How Would You Rule?

SCENARIO

In a women's ITA dual match (line #6), player A had been overruled once and also cautioned about inappropriate comments. When she was walking up to the service line to serve, the chair official cautioned her about the third ball which was about nine feet behind her. Since the wind was blowing strongly, the chair official wanted to protect the player and said, "Watch out for the third ball behind you. It might roll up into your area of play."

Upon hearing the caution by the chair official, player A turned and looked at the ball (which was not moving) and said sarcastically, "its just fine where it is" and then turned around to serve.

As play began the ball began to roll into player A's baseline area.

What would you do?

OPTIONS

1. Do nothing since the player said it was alright and refused to move it.

2. Call a let and replay the point.

3. Pray that the obstinate player doesn't fall and break her argumentative neck.

COMING TOMORROW: A blog post about what to do when the ITA coaches are getting coded.

Its A Dog's World

I work on weekends as an "undercover official." Can you see me??

And I thought that screaming coach was bad...

Riding in the car on the way to a match in Nebraska.

This is what happened to me when I had to clear the ice on the court.

And my owner wondered where his car keys went...

And they told me they were just taking a short bathroom break.

I'm a graduate of the "Glen Whitaker School of Tennis Balls Sorting."

I'm just taking my break at the local ZAT tournament.

They never told me I would get this tired officiating a tournament.

I'm done with my shift and now I'm off to drink beer.

How I felt when I was "shadowing".

My mean referee who told me he had his eye on me.

I waited and waited for my Big 12 invitation but it never came...

What Do You Do As The Referee???

The posts that receive the most comments on the blog are those dealing with specific situations and scenarios so we are introducing this new one for your comments and thoughts:

SCENARIO

In a hotly contested ITA dual match the chair official has already assessed a point penalty on each player and each player has two overrules.

QUESTION AT HAND

As the REFEREE, what would you do in this situation? (The question is addressed to the referee's behavior and not to that of the chair official.)

1. Pray and pray again that nothing else happens so you don't get run over by the offending player's team bus.

2. Stand near the court where you can observe what is happening. Not on the court but nearby.

3. Remove the chair official immediately.

4. Go out to the court on the change over and talk privately with the chair official to see how they are doing and if they are alright.

5. Be sure that the chair official has advised both coaches and both players that the next overrule would result in a game penalty for the offending player.

These are just a few options. We would welcome your thoughts and comments on this vital issue.

The Complex Nature of A Blog

In a world dominated by Facebook, Twitter, IPads, and blogs we often begin to ask ourselves, "What have we come to?" And sometimes this is probably a valid question to ask.

As we study the nature of our information-enlightened society, we discover that there are strong and weak points of everything we find so useful. Here are some of those points:

STRONG POINTS

* Information can be obtained instantly. There has never been a time in history when people had so much access to so much information.

* Blogs enable people to interact with others.

* Good and valid information is always an asset to a society. These communication tools are great for getting the most information out as easily as possible.

* It encourages dialogue among the people in our society.

* It helps us learn minute facts about all kinds of things, events, and people.

WEAK POINTS

* Too much information can sometimes be damaging to people's reputations and businesses.

* In the blogging world, people can say most anything they want (both positive and negative) and then post "anonymously" or use some fake name.

* Untruths can be passed off as truth as there is very little verification in today's world.

* People's entire personalities can change negatively when they are allowed to post anonymously on Facebook, Twitter, and blogs.

* Vast amounts of information and pictures can desensitize us to the plight of society.

As the owner of this blog I always try to keep these points in mind. I do not print things without first-hand knowledge of people who are reputable and trustworthy and I do not print comments that are obscene. There are many times when the comments we receive are so vulgar and obscene that noone in their right mind should print them or encourage that kind of behavior. I try to give posters as much leeway as possible but sometimes anonymous posters just cross the line of what is right.

But in the BLOGGING WORLD I think we have discovered that its a wonderful tool when used properly. Sometimes its funny, sad, sarcastic, informative, confrontational, encouraging, discouraging, and controversial--but let's all remember that when its said and done, its still just a blog...

Baylor vs Virginia Match Post Now Deleted

Due to the many obscene and ridiculous comments we received about the post concerning the Baylor vs Virginia tennis match that post and all comments have now been deleted. Not only have we been receiving some pretty vile comments from officials but we have gotten comments from London escorts and penis enlargement offers...

This blog will not tolerate those kind of comments nor will we print any more comments on this subject.

We Do Things Differently At SMU

Mystery official doing the "two chair stand" to officiate a match.

