In Texas and in the University Interscholastic League you find some of the most intriguing aspects of tennis officiating--and a great one came to mind this past week...
In the semi-finals of the district tournament, the girl in the mixed doubles team was late for her match. Since I was the referee I told both coaches that she was on the clock when she failed to check in at the appointed time and that she would be penalized appropriately according to USTA rules.
After 15 minutes had passed, I told both coaches that we should default her but they both thought she would be there soon. The girl actually called in about 13 minutes from the call for her match but never called again.
After 41 minutes she showed up! I had previously talked with both coaches and they didn't want to default her since her team was seeded #1, and they wanted to talk to her when she did arrive. Since I wanted to be as fair as possible, I allowed the coaches to discuss the penalties for the girl and this was their solution: She would be penalized a set and loss of toss...
When she arrived I asked her why she was late and she said, "I overslept--and--there was traffic." I told her that was not a valid excuse but that the coaches had agreed to let her play with the set penalty.
The girl and her partner then went on to win the match 0-6, 6-0, 6-0.
And now who can say we don't do things differently in Texas...
1 comment:
wow what a great lesson the coaches taught this spoiled brat. If your good you get to do what you want.
Guess you can not count on Mommy and Daddy teaching her any lessons as well.
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