New CBUA website, Chicago meeting info, Rule Books and more!
As a follow up to yesterday's email (which is repeated below), please let me know by NOON TODAY if you have not received your Rule Book and CCA Manual and/or your Timer. I will be contacting the NCAA this afternoon to follow up on all missing items. For those of you that have already emailed me about missing items--THANK YOU for the quick response--I will be in discussions with the NCAA this afternoon about missing Rule Books and CCA Manuals and with Honigs for those few missing Timers.
Also, I left out a period in the web address for our new CBUA Central Hub Page--the corrected address is embedded in the copy of yesterday's email below.
CBUA Umpires,
This is a mass email for CBUA umpires. Later this week I will be sending a bulletin with information for assignors about your role in Chicago and to Big 12 umpires with updated information about our lunch meeting and an updated rooming list.
For those of you who haven't already noticed our new web site, the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Alliance now has its own Central Hub Page. We will be enhancing this page on a regular basis and it will become the source for most, if not all, CBUA information. There are many links already set up on the site and all of my previous 2011 CBUA Bulletins are accessible. We plan to add NCAA Ejection and Suspension Reports to our page, as well as other information that we deem helpful to our umpires. If you have any suggestions for enhancements to this page, please do not hesitate to email me. You can link directly to the site at: www.cbua.arbitersports.com
Chicago NCAA Meeting/CBUA Meeting--since I've heard of several umpires that have hotel reservations at the O'Hare Hyatt Hotel, I thought I would remind everyone that the meetings will be at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago, 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 (NOT the O'Hare Hyatt). All of the communications from the NCAA and my previous bulletins and emails have spelled this out very clearly. By the way, you can stay at any hotel you choose--I just wanted to emphasize the location of the meetings.
My understanding is that the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago is approximately 18 miles from O'Hare Airport and 12 miles from Midway Airport. I believe they run a shuttle from each of those airports to the hotel.
Chicago NCAA Meeting/CBUA Meeting--for those of you that are new to the gatherings, these meetings are classroom/auditorium style presentations. These are not hands-on umpiring clinics--you do not need your gear or umpire uniform. Also, please note that the dress code for these two meetings is casual/business casual. While a coat and tie are not needed, we do prefer that you do not wear denim, t-shirts, sweat suits, etc. We are all representing the NCAA, our conferences, our universities, and the CBUA--professional behavior and protocol is a given.
Several officiating/umpiring vendors will be in Chicago and it is obviously each individual's option as to who you do business with. Of course, one of the benefits of CBUA membership is a 10% discount on purchases from Honigs and they have been a supportive partner of the CBUA since our inception in 1996. They will have CBUA hats available for purchase for new members and others needing hats.
Your CBUA membership entitles you to a gift -- this year's gift is a Robic Timer. Honigs has been sending them out for a few weeks now and you should have received yours (with the exception of those of you who have just joined CBUA in the last few weeks--yours will come later). If you have not received your timer from Honigs, email me IMMEDIATELY--I would like this all handled before Chicago.
Your CBUA membership also includes your NCAA membership which, in turn, means you should have received a package from Emerging Technologies that included your NCAA Rules Book and CCA Manual--let me know IMMEDIATELY if you have not received these items.
More information will be coming later this week.
Rich Fetchiet
CBUA Coordinator of Baseball Umpires