An Okotoks umpire paid close attention to the arc in a country renowned for its early architecture and ancient history. Jason Clark was selected to be behind the plate for the Co-ed Slowpitch European Super Cup in Riccione, Italy, July 30-Aug. 4. “It was two teams from Great Britain,” Clark said of the final on Aug 4. “There were no issues at all, it was kind of boring, just a well-played game. I was umpiring with one of the officials from Great Britain and the umpire from Slovenia. “We all had a good game, it went really smooth. ” Clark estimated he umpired 15 games at the tournament — and was able to keep his cool despite Italy being in the midst of a heat wave of temperatures of 40C. He got the invite to Italy the old-fashioned way — he earned it. “I’m a Level 5 umpire with Softball Canada and an official with the World Baseball/Softball Confederation, so I am internationally certified,” Clark said. “I applied with Softball Canada and I was selected.” When he’s not overseas Clark enjoys officiating at the local level. He chose to go the slowpitch route because it’s a game he loved when he was younger. “I used to play slowpitch and I wanted to take up umpiring because of my interest in officiating,” Clark said. “I started in 2002 and was able to get my Level 5 in 2015.” He called the selection to go to Europe a huge honour as only one official from Canada is chosen. “To be honest, I was the second-selection,” Clark said. “But the first guy had to have surgery. But it’s a very short list, I would guess throughout Canada it’s about 20 people who have the same status as I do.” The tournament consisted of 16 teams from eight countries. “The quality of play was very good,” Clark said. “It was an exciting week.” The toughest call in slowpitch is the same regardless of which side of the Atlantic an umpire is on. A pitcher who doesn’t have the appropriate or has too much loft, will have the opponents sounding like Noah’s neighbours before the big storm — yelling ‘arc, arc, arc.’” “The toughest call is the arc or the height of the pitch, that’s the one that has the most variables,” Clark said. “It has to be a maximum of 12 feet and a minimum of six feet. You have to control the pitchers so they make it fair for the batters to be able to hit the ball.” Italy wasn’t his first forte at international slowpitch officiating. “In 2016, in Oklahoma City I was at a tournament with the Canadian national team and the U.S.A. national team and plus a few other club teams,” Clark said. “It culminates into a championship game between Team USA and Team Canada every year.” He worked first base for the championship game in 2016. His goal is to be invited back to the USA for that country’s top division’s national championships. Clark feels at home keeping things in order, whether it’s between the lines or on the ice. He has been a member of the Okotoks Referees Association since 2002 — earning his stripes before moving to Big Rock Country from Calgary. “When I was a young guy I used to Junior A, Midget AAA, and I actually refereeed the Mac’s final game in 2001,” he said.
