President’s Message

My fellow officials,

I’d like to welcome you to the first installment of the Blue Crew News! I hope you will take a look at all of the features we have been working on, and I hope you will return to these pages often. There is good information here regarding new rule changes, information on training opportunities, and even some fun articles that will give you a chuckle.

I want to take this moment to thank Robert Fobian, Michael Chmar, and Tim Strutzel for the significant work they have done to coordinate this effort. If you have any questions about anything, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can reach me at [email protected] or 703-909-4852.  That being said, I do have a couple of reminders and announcements.

As you know, the VHSL test is now open; the clinic will be available from February 3 till March 14. The test closes on March 14. The Maryland test is open from February 12 until March 17. The clinic will be available starting February 12 until March 17.

We will be conducting an in-person membership meeting at Hammond HS in Columbia, Maryland on Tuesday, January 28 – start time is 7pm. Enter through the front door; the meeting is in the cafeteria.

A meeting in Virginia is planned for Monday, February 3 at 7pm at Marshall High School in Falls Church. Enter through Door #1. The meeting is room #C113.

Both meetings are open to all members. This is likely to be the only in-person meeting of the year. We’d very much like to see as many of our fellow umpires as possible. We believe we will have rule books in time for both meetings. We anticipate the next membership meeting to be in the late-February, early March time frame; conducted via Zoom. As of now, we do not have the date quite set. This meeting will include a rules discussion to prepare you for the test, if you need it.

SAVE THE DATE – Although we do not have details on the location yet, we are planning to hold the 2025 Banquet on Saturday evening, December 6, 2025. More to come on that in the future.

MEMBERSHIP DUES – Are now payable. In order to pay your annual dues, please use our application online.

Now, please enjoy the rest of the Blue Crew News!

Dave Maher
President