Cathy’s Correspondence: IGHSAU Softball Coordinator of Officials
Newsletter #1 - May 28, 2025
The 2025 IGHSAU softball season has started!
Important Dates:
Post-season requirements due June -TBD
Post Season Dates to remember:
Regional - 1A/2A: July 7, 9, 11, 14
Regional - 3A/4A/5A: July 10, 12, 15
State Tournament – Fort Dodge: July 21-25
Registration/books/test/clinic - registration for softball is open in the Center for Official Services (Dragonfly). The website is DragonFly MAX (dragonflyathletics.com). Please register for the 2024-2025 school year. All officials, regardless of their level of play, must complete registration, watch the rules meeting, and pass the test. The test is OPEN BOOK and must be completed before your first varsity game. The rule meeting/clinic is also found on the Dragonfly website. The rule meeting/clinic should be completed when I send the post-season availability form in early June to qualify for post-season play. The date that the form will be sent will be announced at a later date..
Certification of Umpires: To work an IGHSAU high school game (ALL high school, including JV and 9th grade) there must be two certified varsity umpires. This is an umpire safety issue. There should always be two adults present when working with student athletes – there should never be one-on-one with students. Stay out of the dugouts. Talk only as necessary to the athletes. NEVER touch a student-athlete, even if you are the plate umpire. If a player is hurt, stop the game, and the coach will attend to them. If you need to tell a JV pitcher what they are doing incorrectly, have the coach stand with you during the conversation.
Reciprocity – Out-of-state umpires must take the IGHSAU test ONLY if they wish to work post-season. If out-of-state umpires wish to work during the regular season only, they may use their own state’s test to qualify for the regular season.
Iowa Adaptations – There has been some confusion on the new run rule adaptation. Games no longer end if a team is ahead by more than 12 runs after three innings. It is required to use a 10-run rule after 4 innings (3.5 innings if the home team is leading by 10 or more runs) and an 8-run rule after five or six innings (5.5 innings if the home team is leading by 8 or more runs).
Umpire Pants: This year, we will also allow charcoal gray pants, as I think the heather gray will be discontinued soon. Some supply houses do not have certain sizes in heather gray, and new umpires must be able to buy uniforms.
On-Site Administrators: On-site administrators are required for all contests. Umpires, be sure you identify the admin on your game night. Do NOT start a game until they are present. Please notify them if there are any issues outside the field, and the administrators are responsible for addressing these problems. What happens on the field is the umpire’s jurisdiction.
Smartwatches – Umpires may wear smartwatches for medical reasons. Under no circumstances shall an umpire receive calls, texts, or other correspondence during a game (this includes between innings). Some umpires need to wear this device; don’t ruin it for those umpires who need it by misusing it. IGHSAU requires no permission for umpires to wear a medical smartwatch.
Electronic Communication Devices: Note that this year, the previous adaptation of a communication device from dugout to catcher has been removed. The NFHS has adopted this as a rule this year, so we do not need this as an adaptation. Additionally, media boxes have been removed from adaptations as of 2024. No media is allowed on the field or in the dugouts; therefore, no media is permitted on the field.
Rule Review - The 2025 lightning policy was sent to all umpires. If thunder is heard, stop the game. If lightning is seen, stop the game. Send players and coaches to a previously designated safe area. Have the on-site administrator monitor the lightning and wait 30 minutes after the last lightning strike before resuming warm-up for the continuation of the game. Umpires need to go to a safe place, too.
Cheers and chants – these are a new point of emphasis requested by the IGHSAU coaches. The chants from the dugout MUST be positive and directed toward your team. No negative chants directed at the opposing team. This includes barking or other sounds mimicking an animal (examples: we don’t want your dirty balls (on a low pitch), ball 1, ball ball 2, ball ball ball 3, and ‘she’s throwing up’ (on a high pitch)). There is a zero-tolerance policy with this. If the opposing coach brings this issue to the umpire’s attention, the umpire will issue a warning to the head coach. If the negative cheer is heard again, the coach will be restricted to the dugout. If it happens a third time, the head coach is ejected. Umpires, take care of this early in the season.
Obstruction – There are numerous softball games available to watch on various media platforms. I would like to point out that the high school obstruction rule is different from what is shown in most televised games. Rule 2-35 – Obstruction is the act of the defensive team member that hinders or impedes a batter’s attempt to contact a pitched ball or that impedes the progress of a runner who is legally running the bases, unless the fielder is in possession of the ball or is making a play on a batted ball. The act may be intentional or unintentional, and can be either physical or verbal.
Rule questions, game mechanics, and similar inquiries should be directed to the IGHSAU Softball Coordinator of Officials, Cathy Creighton, at cathy@ighsau.org. I will be available to take phone calls throughout the day and respond to emails (preferred method). I will check a couple of times per day. Please do not call before 7:00 a.m. or after 10:00 p.m. (563-940-0164). Remember, I am a part-time independent contractor for IGHSAU. I work from home and am not in the IGHSAU office full-time, so please do not call me there. You must identify yourself as an umpire, as I try not to respond to parents. That is the coach’s responsibility. Please be patient, as I receive a lot of correspondence during the season. Feel free to contact your regional advisor as well (see contact information below).
Player eligibility questions should be directed to Jason Eslinger at jasoneslinger@ighasu.org.
Regional Advisors and their areas of coverage:
Tom Burger, Northeast, and eastern Iowa, tomburger88@gmail.com.
Pat Pacha, Southeast, and eastern Iowa, patepacha@gmail.com
Jim Doyle, Southwest, and southern Iowa, doylefloor@hotmail.com
Craig Snider, Northwest, and western Iowa, craigdsnider@gmail.com
Tom Sullivan, North Iowa, some northeast, and northwest. tsullivan@stacsd.org
Cathy Creighton, Central Iowa (including the DSM metro), cathy@ighsau.org, or ccreighton48@gmail.com
My advisors and I met several new people at the in-person clinics this year. It is good to see new umpires working at the high school level. Those of you working with new umpires, please be patient. Teach them the right way. I will see you on the diamond!
Cathy Creighton
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