Umpire Training / Resources

Baseball Ontario Umpire Clinics

Never umpired before?....We'll help get you started!

SCMBA wants to make sure our new umpires have access to great training opportunities to help foster their development.

Umpires are required to take an annual clinic to help ensure they continue to refine their knowledge and skills. The clinics are lead by Certified Umpire Instructors, provided through Baseball Ontario. Clinics are typically held in March or April.

For 2023, these clinics will be done in a HYBRID-FORMAT, that is, there will be an initial online component, followed by an in-person clinic which would last about 4 hours.

The following is the break down of umpires first several seasons and their required training levels:

Year 1: Level 1.1 (Level 1 Clinic) Paid by Umpire* (reimbursed after 3 games)
Year 2: Level 1.2 (Level 1 Clinic) Paid by Umpire* (reimbursed after 3 games)
Year 3: Level 2.1 (Level 2 Clinic) Paid by Umpire
Year 4: Level 2.2 (Level 2 Clinic) Paid by Umpire
Year 5: Level 2.3 (Level 2 Clinic) Paid by Umpire
Year 6: Level 3.1 (Level 3 Clinic) Paid by Umpire

Step 1: Register with SCMBA

REGISTER NOW!

Login (or create an account if you are new to our Association.
Choose the "Officials" registration option from the dashboard.

Step 2: Register with Baseball Ontario:

Click HERE to register for this year's OBA clinic.

You'll end up creating an account with Baseball Ontario's OnDeck tool (which also has a free mobile app).
In your profile you'll indicate which year umpire you are.
The online module that you'll need to do should be accessible via the OnDeck website/app.
At the end of the online module, you will select an in-person OBA clinic:
- St.Catharines Minor Baseball Assoc.'s clinic will be held on Saturday April.22 at Sir Winston Churchill S.S.

Please direct any questions or difficulties to umpires@stcatharinesbaseball.ca

On-Field Workshops

In addition to the annual clinics, SCMBA will usually hold some pre-season on-field workshops. This is a great opportunity to review material that was covered in the clinic, as well as clarify any questions you may have.

We expect all umpires to attend as we will review any potential changes to the coming season around umpiring, as well as touch base on any supplementary training initiatives, and uniform/equipment needs. This is also a great opportunity for our more experienced umpires to help work with the newer, less experienced ones.

Workshop Dates:

Niagara District Umpire Association -- Training

Coming Soon!

Workshop Dates:

YouTube Resources

We are slowly building up a YouTube account with playlists of training videos for our Players, Coaches, Umpires, and Parents. Below is a link directly to the Umpire Playlist. Lots of informative videos, including some where you are asked to make a call, and then it is reviewed. If you have questions, or if you have any good videos, or channels that we can use to add to our collection, please forward them to umpires@stcatharinesbaseball.ca.

Umpire Training YouTube Playlist on SCMBA's YouTube Channel

Positioning Manuals

Rules of Baseball

The foundation of the rules of baseball come from the MLB Official Rules of Baseball.

2019 Official Rules of Baseball (MLB) (PDF)

From there, some modifications are made by various governing groups. Baseball Canada and Baseball Ontario help set rules for Rep and Select Baseball, and further set the framework for House League. Niagara District Baseball, or Niagara Select Baseball might also set additional rules in place for those groups.

Baseball Ontario Umpires Website
- Baseball Ontario Rules
- Lightning Guidelines
- Select and Rep Rules Comparison Chart (under development)
- Progressive Discipline (Bench Restriction) Rule (PDF)
- Umpiring 9u (PDF)
TWITTER: Baseball Ontario Umpires
FACEBOOK: Baseball Ontario Umpires
INSTAGRAM: Baseball Ontario Umpires

Niagara District Baseball Association
Niagara Select Baseball

House League rules are then further modified by either Niagara Interlock (for teams participating in that league), or by SCMBA (for teams/divisions that play solely within St.Catharines Minor Baseball Association).