USA Softball announces umpires selected for 2017 WBSC World Championships

March 16, 2017

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USA Softball announces umpires selected for 2017 WBSC World Championships

 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Seven umpires from the United States have been selected to represent the USA Softball umpire program internationally in the 2017 season as the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) recently announced the umpiring staff for the Men’s and Junior Women’s World Championships.  Slated for July 7-16 in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, three U.S. umpires have been assigned to the WBSC Men’s World Championship while an additional four umpires have been selected to the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship staff, which will be held July 24-30 in Clearwater, Fla.

 

“To receive an assignment to a WBSC World Championship is a true testament to the skills and abilities of a USA Softball umpire,” said USA Softball Director of Umpires Kevin Ryan.  “Representing your country on the international stage is an extraordinary honor for our umpires along with the entire USA Softball umpire program.  To be recognized by the WBSC is a credit to the work and dedication that these individuals have put into their career, and we know that they will represent USA Softball very well this summer and beyond.”

 

USA Softball umpires that have been selected for the WBSC Men’s World Championship will be Randy McLamb (Clinton, N.C.), Brian Sonak (State College, Pa.) and Casey Waite (Boise, Idaho).  McLamb, who is affiliated with USA Softball of North Carolina, is an Elite Umpire and has Gold status in the USA Softball Umpire Medals Program.  Sonak, who is affiliated with USA Softball of Pennsylvania, is also an Elite Umpire, has been in the National Indicator Fraternity (NIF) since 2003 and is Silver status in the Medals Program.  Waite, who registers with USA Softball of Idaho, has been in  the NIF since 2008, is an Elite Umpire and is also Silver status in the Medals Program.  USA Softball Director of Umpires Kevin Ryan will also serve as an Assistant Umpire-in-Chief (UIC) for the Championship.

 

“I am very honored to have the opportunity to represent USA Softball as one of the few umpires at the 2017 WBSC Men's World Championship,” said Waite.  “I look forward to the great competition and the opportunity to make new friends from around the world.  Whitehorse is a great community that supports the softball championships, and I am excited to be going back to enjoy their hospitality again.” 

 

In addition to the WBSC Men’s World Championship, four umpires were selected for the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship:  Cindi Brunot (Lantana, Fla.), Matt Dunbar (Miami, Fla.), Jason Gehoski (Midland, Mich.) and Minda Villa (Temecula, Calif.).  Brunot and Dunbar, who both register with USA Softball of Florida, are members of the NIF, are Gold status in the Medals Program and are Elite Umpires.  Gehoski, who registers with USA Softball of Michigan, is also an NIF member, is Silver status in the Medals Program and is an Elite Umpire, while Villa, who registers with USA Softball of Southern California, is an Elite Umpire.  In addition to the umpire assignments, Chris Drumm (San Louis Rey, Calif.) has been appointed as an Assistant UIC for the Junior Women’s World Championship.

 

"It is a great honor to represent our country, give back to the sport that has given me so much, and be able to work and learn from umpires around the world,” said Brunot.

 

USA Softball of Florida Umpire-in-Chief (UIC) Dunbar echoes Brunot’s sentiments stating, “I am extremely honored and humbled to once again represent my country on the international stage.  It is always satisfying that others feel that you have what it takes and reward you with these opportunities.  I like working with umpires from other countries and enjoying some camaraderie with them through softball.  I have had a couple of other opportunities to do this having worked World Cup in 2007 and the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara Mexico in 2011. There is no experience like working in front of packed stadiums and feeling the electricity in the air!”

 

Please click here to see the entire umpiring staff for the WBSC Men’s and Junior Women’s World Championship.

 

To find out how you can become a WBSC-certified umpire, please visit USASoftball.com.

 

About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million.  USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch.  USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.  The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.

As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.

 

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation 

Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 213 National Federation and Associate Members in 142 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide annually. 

 

The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).

 

For more information, visit: www.wbsc.org

 

Codi Warren I Managing Director of Communications

USA Softball

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111
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