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Umpiring is great fun and an excellent way to learn more about the sport of softball and see the game from a new perspective. Umpires form lasting friendships across the country and around the world, develop and improve skills that are applicable in everyday life, and earn some handy pocket money besides.
Becoming an umpire is easy! Just email suaactumpires@gmail.com and let us know you'd like to join.
We'll be in touch with information about clinics or other learning opportunities, and we'll arrange for your first game. You'll be paired with more experienced umpires and kitted out in the green trainee uniform, and given some easy games to ease your way into the job.
We'll ask you to sign up to be a SUAACT member, and each week we will contact you to confirm your availability for games and assign you matches you can handle, with experienced supervision, at the times that you allocate.
We run one or more Introduction to Umpiring clinics at the start of every season. You can find out more information from our event calendar, or on Facebook. You don't have to attend a clinic, but it gives you a great head start on learning what you need to learn to be an effective umpire. The information you need to be a trainee umpire is also contained in the Level 1 manual, which you can find on the Softball Australia Level 1 Introduction page.
Finally, before your first game and ongoing throughout the season, we'll pair you with experienced umpires wherever possible, who can help you study the mechanics of umpiring and the rules of the game, to be the most effective umpire you can be.
All umpires who have not yet reached Level 1 in the national accreditation system are called "trainees" or "greenshirts". As a green shirt, you wear the green "trainee" uniform, and coaches and players are not allowed to talk to you or try to influence your calls. SUAACT and Softball ACT hold a zero tolerance policy towards any poor behaviour directed at a greenshirt umpire.
You can stay a trainee umpire and wear the green shirt as long as you like in the ACT. You don't have to reach Level 1 to be a member of SUAACT or to get paid to umpire in the ACT. However, if you find you really enjoy umpiring and you want to take your career to the next level, you should consider going for Level 1 accreditation.
Read on to getting to Level 1.