In the SMU versus Baylor men's dual match yesterday we totally enjoyed ourselves in the comfort and luxury of the indoor courts at the Dallas Country Club...

However, they do not have chairs for our officials--so we make do with what we have!

Pictured above is one of our officials doing the "two chair stand."

See if you can guess who it is...

New MTOA Blogsite

In the fine tradition of keeping up with modern technology, the MTOA has introduced their new blogsite. This new communication tool will allow for quicker and more effective communication with the MTOA members--and will also serve as a model for other associations around the state. The Austin officials association is already working on their own new blogsite.

One of the greatest strengths of a blogsite is that it will allow for instant communication and then allow space for questions and answers. The site will also feature special posts by those in leadership in the MTOA about their individual fields of service as well as regular communication from the MTOA President.

Be sure to check it out at: http://metroplexofficials.blogspot.com/

ITA National Indoors Update

The only Texas team to win at the men's and women's national indoors tournaments was the University of Texas men's team.

Here are the results:

University of Texas (men) defeated Kentucky 4-2.

Texas Tech University (men) lost to Ohio State 4-1.

Texas A&M (men) lost to Illinois 4-1.

Baylor (women) lost to Virginia 4-3.

New Metroplex Tennis Officials Association Officers

The board of directors for the MTOA met last night and elected the following officers:

President Nancy King

Vice-President Susan Wertenberger

Secretary Roz Tuerk

Treasurer Randall Edwards

Congratulations to these fine people and we look forward to serving under their able leadership.

Here are the other Presidents from around the state:

Austin: Vickie Wright

Houston: Ginny James

San Antonio: Tippy Garza

All Is Good In Texas

All is well when a man and his horse are at peace.

As we look around the world we see all the unrest and turmoil, but all is good in Texas (at least in our officiating world.) Here are some of our good signs:

* Brookie Green got a great doctor's report and is feeling really good these days.

* Chuck Scott finally went to the doctor and is getting treatment for his ailing back.

* We have 13 people already signed up for this year's Chair Academy in Plano.

* They aren't feuding as much in San Antonio these days.

* Myron Krueger isn't riding his bike as often (and thus saving on ambulance bills.)

* The MTOA is doing well and will be electing a new President this Thursday night.

* The Big 12 tennis season is about to start.

* Lee Ann Haury (Bain) got married to a fine gentleman and is doing well.

* 99.99% of our officials in Texas passed the background check.

* David Roditi has come back to coach in the college ranks (TCU).

* We sadly lost Chad Loup at the Texas Section office but has been replaced with a fine young man named Nick Arnold.

* No major skirmishes have arisen during the first few weeks of the ITA season.

* The police have only had to come remove parents at a junior tournament a few times this year.

* More and more tournament directors are actually providing lunch for their officials.

* The price of gasoline hasn't gone much over $3/gallon so we shouldn't have to raise our officiating prices too much this year.

* UT is moving on their plans to build a new indoor facility. We can't let the Sooners outdo the Texas teams (Baylor, UT, and A&M).

* The new black ITA officials shirt may actually be loved and accepted in College Station.

* We're eagerly anticipating the new logo and name for the Big 12--if it ever happens.

* Tom Wright is still going to the doctors about his back problems and might actually get something done about it in 2011.

* Rick Gabel's Ohio State University Buckeyes were actually #1 in the basketball poll for a few hours.

The Day of Interesting Interpretations

In our unique tennis officiating world we have the privilege of meeting new players, parents, and coaches every week--and that's what makes it good! The vast majority of all people who are associated with tennis are good and honorable people. The sad thing is that we let the small minority dictate the views and actions of our "tennis society."

Its always amusing to hear officials interpret the rules... Here are some of the good ones:

* I don't call footfaults on a player if they aren't going to the net.

* That player didn't really mean to spit on the other player. It accidentally flew out of their mouth when they were swearing.

* Most of their foot wasn't on the line so I didn't want to upset them by calling a footfault.

* I didn't code him for throwing his racket because I didn't want to stifle his creative urges.

* Jesus didn't really mean that we were to tell the truth all the time. He meant that we should only tell the truth when its convenient or meets our desired end.

* I didn't see it--when they are looking right at the player when they commit an infraction. Selective hearing and vision are only options for those in a nursing home or a bad marriage.

* When the rules say that a school must provide a minimum of two USTA certified officials per match that means that the other four don't have to be certified. I guess we can go to the Walmart parking lot to get the others.

* The rules don't really mean what they say when it says there are no bathroom breaks in men's Division I tennis. A reputable and very successful Division I coach recently asked me, "why don't they just enforce the rules?" I tend to agree.

