Officials Locker Room

[Umpire in Chief]

BrianC brought this up at umpire.org and I wanted to take it a bit of a different direction.

I like the concept and feel it can be very popular. As always there is a but...

But I have heard from someone who has demoed the product it is a bit small and somewhat difficult to get changed in.

Is this something you'd use?

Do you think it is practical?

[Stan W.]

I saw this on the other site and agree that it is a neat idea...like many others I have had times and game locations where having something like this would have been nice....struggling in the front seat of my car to get changed can be somewhat challenging...

Concerns of course, would be how much space it took up and how fast and easy it went up and down....

Seeing this and the reality of having to dress onsite without facilities, does make you more aware of how difficult we have it in comparison to our Football and Basketball Brethern.

(in relation to locker room facilities....)

It also does make me so much more grateful for those limited sites that have umpire locker room facilites....

Edited December 3, 2008 by Stan W.
Additonal thought

[LMSANS]

Even when I worked in a professional venue, we didn't have access to the locker room. I've gotten used to wearing combos when I have a dh and just changing my shirts and socks.

I don't believe I could ever convince myself that I needed this gadget.

[jjb]

Does it come in XXL?

[Majordave]

If I was modest. But I have no qualms about getting strip stark naked and dressing in the back of my trunk in a parking lot. That should be the incentive for some programs to put in an officials' locker room. I was in the buff powdering up between games of a DH this summer and some GLM came up to get something out of her SUV. She was taking a good long look and when I caught her looking she hurried away. (good thing it was summer- no shrinkage. You Seinfeld fans will know what I mean)

I guess I should know better but so far, no complaints. Fortunately I only work two or three places without locker rooms/restrooms I can change in.

I think it would be a good product to use though. The cost is reasonable. I don't like the large logo on the side but since I teach marketing I understand the reason and necessity for doing so.

Edited December 3, 2008 by Majordave

[AllanA]

I drive an Xterra. I am thinking of using a shower curtain around the hatchback.

If the wind is blowing I can use weights to hold it down. It should be roomy.

Allan

[Stan W.]

Every so often I get a new game site, but for the most part I have been onsite hundreds of times and we have staked out areas to get dressed, the back of parking lots...side streets, around the corner of the gym...

Despite all this however, a number of my game sites are places where you still have to be careful, (HS field located at the elementary school)......this product could be helpful for those

places.

we teach our new guys where to go and how to park....(back in side by side, open the doors for privacy etc...)

The best experience I have is at a big summer tourney at a HS in Ohio where the field director opens the football officials locker room for us....we have separate parking, showers, laundry facilities and our 6 man crew hangs out all weekend......perfect....

Edited December 4, 2008 by Stan W.

[blindumpire99]

I bought one of these last spring and used it a few times. Overall, not bad..

My cons with it is that the material is a little thin, it's a bi-otch to roll it back into itself sometimes and it's very lightweight, so you gotta be careful in a windy sitch....

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=414681

[MCLEOD36]

I usually dress in my sliders/cup protector at home, then throw on shorts. If the mom's mind me in black spandex when i put my pants on then I might have to buy one of these things. Most of the time it is the front seat, and a quick look around to avoid the gawkers.

[The Officials Locker Room]

It is nice to see people talking about my product. The unit only takes 15-20 seconds to open/close. It is 33" in diameter and it is big enough for pretty much any size person. At 52" tall, it comes up to a man's chest (@ 6'4" ) and the unit weight less than 2 lbs.! . I came up with the locker room because I got sick and tired of not having anywhere to change my clothes. The unit is made of 210T polyester and bottom is constructed of heavy duty PE...the same material used on camping tent floors. The bottom is nice especially on windy days. My website will be up and running in a few weeks and I plan on having a video demo on the product. With all the liability issues in this county today the last thing we need is some teacher or student seeing up stripping down by our car. I hope you try The Official's Locker Room. Chris

www.theofficialslockerroom.com

Edited December 15, 2008 by The Officials Locker Room

[Stan W.]

Neat Idea Chris.....

Best of luck with your product....I agree there are some places where this would be more than ideal.....my perfect example is the HS baseball field that is physically located at the elementary school.........and dismissal time is right at gametime for HS games....

[catoblue]

Chris,

It's refreshing to see a vendor that is willing to hop on a forum like this to talk about their product. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that this is something you came up with because you are a fellow official (necessity is the mother of invention). If that's the case, welcome to Umpire-Empire, and I hope you'll join in the forum to talk about all things umpire with the rest of the crew.

[mstaylor]

He is the second vendor posting here and find it a good thing.

[Stan W.]

He is the second vendor posting here and find it a good thing.

absolutely agreed.........with interaction and sincere input, it can only mean better products for all of us who umpire....

BIG welcome to Chris and Jim Kirk...

[BrianC14]

Ditto to Mike and Stan.

Too many vendors/retailers these days don't take the time to listen to the input from their customers.

(Remember the digital hand-held Phaser/Indicator that was featured on the other forum...) :P

[The Officials Locker Room]

Thanks for the kind words. I umpire college baseball in Southern California and alot of the JUCO schools do not have locker rooms. Plus I work some travel ball here and there.. About 5 years ago I was dressing for a HS game at my car and I was in my underwear and a woman who lived across the street from the school started yelling at me. I was kinda embarrased. I believe The Official's Locker Room is more than just another product. You can never be too careful these days. It is a great relief to "strip off" your wet, sticky undergarment after a plate job and not have to worry about offending anyone. We shall see how it sell.

[jjb]

The price ain't bad, either

[celt62]

I saw the "locker room" and thought it was a great idea but kind of small. I just happened to be on the "Sportsman's Guide" website and in their camping section they have a portable shower. Same exact concept only it's twice the size with a zippered doorway. It spirals down in a nice little round bag also at the same price of $39.99. I should have grabbed two.

[mazzamouth]

All of the college and HS games I worked in NorCal and now in Missouri we umpires have no changing room, SO i did buy one.. I thought well 32 bucks aint to bad So i will take a chance. I set it up at the house and tried it out, there is plenty of room for you to change, the bottom is made of a trap like material, and it is easy to open. Now the problem I have is closing it... I took about 10 tries before I got it down. I'm pretty sure i will like it as I can change right there before and after the games.

[phillybluecheese]

It looks like it collapses similar to those portable pool floats that are circular shaped when folded. They can be a bitch to fold back up. If you don't get it on the first try, you end up playing with it for five minutes. The product is a great concept. I hope we hear from more users.

[Umpire in Chief]

Well the season has started for portions of the country and about to start in others. I'd love to hear some feedback from those ouf you who may have tried this product.

[blue32]

Ok, I took one for the team, and ordered one tonight. Should be here next week. I was getting tired of getting ready at work then driving to the game in uniform. I'll let you guys know how it goes after a few uses.

[Umpire in Chief]

Wow that's a team player. I look forward to it.

[MCLEOD36]

Crap guys. I just ordered one. Now Bri, if you want me to order one for you too, that is fine, but I dont think they have that CO built in heater yet LOL. I will give you guys feedback as I get it and try it. John

[mazzamouth]

Well i used my locker room for the 1st time today... comes out and setups very easy, plenty of room inside to change...but folding it back together is a pain in the rear end. took me about 5 mins.