The New Look of Today's Officials

Ed Price chairing matches today in Waco in 31 degrees!

Myron Krueger & Michelle Walker in their new shirts.

Myron & Michelle in their "winter" look.

Basking in the glow of doing a match in 29 degree weather, we found two of our more infamous officials modeling the new officials' attire.

We thought you would enjoy seeing "officials in action."

New Wave of Politics: Unique To Say The Least

The illustrious Senator Scott Brown in 1982.

Senator Scott Brown today.

The infamous Nancy Pelosi in her earlier days.

Nancy Pelosi today.

Seems that times are changing everyone and I thought you would get a kick out of seeing the "new" politicians in America...

New Wave of Christianity: The Blackberry!

Church Attendance "By Blackberry"

President Obama on one of his three visits to church in the past year.

We discovered a new wave of change sweeping over Christianity this week--the rise of church attendance via the Blackberry instead of actually attending in person!

Our illustrious President Barack Hussein Obama shared that he and his family have only attended church THREE times in the past year but he is an "attender by Blackberry."

Wonder who his pastor is and where he sends his tithe??? Answers to which we will probably never know--and most likely, don't care about...

Interesting new concept though sweeping through Christianity and one I thought you would enjoy pondering over on a cold Saturday morning.

Comparison of ITA Pay Scales

We thought it would be informative and interesting for you to be able to compare the pay scales for different universities. Here is that information:

Baylor University: $125/match w/$25-$50 mileage allowance

Big 12: Referee ($120/match) Umpires ($100/match) w/mileage of $1.00/mile one way up to $250, plus $40/per diem

Howard Payne University: $125/match

Oklahoma University: Referee ($130/match) Umpires ($110/match) Max. of $125 travel.

Oklahoma State University: Referee ($130/match) Umpires ($110/match) Max. of $125 travel.

Rice University: Referee ($135/match) Umpires ($125/match)

Southern Methodist University: Referee ($140/match) Umpires ($125/match)

Texas Christian University: $115/match for all officials.

Tulsa University: Referee ($120/match) Umpires ($100/match) Max. of $100 travel.

University of Houston: Referee ($135/match) Umpires ($125/match)

University of North Texas: Referee ($140/match) Umpires ($125/match)

University of Texas: All officials ($135/match w/$50 mileage allowance over 50 miles)

University of Texas at Arlington: Referee ($140/match) Umpires ($125/match)

University of Texas at Dallas: Referee ($140/match) Umpires ($125/match)

** These are the rates we have and we will be updating the list as we receive the information from different coordinators.

Just A Thought...

Just imagine how good he would look in the new green ITA shirt and matching black jacket! But then he would also need four black shoes...

Newest Issue: Do We Need An Officials Union?

For all of my years I have always been adamantly against unions--and usually for good reasons as I have seen their excesses and corruption--but I'm beginning to rethink my stand in regard to an OFFICIALS UNION in Texas and the USTA.

The first thing we need to understand is the VALUE AND AUTHORITY OF OUR LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. These associations are formed to enlist, train, encourage, set rates, pay officials, maintain IRS records, and take care of all local officiating business--and all that is really good! There are well defined associations in DFW, Houston, Austin, Waco, and San Antonio and less defined ones in College Station, Abilene, Tyler, and Lubbock but they are all still associations just the same.

The PROBLEM we now have arising in Texas is that there are those who are attempting to by-pass the local associations to get a cheaper rate or to provide fewer benefits for the officials. Any time we have an increase in rates there are those who take punitive actions against us for the rate increase. This issue has already arisen in San Antonio and is now raising its ugly head here in the Metroplex so its time to take a stand...

Personally, I believe the Texas Section should be sure that a tournament is supportive of the local association before they grant them a sanction for their tournament. This will require diligence on the part of the Texas Section office as well as our association leaders. We definitely need our Sectional Chairman to take an active role in this dispute...