* The USTA mandate that all officials pass a criminal background check didn't mean that everyone really had to do it. There is no room for leeway on this interpretation--they said exactly what they meant and now they should enforce it!

* I really meant to take the ITA test when I went to school but I needed to go shopping for a new stopwatch. Surely you can cut me a little slack and just say that I attended the school since I went to the first part of the school.

* The rules don't actually apply at my school. This is my favorite!

Vickie Wright--Texas Official of the Year!

Vickie Wright

2011 Official of the Year

Special congratulations to Vickie Wright who was honored as the Texas Section Official of the Year. Vickie is the President of the CATA officials organization in Austin as well as the coordinator for the University of Texas. She has served many years in all aspects of tennis officiating and was well deserving of this honor.

Congratulations Vickie!!

The Joys Of Convenience

In order to stay a step ahead of the devil and to make a step forward in getting more people into confession, the Catholic Church announced a new app for the IPhone. Its called "Confession Made Easy."

Picture of the latest app for the confessional.

Its Ultimately All About Ethics.

One of the key ingredients of the character of a good person is ETHICS. We are all faced with decisions every day in our lives and our decisions are ultimately decided by our personal system of ethics.

We face moral and ethical decisions every day in the tennis officiating world. We have all seen people who have failed in life's pursuits because of their inability to develop and live by a strong set of ethical guidelines. Our FAC sets forth many of our ethical guidelines (on the back page), but sadly those guidelines are often ignored and abused.

Here are a few of our "ethical battlegrounds" that we face in our tennis officiating world:

1. Are we honest about our assignments or are we one of those people who continually cancel out on one assignment to do a "better" assignment?

2. As referees, do we assign officials that we know have not passed the background check? One who knowingly employs an uncertified official is just as guilty as the one who isn't certified. Its relatively easy to go to the USTA website and check the list of certified officials.

3. As an official, do you present yourself as a certified USTA/ITA official even though you personally know you haven't passed the background check? The USTA is very explicit when they say that you cannot be certified without passing the check, and in order to be an ITA official, you must be a certified USTA official.

4. Do you wear your officials shirt to get into events where an entry fee is charged so you can get in free?

5. Do you tell the complete truth on your mileage forms when you are working ITA events?

6. Do you criticize and complain when you are not given the #1 singles match to chair?

7. Do you continually lie or shade the truth? This is one of the greatest standards of a strong ethical belief system.

8. Do you continually bad-mouth and undermine the authority of the referee when working a tournament or match? We hear a lot about officials that go behind the referee's back to the tournament director and try to get themselves hired to referee the next tournament. That's back-stabbing at its utmost.

9. Do you consume alcohol when in your uniform? The rules are very explicit about this one.

10. Do you illegally sell or alter tickets to events that you have been given free of charge or at a lesser rate?

These are just a few of the checkpoints for a good ethical system--there are many more. Some of these are more serious than others and the best standard in officiating is this:

1. Don't deliberately misrepresent yourself and/or violate the rules.

2. Don't hire people that have a bad ethical system in their lives. Eventually they will bring heartache and trouble into your life.

We all know officials who are violating many of these ethical principles and its time to take an ethical stand... Bring it to light when its being done and don't hire them if they are doing it.

Latest Interpretation Of The Bathroom Break Rule

Slightly nicer than most collegiate bathrooms but at least you get the idea.

A bathroom break could take a bit longer if one isn't aware of his choice of toilet paper...

I know you all were having a great time reading and commenting on the previous post but I just got the latest interpretation of the bathroom break rule and wanted to share it with you. It came down from on high so please count it as law...

Here you go:

EXPLANATION AND PROCEDURES REGARDING MEDICAL TIME-OUTS GIVEN TO A COLLEGE PLAYER SO HE/SHE CAN GO TO THE BATHROOM AT AN UNAUTHORIZED TIME.

1. This MTO should be given when a player (man or woman) tells you they

cannot wait until the authorized time (changeover or set-break). This is a

one time occurrence per match.

2. The MTO (3 minutes) starts when they get to the bathroom and stops

when they leave the bathroom. Travel time is not included in the

3 minutes.

COMMENT: Chair should go with them or know how much time it

will take for them to get to the bathroom and back. Before going to a

given court check the time it takes to get to a restroom.

3. If they come back late from the 3 minutes and allotted travel time, the

Penalty should be Time Violations. (This agrees with the procedure

we follow when a male player is late from a bathroom visit on a

changeover or set-break.)

