Scholarship Recipients
The Houston-TASO Baseball Umpire Scholarship Foundation recipients are local graduating seniors who have played or participated in their high school baseball program as part of their high school experience. For the second consecutive year a total of 30 scholarships are being awarded. Scholarship recipients are awarded based on the following criteria:
• Financial Need
• Acad
emic Achievement
• Essay Writing
• Coach's Recommendations
Each year's recipient receives a financial scholarship sent directly to the college of their choice. Over the past 15 years there have been over $500,000 in scholarships. Recipients also receive a commemorative plaque to record the honor of the scholarship award and their achievement. The majority of the scholarship funds are generated from an annual tournament held in September. The scholarship funds are raised by the umpire's activities, including an annual baseball tournament, and corporate contributions. Tournament games are played at 24 various fields; the majority are high school fields that are donated by their school programs. The high school coaches donate their time to prepare and facilitate each game. 64 Varsity and 32 Sub-Varsity teams compete for the opportunity to play in the finals. Each of the teams represent their high school. This tournament is regarded as some of the best competition in the state. The tournament finals are hosted at Constellation Field, home of the Sugar Land Skeeter’s and Baseball USA. The Houston Baseball Chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials consists of over 325 active umpires, both men and women, who officiate at more than 170 local high schools. These umpires volunteer their time to help ensure the scholarship tournament and scholarship foundation is successful. Each member of the chapter also donates $10.00 of their membership fees towards the scholarship foundation.
