Can't wait to hit the diamonds! But if you are getting frustrated that your assignments keep changing, there is a reason...
We have 177 slots requested so far, and 45 have already been "declined". This is not making scheduling very easy.
Subject: Importance of Accept/Decline assignments on a timely basis
Umpires:
Please keep in mind that the coaches/teams also have live access to Arbiter. Until an assignment is accepted, it looks to them like we haven’t done anything for their game at all. They don’t see any of the behind the scenes work going on.
Coaches have been surprised by umpires showing up to their diamonds, as the umpires didn’t accept prior to the coaches 24-hour reminder e-mail, and they assume they never got an umpire.
The sooner umpires accept/decline assignments, the better position we will be if we need to move umpires around to cover games, and/or add a mentor to umpires who are new this year.
Arbiter.Net is most efficiently used when the auto-assign function is used, which takes into consideration a balancing of all umpires, and avoids assigning people to the same levels/teams back to back. If people do not allow this feature to be used efficiently, by declining assignments on a timely basis, there is a knock-on effect to all the umpires who are keeping their calendars up to date by giving them last minute assignments even though they have been diligent in keeping their calendars up to date. If you don’t accept assignments and just allow them to “expire” is even worse as we don’t know if you really intended to decline, and by that time most other umpires have accepted/declined other games so we are limited on the available umpires to ‘fix’ the issue.
As you are likely aware, assigning is a huge balancing act, and we do our best to match your preferences to the assignments available. We can’t always meet everyone’s preferences every time, so we do appreciate flexibility.
If you end up getting an assignment across town, it is likely that we are running low on alternatives. Again, flexibility is appreciated. You will get paid extra for assignments in excess of 18 miles travel from your home location.
Arbiter is only effective at balancing out the games/locations/levels when there aren’t a bunch of manual adjustments being made.
On occasion, we have excessive amount of games declined. This means that either we aren’t maintaining our calendar properly, or being too selective when it comes to which games we are willing to do. This is making assigning VERY difficult. We do our best to meet everyone’s desires, but it isn’t always possible.
Travel to games to make start times is a common issue. I do my best when I am assigned to accommodate the schedule by planning ahead (i.e. taking my vehicle to work, grabbing dinner after the game, etc). I don’t get the luxury of going home before a game typically, and I will pack everything I need in the morning before I go (even on my days off in case I am needed when not scheduled). I am hoping for some more flexibility from umpires when it comes to locations of assignments. I realize Calgary is a big city, and drive time is definitely a growing factor with all the construction and the growth of the city. For that matter driving to Strathmore is almost easier for some people that driving to Lake Bonavista for a game. Arbiter does try to assign diamonds close by to umpires home addresses, though it isn’t always successful with other factors. We are paid a $5 travel fee for out of town games, which may not add up to too much extra for the time/gas, but on the other hand most of us aren’t doing this for the money.
With respect to concerns for Travel Time, Arbiter will take into consideration your drive time (from your home postal code) allowing for you to be at the diamond 30 minutes ahead of time. If you do have issues with those long drive times, a person can put a partial day block up to a point in the day they are first available to drive to the game. (i.e. if I work until 5:30 [and have blocked off my day until that point], and need to be at a game a 6:15 for a double header, it won’t assign me a diamond which takes more than 15 minutes to drive to). On that same block [until 5:30], if the start time is 6:45 and the diamond is a 25-minute drive it will allow the assignment.
If you can’t do a published assignment, please ensure when you decline you let us know:
– Reason
– What can/will be done to avoid a conflict in the future (settings in Arbiter [yours or assignor], or make preferences known)
– Whether you can take an alternative assignment that day
– Whether you can take an alternative assignment another day in lieu of that assignmentPlease feel free to add your ideas/suggestions to the process. Especially those of you who have been assigned by other associations/sports using Arbiter.NET