I am not necessarily advocating an OFFICIALS UNION but I am saying that the local associations should be the ones who set rates and authorize officials to work in their area. That needs to be crystal clear and supported by tournaments and tournament directors in those areas.

This is fixing to be a CRITICAL ISSUE in Texas so be sure to send us your thoughts and comments.

Creative Payment Options

Here is an interesting payment scenario for all you bloggers...

In a recent ITA dual match there were two officials. One official chaired the #1 doubles match while the other official roved the other two matches. In singles, the same official chaired the #1 singles match while the other official roved the other five matches.

Now which option would you consider fair:

1. Each official should get the established rate for a dual match.

2. Official #1 should get 2/9 of the pay since he only did two matches. The other official should get 7/9's of the pay since he did the other seven matches.

Interesting thought...

SPECIAL NOTE: I promised I would tell you the details so here you go...

The referee was myself and the other umpire was Lee Thornburg. Lee did both of the chairs and I was the rover. We each got paid the normal fee for an ITA match. Lee didn't like the 7/9's deal... It was great fun though!

Another New Fashion Statement

Venus Williams in her new flesh colored tennis wear...

Because Myron Krueger and I do not want to be alone at the top of the fashion world, I wanted to show you some pictures of Venus Williams' new look at the Australian Open.

Feel free to draw whatever conclusions you would like to draw...

The New Look For ITA Officials

Myron Krueger & Randy McDonald

Well, the new look was unveiled this weekend at tournaments in Dallas (SMU) and Waco (Baylor). The coaches and players all loved them--and they especially loved the black shoes with silver highlights...

Myron and I wanted to take a moment and model the new look for you. Be careful about your comments though because everything makes a circle...

BTW, you can get the black belt for $4.99 at Academy! The shoes you will have to find on your own.

New Oncourt Hero: Randall Edwards

Pictured above is the hero of the evening, Randall Edwards (on the right) and the infamous Gary Tolbert (of Georgia fame) on the left.

In the course of our lives as tennis officials we experience many valleys and many mountaintops--and that's what happened to me last night at SMU...

I was referee for the dual match between SMU and SFA and was watching Randall Edwards in the chair as he was supervising the warm up for the doubles match. An errant ball had gone by me in the stands so I got up to get it and stepped over the row in front of me (which was a mistake) and fell down on the ground with both legs hung in the seat mechanism! At the moment it hurt like heck and I couldn't get myself out of the situation--and then Randall sprang into action!!!

My rescuer jumped from his perch and came to lift me out of the dilema in which I so ingloriously found myself. My own son was in the stands but he was busy laughing and trying to figure out how to take a picture of me with his phone--but Randall was the most worthy official who was busy rescuing his referee.

My thanks and gratitude will always be with this official who went way above and beyond the call of duty... You are truly appreciated!

(BTW, there were no serious injuries other than a little bruised pride and a cut on my leg and a nice bruise.)

The "New" 30 Second Rule...

Seems that we have a new "rule" that has surfaced in recent officials schools and that is this:

In an ITA match, when a player commits a codeable offense and then either simultaneously or very quickly commits another one, then the official must wait at least 30 seconds before giving the second code violation.

Personally, I had never heard of this ridiculous thought but it appeared in Oklahoma and I thought it would be good to hear your thoughts on the issue...

The question was addressed at the Dallas school and here was Jane Goodman's response:

The official should wait until he/she has gotten the verbiage out of their mouth for the first code violation before assessing the second.

Hopefully you can get the verbiage for a code violation out of your mouth in less than 30 seconds.

I agree with Jane... What are your thoughts???

The New ITA Shirts Are A Reality!

The new ITA shirt and cap.

Modeled by Myron Krueger and Vickie Wright.

We received our first shipment of the new ITA shirts and caps today--and they are awesome!

For those who placed their orders in this first batch, you should be able to contact your coordinator and get them tomorrow. If not, there will be a website published soon where you can order your shirts and caps. Remember that they come in men's and women's sizes. The cost for the shirts will be $25/shirt plus $4.95 shipping and tax. Cost for the caps is $10 plus shipping and tax.

