Brunei softball needs full-time umpires
Monday, May 21, 2007
WHAT ever happened for the love of the sport? Softball, a popular game that was revived three years ago thanks to the softball carnival initiated by Gunners Softball Club has taken to a new level.
The popularity may have escalated with heavy publicity campaign and also with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. However, in recent months, there have been some hidden tensions that have sparked a furore among players from different clubs.
A decade ago, I could recall that softball was a sport that everyone enjoyed. Once a softball player, I created a club called Patriots back in my high school years. We had friendly matches after matches but hardly had we encountered such drama or controversies during our time. I believe the same goes to other veteran clubs out there such as Zombies, Cougars and Banzai to name a few.
However, at the present moment, it's a different ball game. Players became more competitive than ever. Most clubs focus too much on training to bring the best out of their players. What most clubs fail is to control the temperament of their respective players. "Dissing" and "foul mouth" remarks have become a norm in the softball language. If this becomes uncontrollable, then the harmony among clubs will slowly lose its balance and this can be damaging for the sports.
One of the causes of such problems is poor umpiring. It's a fact that the Basba, the official softball body in Brunei, don't have full time umpires at their disposal. Definitely budget issue could deter them from employing full-time umpires. Hence, the next best thing was getting each of the club to choose who they deem fit to take the role of an umpire. Like it or not, it was the best option. Yes, some players have the experience of umpiring but the credibility is in doubt as some might be biased, considering they still represent their clubs.
Players would voice out their concern whenever a forum was conducted and the committee would share their views on certain issues. However, a minority would use other channels such as the Internet to lash out at their negative thoughts.
The ironic beauty of the Internet is the anonymity of the complaint. My website www.ranoadidas.com, also an official website for softball reports, has been used as a tool to post both positive and negative comments.
As of now, umpiring clinics have been conducted to refresh the minds of the selected umpires. The clinic is meant to brush up the rules and regulations of softball for the National Softball Tournament and also to educate all the players that these selected umpires from their respective clubs are giving their best shot as softball umpires. The rulebook may be the constitution of the game but it's the interpretation of the umpires that may change the course of the game.
In conclusion, I could only see one solution to this - hiring full-time umpires. Of course, I don't have a say in this matter as my main job is to report the softball matches every week. But I do hope one day, with more funds available, Basba would set aside some budget for full-time umpires. Umpiring clinics may be useful in the short-term basis but it won't be enough to solve long-term problems ahead.
The popularity may have escalated with heavy publicity campaign and also with the support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. However, in recent months, there have been some hidden tensions that have sparked a furore among players from different clubs.
A decade ago, I could recall that softball was a sport that everyone enjoyed. Once a softball player, I created a club called Patriots back in my high school years. We had friendly matches after matches but hardly had we encountered such drama or controversies during our time. I believe the same goes to other veteran clubs out there such as Zombies, Cougars and Banzai to name a few.
However, at the present moment, it's a different ball game. Players became more competitive than ever. Most clubs focus too much on training to bring the best out of their players. What most clubs fail is to control the temperament of their respective players. "Dissing" and "foul mouth" remarks have become a norm in the softball language. If this becomes uncontrollable, then the harmony among clubs will slowly lose its balance and this can be damaging for the sports.
One of the causes of such problems is poor umpiring. It's a fact that the Basba, the official softball body in Brunei, don't have full time umpires at their disposal. Definitely budget issue could deter them from employing full-time umpires. Hence, the next best thing was getting each of the club to choose who they deem fit to take the role of an umpire. Like it or not, it was the best option. Yes, some players have the experience of umpiring but the credibility is in doubt as some might be biased, considering they still represent their clubs.
Players would voice out their concern whenever a forum was conducted and the committee would share their views on certain issues. However, a minority would use other channels such as the Internet to lash out at their negative thoughts.
The ironic beauty of the Internet is the anonymity of the complaint. My website www.ranoadidas.com, also an official website for softball reports, has been used as a tool to post both positive and negative comments.
As of now, umpiring clinics have been conducted to refresh the minds of the selected umpires. The clinic is meant to brush up the rules and regulations of softball for the National Softball Tournament and also to educate all the players that these selected umpires from their respective clubs are giving their best shot as softball umpires. The rulebook may be the constitution of the game but it's the interpretation of the umpires that may change the course of the game.
In conclusion, I could only see one solution to this - hiring full-time umpires. Of course, I don't have a say in this matter as my main job is to report the softball matches every week. But I do hope one day, with more funds available, Basba would set aside some budget for full-time umpires. Umpiring clinics may be useful in the short-term basis but it won't be enough to solve long-term problems ahead.
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