Lallement blazing a trail at Canadian Futures Showcase

Elise Lallement marches across Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton park. Photo: Mark Colley

September 22, 2022

By Devon Tredinnick

Carleton University

OTTAWA - As sunshine, wind and rain all take their turn blitzing the field of Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park, its umpire, Elise Lallement, explained how happy she was to be there.

“It’s my home diamond,” she said.

Lallement (Ottawa, Ont.) is the only female umpire at the Canadian Futures Showcase. Standing tall at just more than five feet, her voice booms across the field, as the showcase isn’t only a chance for the players to stand out, but herself as well.

Elise Lallement is also the first female umpire in the Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League. Photo: Mark Colley.

Now in her 19th season, Lallement recalled how she got her start in baseball in 2004 as a scorer. Her switch into umpiring came as a result of her umpire-in-chief at the time recommending the change, she said.

In her hometown of Greely, there aren’t many female umpires of her caliber, Lallement said, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any elsewhere. She mentioned both Quebec and Ontario have plenty at the entry level.

“There’s quite a few of us actually,” she said.

Lallement talked about her presence on the diamond, saying her biggest challenge has been working with catchers to make sure she has enough space.

“Communication with the catcher is key, for sure,” she said.

Lallement added it's her work ethic that makes her stand out as an umpire.

“You can only be as good as the amount of work you put into what you’re doing.”

To younger, female baseball players, Lallement’s advice is to go for it. She mentioned a list of other female umpires who helped break a “glass ceiling” in the sport. That list includes Lisa Turbitt (Burlington, Ont.) as one of her bigger examples.

Umpire supervisor, Rob Shewchuk, had more to say about Elise as an umpire.

“Elise is one of our elite female umpires in Canada,” said Shewchuk.

He explained Lallement was asked to attend the showcase in response to her performance at the Friendship Series in Thunder Bay, Ont.

It’s her willingness to learn that makes Lallement stand out as an umpire, Shewchuk described. Her ability to process information and work ethic go a long way too, he added.

If Lallement is successful here, she’ll be on the international list for female umpires, Shewchuk explained, which comes with its own opportunities.

“There’s world championships, there’s qualifiers, there’s Pan American games. So then she becomes eligible to do any one of those number of tournaments,” said Shewchuk.