A special thanks to Myron Krueger and Chuck Scott for all the hard work they did in making this dream become a reality...

Here is an extra special picture of Myron Krueger and Vickie Wright that I thought you would enjoy seeing!

The Elusive USTA Officials Insurance Plan

Much has been said lately about the mysterious USTA OFFICIALS INSURANCE PLAN that noone seems to know anything about... In the last USTA newsletter we were told that we were not covered by the USTA policy when we were doing ITA matches. The only problem with this is that noone seems to know what the USTA policy is and what its coverage might be.

Numerous officials in Texas have written both Rich Kaufman and Julio Echeverria and have not gotten any satisfactory responses or explanations. The company line basically seems to be that we should take out officials insurance on another site...

One of our readers sent in the following information on this other plan:

Info on NASO.
http://www.naso.org/

current annual fee $94.

WHAT are the Policy Limits?
• The policy provides excess coverage up to a $3,000,000 per occurrence general liability
limit with a personal policy aggregate of $4,000,000.The per occurrence limit is the most
the policy will pay for all insureds for any one occurrence.
• $50,000 per occurrence for unintentional errors and omissions of NASO members.This limit is included, and not in addition, to the overall $3,000,000 occurrence and $4,000,000 personal aggregate limits.
• The per occurrence limit is the most the policy will pay for all insureds for any one
occurrence.

You might want to check it out to see what you can get for $94...

Mystery Chair Official Sighted

We got a report late last night that the person pictured above had been seen doing a chair at the Australian Open.

Anyone know who she is???

Completely Understanding The Word "SUCKS"

Since the word "sucks" seems to be the universal word for a code violation, I thought it would be good if I printed some additional insights into the word...

Here you go:

suckage: To express extreme displeasure at the situation at hand.
Example: You didn't get your results? Suckage!

suckalicious: It really**3 sucks.

Example: I can't believe he gave me a ticket. That's suckalicious.

suckitude: A measurement of how much something sucks.
Example: The suckitude of this music is off the charts!

sucktacular: A word used to describe something that sucks beyond belief.
Example: Jamie: I got whacked in the nose with a frisbee today.
Heather: Sucktacular.

sucktastic: Sucking beyond belief.
Example: That new tie you bought me was sucktastic.

Hopefully these explanations will give you much wisdom and insight as to when to assess a code violation...

Confusion About Question on Referee Test

This weekend has been great as many of us have enjoyed the 2010 OFFICIALS SCHOOL--and they were better than ever... HOWEVER, we do have a question about a question.

On the Referee test, question #30 says,

30. Walking by an outer court with no spectators, you hear a player direct an ethic slur at his opponent. The opponent simply smiles and walks back to receive serve. Decision?

A. Do nothing. The opponent wasn't offended.

B. Since there were no spectators around, issue a Code Violation, Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Point Penalty.

C. Issue an immediate Default for the ethnic slur.

The correct answer is "C", and the reference is on Table 16.

HOWEVER, on Table 16 it says to "always penalize" an ethic slur and then gives this explanation:

"An official MAY immediately default a player for a single flagrant unsportsmanlike act. Examples of acts that MAY justify a penalty of immediate default include: physical attacks, injury to an official or player through an act of racket or ball abuse, spitting on a person, and racial, religious, and sexual orientation slurs."

If an official "MAY" default a player then the answer to that question is not necessarily to issue an immediately default for an ethic slur. There is a huge difference in the words "may" and "shall."

However repugnant a racial slur might be, it seems that the FAC says it is not REQUIRED that we issue a default but that we should always penalize the infraction.

I would love to hear your comments on this issue...

* Perhaps in this question, the answer "C" is the best answer of the three. The rule seems to negate a mandatory default.

ITA Training Opportunities in Texas

This is the time of year that we celebrate the beginning of a new ITA SEASON--and it looks like a good one! We have a lot of nationally ranked schools and players in Texas so what more could we ask for...

