About Us - Bergen County Umpires Association

The Bergen County Umpires Association is an organization of baseball and softball umpires certified to officiate high school contests in New Jersey.

Our purpose is:

  • promote the welfare of the games of baseball and softball on the county level by uniformly interpreting and administering the rules of those games as set forth by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and the National Federation of High School Associations (NFHS).
  • promote and maintain the highest degree of baseball and softball officiating by following a uniform set of mechanics and have available at all times an adequate number of thoroughly trained and capable umpires.
  • preserve the traditions, foster the ideals, advance the interests and improve the quality and prestige of the baseball and softball umpires through a comprehensive program of classroom training and on-the-field experience and develop a spirit of friendship and maintain a high standard of ethics among umpires.

 

 

Electronic Communication Devices from Dugout to Catchers to be Permitted in High School Baseball

The use of a one-way communication device between a coach in the dugout and a team’s catcher for the purposes of calling pitches will be permitted in high school baseball beginning in 2024.

This change to Rules 1-6-2 and 3-2-5 was one of five rules revisions approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee at its June 4-6 meeting in Indianapolis. The recommendations were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

The new rules prohibit coaches from communicating with any other player besides the catcher on defense and with any player while batting. The coach must also be in the dugout when using the communication device.

“This change is consistent with the growth of the game and is indicative of a measured and responsible approach to enable technology into our level of competition,” said Elliot Hopkins, NFHS Director of Sports and Educational Services and liaison to the Baseball Rules Committee. “The committee has made these changes to maintain the balance between offense and defense; increase the pace of play; and will responsibly manage technology so there is no advantaged gained by schools that have more available resources than some of their contemporaries. Creating a level playing field is paramount to education-based athletics.”

Game management by umpires was addressed with a change to Rule 10-2-3h. The edit removes spectators’ behavior from the umpire-in-chief’s jurisdiction when deciding to forfeit a contest. Only infractions by players, coaches or team/bench personnel are under the umpire’s jurisdiction. The committee agreed that poor behavior by spectators should be handled by game administration.

“This change is a complementary rule to support schools’ game management role in addressing unacceptable behavior and will allow the umpire to focus on the action and players on the field,” Hopkins said.

Rule 1-6-1 was added and designates a wristband with defensive shifts, pitching choices or game directions as non-electronic equipment and must be a single, solid color and worn on the forearm. Pitchers’ cards must not be white, gray or a distracting color and worn on their non-pitching arm.

A complete listing of the baseball rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Baseball.”

According to the most recent NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, baseball is the fourth-most popular sport for boys with 481,004 student-athletes in 15,925 high schools nationwide. The survey also indicated that 1,156 girls across the country play high school baseball.

2023 BCUA Sportsmanship Awards

Members - registration for the banquet and voting for the Bergen and Passaic County schools to receive the annual BCUA Sportsmanship Awards in both baseball and softball is now open.

Along with these awards, the association also awards a worthy individual umpire the Barney Finn Award (for loyal service to the BCUA) and the Ray Farricker Award (for consistently displaying qualities of Integrity, Pride, Enthusiasm and Hustle) at the banquet.

Even if you're not planning to attend, please take the time to vote for these prestigious awards. If you have been moved by another fellow umpire or some school during the season, this is your time to show your appreciation for them.

To vote, please click here. Remember, you must be signed on with the username and password e-mailed out by John Gojdycz before you can access the form.

Ballots must be completed by the end of the day on Monday, May 23, 2023.

Softball Rules Changes - 2024

 Softball Rules Changes - 2024

By NFHS on July 10, 2023 softball

1-8-6:  Permits electronic information to be transmitted to the dugout from anywhere outside of live ball area.
Rationale: The rule change reflects current technology and still requires that electronic devices used for coaching purposes may only be used in the dugout butdoes not stipulate where the video is recorded or how it is transmitted.

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