Level Five Umpire teaches her daughter the skill

    Friday, 9 June 2023 07:00

    By Tonya Organ

    Kearney O'Keefe has come a long way since calling that first foul 12 years ago, and today, she is a top Level 5 umpire.

    She's the first female to umpire men’s softball league in many years, to a top  Level 5 Umpire and full fledged trainer,  Kearney  O'Keefe has come a long way since calling that first foul 12 years ago. She started as a way to help her own community by filling in during a game in 2011 and taking an umpire course. O'Keefe says between each level of umpiring, there can be a year or two, or even 3 in between. She says anything above level 3 is done at a national level.  O’Keefe says it wasn’t an easy process but definitely one that was worth it. She says for a while, the number of female umpires was very low when the UIC appointed her as the Deputy Umpire in Chief for Women in Officiating. O’Keefe says her focus was to recruit more ladies to the team and it’s something she works on every season. She says her daughter took the course and this is her 9th season umpiring before she heads off to a tournament in Manitoba in August. O’Keefe is off to Gander in a couple of weeks to host an umpire clinic.

     

     

     

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