Umpire Requirements and Guidelines

NOTE: KVBSA does not employ, contract or schedule umpires. Securing umpires is solely controlled by the team providing the field unless other arrangements are made with the visiting team.

Qualifications

To officiate KVBSA league games, an umpire must be certified by a state high school athletic association (such as MHSAA), a college athletic association (NCAA, NAIA, etc) or a local youth athletic organization.

Scheduling

The home team is responsible for scheduling umpires. In cases where the home team has scheduled to play at the visitor team's field or teams share a home field, responsibility for scheduling umpires should be confirmed between the two teams during the scheduling meeting.

The team scheduling the umpire is responsible for providing a printed copy of the current year's Game Rules found on the KVBSA web site for review at the pregame meeting. Umpires may not impose or enforce rules contradicting or inconsistent with these KVBSA Rules. Both managers are obliged to jointly insist that the KVBSA playing rules are enforced as local ground rules if necessary. The KVBSA rules as written take precedent over those of any affiliation or association to which the umpires belong.

Number of Umpires

Two umpires per game must be scheduled in all leagues (except 8U where a 2nd may be added by mutual agreement only). No game may be played without at least one certified umpire unless both managers agree in writing (by signed notation on both scorebooks).

For 8U only, one umpire per game is required although two are recommended. If only one umpire is used each team will pay half the umpire's fee. If a second umpire is used, the home team is responsible for that umpire's full payment however visiting teams are encouraged to split the entire umpire fee. Home teams should notify visiting teams when 2 umpires are planned prior to them arriving at the game.

Umpire Fees

The KVBSA recommended umpire rate is listed below. Payment to the umpires should occur at the pre-game meeting*. Each team is responsible for paying one (1) umpire. The pre-determined amounts below are the fees for every game. If an umpire's fees are greater than those listed below, the home field team is responsible for the difference if the visiting team does not want to cover those additional costs.

2024 Fees:

Rainouts

Although individual umpires or communities may have different rules on handling rain-outs or cancellations, generally the expectation is that umpires are due payment when a game begins. If a game that has already started is cancelled due to weather or darkness, umpires keep the full payment. If the game is made up, the make-up game is considered a new game and full payment to the umpires for that game are due.

Missing Umpires

If only one umpire arrives (except 8U), the visiting team has the option to elect to play the game or request that the home team reschedule the game. If no umpires arrive, the game should be rescheduled.

No-shows or late umpires should be reported by team managers to KVBSA as part of the score reporting process.

If the game is played with one umpire, the visiting team is required to pay half the fee for the individual umpire up to the amount specified in the fees schedule listed above.

Forfeits will not be automatically awarded for lack of umpires. When umpires are a no-show, the visiting team should report the situation to the league. The league will keep track of no shows. If a home team has multiple games where umpires are a no-show, the league may take corrective action including awarding forfeits if deemed appropriate.