It's no secret that there is an umpire shortage. That's why E3 Officials, LLC recommends the following as the best ways to secure officials for your league or tournament when there's so much competition and others to work for.

1) Schedule -- A schedule that is released as soon as possible is the best way to secure officials for your games. If you are a returning league or tournament, Umpire-In-Chief Eric John Roberts uses the previous year as a guideline to know how many officials to ask to save the weekend in advance of schedules being published. A draft schedule is better than no schedule for your assigner to start confirming officials.

2) Pay Rates -- The next best way to secure officials is competitive pay rates. Officials and leagues should be able to see what others pay to ensure they offer a competitive rate. View current pay rates at www.e3games.org/officials

3) Association -- Working with an association like E3 Officials, LLC makes it much more likely to get all your games covered. E3 Officials, LLC is the only major assigner in West Michigan that has never and will never charge a fee to umpires to join the association. This encourages good officials to work with us, and our staff assesses officials each year to assign the highest quality officials available for your games.

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