RYBL UMPIRES

A Note From The Umpire-in-Chief

Welcome Umpires, we look forward to a fun 2026 season!

All Umpires are required by Baseball Ontario to be re-certified annually to maintain their active umpire status. Below are the instructions to become an umpire with Royal York Baseball League (RYBL).

Rep & Select umpires must be 12 years old and are required to complete a training clinic under the Royal York Baseball League (RYBL) Inc. umbrella through the Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) found on the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) website.

New for 2026

All new level 1.1 umpires must register and pay for certification at OBA directly. Please involve your parent or an adult in this process.

Umpires must independently complete a series of virtual online training modules for certification. Virtual modules and test will be available shortly after you register, and it is recommended you complete the on line virtual clinic prior to attending an in person clinic. Below are the 2026 fees if you register for one of the RYBL hosted in person clinics.

Level 1.1->1.2 – $30 OBA fee
Level 2.1->2.3 – $50 OBA fee

Please make sure you read the instructions very carefully. I have posted the instructions in the Documents section in the umpire folder on the right side of the main page in Horizon. Make sure to use the same email address on the new OBA site that you used as your ONDeck profile. Also, make sure you reference Royal York Baseball League as your affiliate in order to see the clinics before other umpires.

Clinic dates are as follows:

9am on March 28th, 2026 @ Humber College Lakeshore Campus Gymnasium
9am on April 11th, 2026 @ Humber College Lakeshore Campus Gymnasium

Please follow the steps in the attachments in the documents section to complete your 2026 certification and register for your umpire camp. You must complete Step One before moving to Step Two.

STEP ONE (STEP 1 PDF)

Use the Step One document attached and complete steps 1 through 10.

Set your password. You must use the same email address you used in ONDeck in 2025.
Register and pay for certification.

STEP TWO (STEP 2 PDF)

Use the Step Two document attached and begin at step 11.

Register for your local association umpire camp.
Link: https://www.registeroba.ca/event-details/u26-51-royal-york-baseball-league-09-00-am-2026-03-28-09-00/form
Link: https://www.registeroba.ca/event-details/u26-52-royal-york-baseball-league-09-00-am-2026-04-11-09-00/forrm

As this is a new process there will be many questions, please be patient with the OBA and myself, we will be busy.

P.S. Level 3 umpires – this is a super clinic year, please follow the same instructions and create your ID on the new OBA website. Course date will be available in late Feb/early March.

If you have questions they can be directed to Umpire@playoba.ca or follow this link to frequently asked questions FAQ- Umpiring | Umpire Development.

If you still have questions please feel free to reach out to uic@rybl.com.

Once you have registered you will have until Mid-May 2026 to complete all online modules and the in person clinic. We can’t schedule you for Rep/Select games until you have completed the in person clinic, online modules and we have received your active status and certification from the OBA.

Although RYBL will host (2) OBA run in person clinics, It is not mandatory for Umpires to complete in-person clinics hosted by RYBL to umpire with RYBL. You can register with any clinic in Ontario. We will host 2 clinics for RYBL umpires while the EBA will also host as well for all Etobicoke umpires (Mar 29^th). If you need those links email me uic@rybl.com and I will send you the link.

Finally if this is your first year (Lvl 1.1) or returning umpire just new to RYBL please make sure you register on the RYBL website once it opens up in March.

Although every effort is made to ensure a fair distribution of games, number of returning umpires, professionalism both on and off the diamond along with skill is factored into game assignments. Umpires are expected to equally share home plate responsibilities. For this position, umpires are required to have a chest protector, Umpire/catcher’s face mask shin guards and jill/jock. RYBL has protective umpire equipment available for use (not the jill/jock); this is stored in the equipment boxes at most diamonds please make sure it is returned at the end of each assignment.

Umpires are expected to arrive to the park at least 20 minutes prior to the start time for each game and on the field for the plate meeting 10 minutes before the game is scheduled to start

Below is equipment required and umpires jersey, Umpires MUST match for each assignment. Please coordinate this with your assigned partner. All umpires contact information is available on Horizon.

Black (primary) & Powder Blue (secondary). Umpire shirts will be the preferred colour for RYBL Umpires (Black is mandatory).

Base Umpire