Just a quick note that for 2006 ASA has rewritten the safety base rule. You can check out the changes on the ASA website. Basically, the double bag will now be treated as one huge base, and many of the restrictions about which side can be touched under which circumstances have been revised.
On the surface, these changes should make use of the safety base much simplier. Anytime you introduce a new rule, or modify an existing one, there is usually some confusion. I'm curious to see how this will play out next year, and would expect a learning curve as teams- and umpires- deal with these new rules.
Now, straying off the subject a bit (but, responding to a point in a previous post)...
I have had some of the strangest and most inconsistent rulings in games covered by NSA rules. Maybe there is a reason for this.
To the best of my knowledge, the training required to become an NSA umpire is non-existent. I thought that ASA was weak in that area, but what I've seen from ASA is light-years ahead of NSA.
Having had my ASA registration for a while, I was curious to see what it takes to get NSA registered. There is a lot of NSA ball in central Ohio, literally thousands of NSA slow pitch games each summer, and the NSA national tournament will be in Columbus next year.
I went to the NSA national website and found a link there for umpire information. If you want to be an NSA umpire, all you have to do is fill out a page of information and send $35 to a regional director. And that's it. Do that and you, too, can become an official NSA ump!
At least the local ASA requires you to attend a set number of rule interpretation classes each year. And, there are ASA national umpire classes that anyone can attend. But, from what I can tell, to become an NSA umpire all you need to do is send the cash!
If there are any NSA umpires out there with more insight into this, post and let us know if there are other requirements or training opportunities available to the NSA umps.
Since I'm on the subject, it has also been my experience that high school umpires have the strictest requirements and most thorough training. To get an NFHS license, you must past written rules tests and meet OHSAA requirements. Fail the test and you cannot become an umpire for high school ball.