Its also a great time for ITA TRAINING. It seems that the majority of new officials that I talk to are interested in doing ITA matches--and of course that's because they are the most exciting and require the highest skill levels for officials.

In order to help in this ITA TRAINING, some of the coordinators are offering the following to any ITA certified officials:

* You can come and be a part of ITA matches in the Metroplex which include TCU, SMU, UTA, UNT, Collin College, and UTD. You will rove with the referee and observe first hand the workings of an ITA match.

* You will be given on-site job training and may be given the opportunity to do chair work as soon as you are qualified.

* You will not be paid for this training but it will greatly enhance your opportunities in the future.

If you would like to participate in this training, you will need to do the following:

1. Contact one of the following coordinators and let them know you are interested in participating. They will then let you know which matches have openings.

DFW: Myron Krueger (myron.d.krueger@lmco.com)

Houston: Ginny James (ginny_james@hotmail.com)

DFW: Randy McDonald (rmtennis@yahoo.com)

Austin: Vickie Wright (vickietennisnut@austin.rr.com)

Austin: Susan Trautmann (spelses2268@sbcglobal.net)

2. You MUST memorize the verbiage for a chair official (in the Friend at Court.) There are no exceptions to this requirement.

3. You must be ITA certified and have a good working knowledge of the ITA rules.

4. You must be familiar with and know how to fill out a scorecard. Instructions are in the Friend at Court.

This is a great opportunity for new officials to get into the ITA field of officiating--we hope to hear from you real soon!!

Great News About New ITA Shirts!!!

We have great news about the new ITA shirts that are going to be introduced next week! We met tonight with Bruce Sampley, Texas Section Chairman, and we now have the Texas Section approval as well as the ITA and National USTA approval to go ahead--and it all looks great!

The new shirts will be worn only in ITA events and will be Kelly Green in color. The logo is pictured above and will be in white letters on the new shirts. The shirts will come in both men's and women's sizes at a cost of $25/shirt. There is a slight upcharge for 2XL and 3XL shirts.

Our first order will go in on Wednesday, January 13th so if you are interested you will need to contact your local coordinator so they can get them ordered for you. These shirts will be REQUIRED for most ITA sites in Texas so be sure to check with your coordinator to see if you are required to wear them this year.

Here are your local coordinators and their schools:

Millard Countryman (UT Tyler) Trevor Edgemon (Texas Tech)

Myron Krueger (TCU) Randy McDonald (SMU, UTA, UNT, UTD)

Chuck Scott (Baylor) Sue Trautmann (UT women)

Vickie Wright (UT men) Ginny James (Rice, U of H)

Sara Lammerts (Texas A&M) Carol Bruehler (Incarnate Word, Trinity)

Duke Williams (ACU, HSU)

A special thanks to all who made this step of progress a reality! I think all you ITA officials are going to love the "new look."

How Safe Are We?

How safe are we in America? That's the question filling the news on every hand--and a legitimate question at that. Here is the quote from USA Today:

WASHINGTON — White House national security adviser James Jones says Americans will feel "a certain shock" when they read an account being released Thursday of the missed clues that could have prevented the alleged Christmas Day bomber from ever boarding the plane.

President Obama "is legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behavior that were available, were not acted on," Jones said in an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY.

Reports like that should stir our thoughts here in the land of the free...

Going another step further would be the question, "How safe are we as officials in a tennis tournament/match?" I would venture to say that we are not nearly as safe as some might think. There is hardly a week goes by without an account of an irate parent/player attacking someone in authority.

In the latest USTA newsletter we were reminded that ITA officials are not covered under the USTA insurance policy. The only problem is that noone seems to know what insurance policy that is and who is covered--but at least we know for sure that ITA officials are not covered... That should be cause for concern for our officials.

