Softball Returns to Referee Magazine

(RACINE, Wis.) — Referee magazine, the official magazine for sports officials, announced today that it is expanding its page count from 80 to 84 pages and will reintroduce softball as a featured sport in its October issue.

The magazine, founded in 1976, serves as the officiating industry’s historical record and provides educational material to improve officiating skills, management techniques and mechanics. Each month the magazine is read by more than 80,000 sports officials who work all levels of competition from the professional ranks to amateur recreational programs for youth.

The reintroduction of softball comes after the magazine discontinued it last year and expanded coverage of the other four sports it regularly features. Expanded coverage of baseball, basketball, football and soccer will continue.

The softball coverage will be exactly the same as for the other sports, with columns on rules, mechanics and officiating philosophy, plus Mechanigrams, PlayPics, quick tips, and other tidbits. The magazine will cover rule-related items for the National Federation of State High School Associations, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Amateur Softball Association and the United States Specialty Sports Association.

Jay Miner, Albany, N.Y., was named softball coordinator, making him responsible for managing the softball magazine columns and other projects. Miner has worked with Referee as a freelance author since 1982 and has had more than 200 columns published in the magazine. He has been umpiring baseball and softball for more than three decades and is active in assigning and evaluating umpires.

"Jay is among the finest umpire educators in the country," said Bill Topp, Referee editor. "His passion for the rules with a historic perspective provides unique columns for our readers. We're thrilled to have him working with us."

Referee is available by subscription only. It is not sold on newstands. To inquire about a subscription, call toll-free 800/733-6100 or visit their website at www.referee.com.