The Pontiac’s two competitive minor ball associations, located in Shawville and Quyon, have been trying to find officials for the league’s seventy or so players, but so far all efforts have struck out.He said the handful of umpires that still officiate competitive fastball mostly officiate the men’s leagues, leaving young home-run hopefuls without legitimate officials.

“We’re always looking online, talking to people, trying to find anybody that wants to volunteer a little bit of time,” said Curtis Daley, president of the Quyon Sports and Recreation Committee, the body that organizes youth baseball in the village.

It’s not for a lack of effort. His association is offering free training sessions and a small stipend for officiating the games, but Daley said it hasn’t improved uptake.

Coaches, parents, and even Daley himself have been filling in where needed in order to keep the games going. The association has even been training some of the older players to fill in for the younger age groups.

Even still, he often doesn’t know who is going to step behind the plate until right before opening pitch.

“We’re playing our first game at 7:15 and we still don’t have an umpire [ . . . ] so it’ll probably be one of us volunteers having to do it instead of coaching,” he said before the June 17 slate of games in Quyon.

Shawville RA president Emily Taylor confirmed in a message that her association has also been looking for umpires but finds itself in a similar situation.

Stéphane Durocher, who organizes the three-pitch Pontiac Youth Softball League, told THE EQUITY his league with over 41 teams and 440 players does not have the same shortage.

“Each municipality usually has the same umpire every year,” he said, adding that they pay officials to do games in all Pontiac municipalities north of Shawville, which is the league’s territory.

Daley said the three-pitch style of ball Durocher’s league runs is not as competitive as what his league plays, adding that it is harder to attract officials when there is pressure to make proper calls.

“The difference is [there] is no pressure to call balls and strikes. You only get three pitches, good or bad,” he said.

As the season rolls on, Daley said the organization is more appreciative than ever of the volunteers who are keeping the show on the road from behind home plate, noting that without their help, “there wouldn’t be any [minor ball],” he said.

Daley said the organization has considered hiring umpires to travel from the city, but members are worried the extra travel time will come with a higher price tag.

“We try to keep baseball a cheap enough sport that any kid can play, and if we start getting officiating from the city the kids won’t be able to afford to play baseball.”

He said while he is disappointed the declining popularity of youth fastball has now extended to umpires, he and his team of volunteers are doing what they can to keep it going.

“Nobody really wants to come and do it for the kids anymore, but as volunteers we’re just doing the best we can and make sure we can continue with it,” he said.

He said the Shawville and Quyon associations have a group chat where committee members and coaches are constantly looking for leads on officials, and that they will continue to do so.

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