Terry Ching assigns:
• Mt West will mirror all items below moving forward into 2022; there is a change in travel we will utilize an Airline Matrix. The Matrix is based on 21-day advanced purchase for round trip fares. Everyone must set their home airport and residence on the Arbiter website. Contracts will be forth coming please read it carefully then sign it. No change in game fee package for 2022
• West Coat Conference WCC: Covid Procedures All officials must be vaccinated no exceptions. WCC will mirror the remaining items below. Contracts will be forth coming please read it carefully then sign. No change in game fee package for 2022.
• Pac West Conference: Mirrors all items below. No change in game fees for 2022.
From the CCSUA Training Staff
Rule Updates
There have been a number of major rule changes for the 2022-2023 seasons. Want an easy way to become familiar with them without spending hours studying the new rule book? The Locker Room has an excellent article which breaks down these changes, gives you the highlights of each one, and has the rule references for each one so you can quickly find them in the rule book. The article is located in the Rules Corner and titled: Summary of Major Rule Changes 2022-2023.
On another note – a new bat list has been posted effective December 13, 2021. This will be the bat list to be used when the season starts unless there is another one issued (this rarely happens and would require a big change in some bats). The link to the current bat list has been updated in the Locker Room – select the Links button on the Dashboard page and you will see this link as the second one listed on the resultant page.
Locker Room postings since last month’s News & Notes
Articles updated with rule changes
Game Management Corner/General/Managing the Game: Previous article 2021 Experimental Rule for Video Replay has been revised and renamed Video Review.
Game Management Corner/General/Managing the Game: Normal Suspension of Play.
Game Management Corner/General/Managing the Game: Conference Management
Rules Corner/The Game/Participants: Conferences – the Rules
New articles
Rules Corner: Summary of Major Rule Changes 2022-2023
Rules Corner/The Game/Participants: Personnel during live ball
Game Management/General/Coaches, Game Personnel: Between Innings Management
Rules Corner/The Game/Participants: Rules Interpretations – Conferences Dec 14, 2021
Revised links
NCAA Approved Bat list – updated for 12/13/2021 bat list