Here are some steps to insure your safety at tennis matches:

1. Always acquaint yourself with the exits and security personnel if they have them.

2. Make sure you keep a watchful eye on disruptive parents, players, and spectators. Do not take anything for granted.

3. Do not hesitate to deal quickly and decisively with disruptive people. Don't be overbearing but be proactive and protective in your decisions.

4. Remember that you can have a disruptive coach, parent, player, or spectator removed from a facility.

We would welcome your comments on how to deal with these issues...

We have all done matches with little "Timmy the Terror."

And we have all encountered his Dad who thinks his son is always right and being abused by the other players and officials.

But then, one of the roots of our problems could be the fact that we permitted John McEnroe to behave like he did. Permissiveness always leads to abuse.

A Walk Down The Slippery Slope of DIVERSITY

Any true student of history will tell you that once a society begins a journey down a mandated path they always slide into excess. DIVERSITY simply means having a cross-section of people and beliefs and will naturally occur if people are left to their own resources. In society, people tend to gravitate toward their own social level more than color, sex, or sexual orientation.

Personally, I have no problem with DIVERSITY in the ranks of tennis officials--just don't dictate to me that I have to do it. A good official will always use wisdom and discernment in their personal choices so we need to trust our friends to do what is right. I also don't mind the higher ups telling me that I have to hire people who know the rules but I do rebel when they tell me I have to hire someone because of the color of their skin or sexual orientation.

In America today we are seeing a mandated type of diversity that is quickly leading us to excess. Here are some proofs of that excess:

The Illustrious Dennis Rodman

AMANDA SHAW

(President Obama's Transgendered Appointee)

President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department.

Here is her statement to the press: "I'm truly honored to have received this appointment and am eager and excited about this opportunity that is before me. And at the same time, as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."

Roy Nelson: The Passing of a Fine Gentleman

LEROY NELSON

October 28, 1918-December 25, 2009

It was with much sadness that the tennis officiating family learned of the passing of Roy Nelson on Christmas day. Roy was a genuine friend to many, a true gentleman, a great official, and a honorable man in all aspects of his life. I had the privilege of working with him for many years on the Officials Committee and always respected his integrity. He will be missed...

Here is part of his obituary from the Houston Chronicle:

LEROY RICHARD "Roy" NELSON passed away at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas on December 25, 2009. Roy was born October 28, 1918 to Richard Henry Nelson and Blodwin Isaac Nelson of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio earning a degree in Accounting. Following college and military service, Leroy worked for Shell Oil Company in ever increasing roles of responsibility retiring after 41 years of service.

Predictions for 2010

Here are a list of my predictions for 2010 (you are welcome to take them at their face value, which is nothing):

* Officials will gain in popularity and make great gains in proficiency. Even the Texas Section Junior Council will be pleased with our progress.

* Texas will beat Alabama in the BCS bowl.

* Democrats will lose many seats in the 2010 elections but not enough to lose their majorities in both houses.

* Tech will try to hire the TCU football coach but will end up hiring Tommy Tuberville.

* There will be a huge scandal among those officials who do professional matches.

* The "to be determined" officials schools promised for the spring will not happen.

* The ITA coordinator in one of the major venues in Texas will announce retirement.

* The UT men's tennis team will again reach the NCAA finals.

* The Baylor men and women will win the Big 12 tennis tournament.

* Some school in the Texas portion of the Big 12 will at least announce valid plans for an indoor facility.

* Officials in the Metroplex will enjoy having their meals provided.

* There will be at least two and maybe three major scandals at high levels in the Obama administration.

* UT will interview Mike Leach for their offensive coordinator but turn him down after the interview and background check.

* Myron Krueger will buy yet another bike.

* Chuck Scott will get a modern day hair cut and banish his comb-over forever.

* The secret Ad Hoc Committee meetings will be disbanded.

* Both A&M and OU will beat Texas in football. The margins will be slim but victories nontheless. Nebraska will win the Big 12 title.

* Glen Whitaker will put back on 10 pounds.