I was wondering how many games a year do umpires ump on a regular basis, and how long have they umped?
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In the last few years I have umpired 65-75 games per year. I try and do no more than 3 games per week.
I have been an umpire for 20+ years.
++UPDATED++
Pilsner's post reminded me that I may have been remiss in not answering on a chapter level versus a personal level ... so I will add that information.
My HS/College chapter is about 45 members strong. We have umpires from early twenties to 70+ years old. At 45 I am in the "younger" group.
Umpiring is kind of like being a student pilot. When you are just getting started you have to do as many games as possible to get your experience level up......A youth league umpire in my area can work 5-6 nights a week from mid april to mid aug, then a fall schedule on weekends through October. Young Umpires at this level can work 100 games a season.
Most of my colleagues work High School/College/Legion and semipro games and therefore work less actual games than our summer rec league counterparts. I have found that to keep sharp for my level I should only do at most 3 games a week. Plus the pay at this level is distinctly greater allowing me to work less games, do better baseball and make more money doing it....
Veteran Umpires in my chapter do 45-75 games a year.
I have been an umpire for 20+ years.
++UPDATED++
Pilsner's post reminded me that I may have been remiss in not answering on a chapter level versus a personal level ... so I will add that information.
My HS/College chapter is about 45 members strong. We have umpires from early twenties to 70+ years old. At 45 I am in the "younger" group.
Umpiring is kind of like being a student pilot. When you are just getting started you have to do as many games as possible to get your experience level up......A youth league umpire in my area can work 5-6 nights a week from mid april to mid aug, then a fall schedule on weekends through October. Young Umpires at this level can work 100 games a season.
Most of my colleagues work High School/College/Legion and semipro games and therefore work less actual games than our summer rec league counterparts. I have found that to keep sharp for my level I should only do at most 3 games a week. Plus the pay at this level is distinctly greater allowing me to work less games, do better baseball and make more money doing it....
Veteran Umpires in my chapter do 45-75 games a year.
Unfortunately, your questions can't be answered with one or two sentences.
But I'll answer your second question first.
How long? Anywhere from a rookie to 30 or more years. In my chapter we get new recruits each year (although never as many as we need) and I know a few of our most senior umps have been working since the 60's.
How many games each year? Depends on a number of factors such as....
How willing is the ump to work games?
How available is the ump on the days that umps are needed? (for amature baseball we get paid but we don't officiate for a living. We have regular jobs....well, most of us anyway.)
How many games are umps needed for in a given area?
We have umps in my chapter who only work games during the high school season i.e. Apr, May and June. Those umps probably work from 15 to 30 games a year. There are others who also work the summer and fall seasons. Those umps will work anywhere from 50 to 100 games a year.
I have also seen posts on this site from umps who say they work over 200 games each year.
Generally speaking, the higher the level of play the more experienced the umpire is but it's not necessarily an indication of how many games he has worked that year.
But I'll answer your second question first.
How long? Anywhere from a rookie to 30 or more years. In my chapter we get new recruits each year (although never as many as we need) and I know a few of our most senior umps have been working since the 60's.
How many games each year? Depends on a number of factors such as....
How willing is the ump to work games?
How available is the ump on the days that umps are needed? (for amature baseball we get paid but we don't officiate for a living. We have regular jobs....well, most of us anyway.)
How many games are umps needed for in a given area?
We have umps in my chapter who only work games during the high school season i.e. Apr, May and June. Those umps probably work from 15 to 30 games a year. There are others who also work the summer and fall seasons. Those umps will work anywhere from 50 to 100 games a year.
I have also seen posts on this site from umps who say they work over 200 games each year.
Generally speaking, the higher the level of play the more experienced the umpire is but it's not necessarily an indication of how many games he has worked that year.
My organization has around 125 umpires. Same senario, older and more seasoned do the College games and "high profile" high school games.
A lot of our umps do 200 games a year including college. Our season is a little longer here, February thru Novemeber. I actually have 2 games scheduled for November 19th. I've been umpiring 9 years and do 150 to 175 games per year.
A typical Saturday for our organization can be as many as 125 games, during the hieght of the high school season their can be as many as 50 Varsity & JV games. Usually Tuesdays and Fridays.
Of course better games equal better pay. Our commissioner does a great job on assigning games trying to match the umps skill level to the game. If you want to work games, they are available.
But for me it's more of a hobby I would venture to say most umps DON'T DO IT FOR THE MONEY.
A lot of our umps do 200 games a year including college. Our season is a little longer here, February thru Novemeber. I actually have 2 games scheduled for November 19th. I've been umpiring 9 years and do 150 to 175 games per year.
A typical Saturday for our organization can be as many as 125 games, during the hieght of the high school season their can be as many as 50 Varsity & JV games. Usually Tuesdays and Fridays.
Of course better games equal better pay. Our commissioner does a great job on assigning games trying to match the umps skill level to the game. If you want to work games, they are available.
But for me it's more of a hobby I would venture to say most umps DON'T DO IT FOR THE MONEY.
Our organization covers baseball, slow pitch and fastpitch. The most games I've done in a season (baseball)is 140. This season being an all time low for me at 19 baseball and a dozen or so softball do to family committments I was only able to fill in where absolutely needed.
I'll read in to your question "your off to college and looking to make a little side $$?"
If thats the case it's a great past time and you can make some spending money. Our busiest official/s willing to work any, all, anytime, and anywhere near 5000.00 a season which runs from late April to early Oct. I've been at it for off and on 28 years, mixed in with 17 years of coaching and league administering, though coaching is my favorite (well after playing that is) Ump-n is next in line, best seat in the house and if done correctly a pretty good conditioning regime. I am very near to 47.
I'll read in to your question "your off to college and looking to make a little side $$?"
If thats the case it's a great past time and you can make some spending money. Our busiest official/s willing to work any, all, anytime, and anywhere near 5000.00 a season which runs from late April to early Oct. I've been at it for off and on 28 years, mixed in with 17 years of coaching and league administering, though coaching is my favorite (well after playing that is) Ump-n is next in line, best seat in the house and if done correctly a pretty good conditioning regime. I am very near to 47.
I personally started LL 30 yrs ago. I have been doing HS for about 20 yrs and college for 14 years. This year I only did about 75 games, also due to family commitments, son playing now. Our association have guys from one year to 30 years experience. Some guys only do 15 to 30 games and others do 100 to 150. We have a tournament this weekend with ETCB from PA. I am assigning the local guys to fill in around the PA guys that travel. I am also the local rules interpreter and in charge of training.