4. This MTO is not the one MTO allowed per match for Division I players.

See Page 250, H–1–a

5. The 3 minutes given for something in a player’s eye (Page 250, H-5)

is not considered an MTO. Try to use good judgment and common

sense.

IT WAS NEVER THE INTENTION TO DEFAULT A PLAYER BECAUSE HE/SHE HAD TO GO TO THE BATHROOM.

Do We Practice "Selective Enforcement?"

With the myriad of new rules and regulations for officials we are faced with a criticial decision--are we or are we not going to enforce the rules?

Two very specific regulations for officials are:

1. If you do not submit your work record on Nucula, you will be considered as a provisional official for the next year.

2. If you do not pass or submit your background check application, then you will not be certified as a USTA official.

It is fairly common knowledge (at least here in Texas) that these rules are being ignored or circumvented. The basic question of integrity still remains--are we going to enforce the rules or not???

Check the poll to the right to register your opinion.

How Would You Rule?

Since this is usually everyone's favorite blog post, we have a couple of good ones for you this week:
In an ITA match, if a player's cap falls off in the middle of a point, what do you do:

1. Tell him to put it back on and keep it on.

2. Call a let (hindrance) and replay the point. Also warn the player that the next time it happens it will be a hindrance--loss of point.

3. Call a let and replay the point.

4. Take up the cap and keep it in your on-court bag until the match is finished.

5. Do nothing since its no big deal.

In an ITA match, what do you do if the player is still seated on a changeover after you have called time and 90 seconds have elapsed:

1. Lean down and ask him politely to continue play.

2. Call for his Mother from the stands to come and help you.

3. Give a time violation warning.

4. Give a code violation for failure to play.

What do you do if you gave a time violation warning and he still continues to stay seated?

1. Call for his Father from the stands.

2. Spit on his head the next time he changes ends.

3. Give a point penalty for time violation.

4. Give a code violation for failure to resume play after a time violation warning.

Both of these issues arose last weekend at an ITA tournament. We would welcome your wise counsel...

We Are Transitioning From Green To Black

The black ITA shirt will now become the standard. The referees will wear shirts with "Referee" on them and the umpires will wear black shirts with just the ITA logo. Cost for the shirts will remain at $23.00.

The ITA coordinators from around Texas have listened to your input and have made a new step to transition from our green ITA shirts to the black ITA shirts beginning this season. Noone will be required to have the black shirt this year but it is available for those who want it. Hopefully the transition process can be complete in two years so there will be no undue financial burden on anyone.

We all heard from everywhere that the black shirt was the preferred shirt (This should also remove anyone's fears that we were wearing "Baylor colors.") so we decided to start the process. The new black officials shirts will simply have the ITA logo on them and no other designation. The black "referee" shirts will still be available for anyone to order on the ITA apparel website. You can also order the green ITA shirt for officials if you prefer. The shirts will still be available in men's and women's sizes.

The ITA apparel website is located on the top right of the blog under "ITA Apparel." The change on the website should be complete this week but we would recommend that you CALL YOUR ORDER IN during this transition time.

The windshirts and jackets will all remain the same since they were already in black. The one difference will be that referees will wear the black caps and the umpires will wear the khaki caps. They are all available on the website. There is a link on the website to "Referee" and one to "Officials" to make it easier for everyone.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at: rmtennis@yahoo.com

ITA Training Opportunities Now Available

If you are interested in becoming an ITA collegiate tennis official we are making 35 ITA matches available for your training ground. Here are the requirements:

1. You must be a USTA certified official. You may even be a provisional official but all levels are eligible.

2. You must be serious about your commitment to work. You will be assigned matches just like the regular officials and expected to attend and do your job.

3. You must have an ITA green shirt or similar green shirt.

All of these matches are in the DFW metroplex and are Division I ITA dual matches so be prepared for some great on-court training! You will do either chairs or roving depending on your level of experience.

Your participation in this training program will also enable you to be considered for the 2011 Chair Academy which will be held in Plano in May.

You will not be paid for this training but it is invaluable experience that will enable you to work matches in the future.

If you are interested and would like a list of the matches, contact:

Randy McDonald

214 796 7402

rmtennis@yahoo.com

And Then There Was Only One (Wedding Invitation That Is...)

After much research it has been determined that an invitation to the Lee Ann Bain wedding was a great rarity--and especially in the state of Texas!

Since Lee Ann is from Austin, we are sure that the wedding cake was done in orange and white...

Since only ONE invitation was sent to Texas, guess which one of the above was NOT INVITED to the wedding...

(Pictured above is the Myronian and Sara Lammerts in case you didn't know.)