PREECEVILLE - “I have the very fortunate opportunity to umpire at the upcoming Sask Summer Games in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, in July,” said Scott Carroll of Preeceville.
The selection process for a prestigious event, such as the Summer Games, comes with first being qualified. You must obtain a level three umpire status which involves having umpired for a minimum of four years and complete online training, field training, and a written exam. For the Sask Summer Games this is done through the Umpire Summer Camp Mentorship Program.
Umpires who have obtained a level three are qualified to work higher levels of baseball, including U15AA, U18AA, and some senior men’s games. When you work these games, or at large tournaments, there will often be a supervisor there to evaluate your performance. Umpires with a good review from a supervisor can get recommended to work a local provincial championship, which would usually start with a U13 or U15 level.
At each one of these championships, they will again have a supervisor present where umpires get rated on overall performance. From there, most times they come up with a list of top umpires qualified and selected to go on to work different tournaments, including the Summer Games, or other events such as the Western Canadian Championship or a National Championship, after you’ve completed a Provincial Championship.
“In previous years I have had the privilege to do a Western Championship (fastball) and also a National Championship (fastball). These past two summers I was selected to go to the U18AA Boys Provincial Championships. A few weeks ago, I was informed that I had been nominated from someone within the zone for the Sask Summer Games. After the nomination, my name was put forward to those who are overseeing the Sask Summer Games umpires, and from there I was asked to apply. It is a privilege and an honour to have the opportunity to go and umpire at a tournament where we will have the best players competing to go to a National Championship and represent our province,” said Carroll.
“I have been umpiring since 2015 and the reason I actually started umpiring was because a close friend asked me to give it a try. I did, and the rest is history. I am very grateful for the journey umpiring has taken me on,” he concluded.
