Join Us – Become a USA Softball Umpire
We are proud of our umpires and excited to have you join us. We promise to work with you to make sure you have the knowledge, training, and field management tools to become a successful umpire. We provide free training to our members that includes classroom, gym and field lessons. We also provide rulebooks and mechanics manuals as well as access to an online assigning system (Arbiter) so you can choose how much or how little you want to work. You will also find lots of umpires ready and willing to help you get started and grow.
How to become an SMSUA umpire
1. Contact us to let us know you are interested in becoming an umpire. You will receive a welcome email with information about our training program.
2. Attend our training sessions. These are classroom, gym, and field training sessions designed to get you ready to umpire. The training is free to you.
3. Sign our online Association Member Services Agreement and pay SMSUA’s annual dues ($35). More info about the process is on our Forms & Documents page.
4. Register with USA Softball of Seattle and pay USA Softball’s annual dues + background check (~$90). More info about that process is also on our Forms & Documents page.
5. Upon completing SMSUA training and registering as a member of SMSUA, we will let our assignors know that you are ready to work games.
6. Complete your Washington Officials Association eligibility tasks (in Arbiter) if you are planning to work high school games.
7. Attend our association’s General Membership Meetings. These are held the second month of the month from September to April and offer essential updates to rules and mechanics as well as a chance to meet and mingle with other association umpires. Check out the Events page to find the time and location of the next meeting.
8. Get your uniform and equipment. See our Uniforms page for more information about what we expect. Note that there are some differences in USA vs high school uniforms.
9. Get out on the field and umpire some games!
Notes on Game Assignments:
High school scheduling is handled through Arbiter. Once trained, our assignor will add you to our Arbiter group, and you will receive an email with information about how to log into Arbiter. See our Training page for tips on setting up and using Arbiter.
USA Tournament scheduling is handled over email. Look for emails from Jim Donner with the subject line: “Umpires needed on <date> to <date> for <tournament name>”. Follow the links in the email to set your availability for each tournament. Jim sends out the availability email several weeks before the tournament, then will send out your game schedule usually 5-6 days before the tournament. If you indicated that you can work the tournament, expect to work it!
