Just A Call Away...

"Is there something you would like to ask me?"

In a recent ITA men's dual match there was a chair official on the #4 singles match. Player A was down two overrules when this occurred:

Player B hit a deep baseline shot and Player A called it out. Player B did not contest the call and was preparing to resume play when the chair official (who knew the ball was obviously good) asked Player B "is there something you would like to ask me?" Player B then quickly said, "was the ball out" and the chair official said, "Correction, the ball was good. Point to Player B and point penalty for Player A since it is your third overrule." This occurred at 5-5 in the second set tiebreak which subsequently gave the tiebreak and second set to Player B.

As the referee, what would you do?

Note: I was the referee on this dual match but was not informed by player, coach, or chair official about this occurrence until after the match was complete and people were going home.

Point Penalty--But When?

In a recent ITA men's dual match, a player on team A's #3 doubles team slammed his racket to the ground after they had lost the match. The chair official correctly assessed a code violation.

Team A's #2 doubles team had also lost and the #1 doubles team was beginning their tiebreak when the code was assessed on the #3 doubles player.

What would you do?

How Much Is Enough And How Much Is Too Much?

In today's economy there is much discussion about officials' fees, tournament fees, and tennis fees in general. While there is no complete agreement on all issues, there are some things to consider:

TOURNAMENT FEES

* Consideration has to be given to the cost of balls, courts, officials, and personnel.

* Consideration has to be given to the fees charged by the USTA to sanction a tournament. Fee is usually $250.

* Consideration has to be given to the fees charged for entering the tournament online.

* Tournament entry fees in Texas range from $30 to over $100 on the average.

USTA FEES

* Consideration has to be given to a person's training, time, and job product when determining pay.

* USTA (and Texas Section) currently pay mileage, meals, and a fee for those who work for them in such things as instructors. USTA (and Texas Section) pays out huge amounts of money for people to attend annual and semi-annual meetings. Perhaps many of these meetings could be conducted by email or phone and save large amounts of money.

USTA OFFICIALS FEES

* Consideration must be given to education, experience, and production.

* Cost of supplies are also a consideration when considering fees.

* Rising cost of gasoline becomes a relevant factor.

* USTA officials fees in Texas range from $8/hour to $18/hour.

ITA OFFICIALS FEES

* Education, experience, and work product are strong factors to be considered.

* Travel time and expense should also be considered.

* Length of matches varies greatly and should be considered when setting fees.

* Average ITA fees in Texas range from $75/match to $620 per match.

These are just a few random thoughts when considering our officials pay. Its hard to justify $10/hour for an official standing in the summer sun for 10 hours a day when the tournament directors may make over $15,000 profit. Its also hard to justify $620 for an ITA match that may last an hour and a half.

On the other hand, I worked an ITA match that paid $120 and lasted 7 hours and had 6 hours of travel so that comes out to roughly $9/hour. I wouldn't say that is being overpaid...

Cost and pay are two issues that will never go away. We just try to be fair and equitable to everyone concerned--BUT if gasoline keeps going up, something will have to be done...

What A Night of College Tennis! Five hours, four linesmen, and an OU victory.

OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY MEN--4

(won the doubles point and #4, #5, and #6)

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEN--3

(won #1, #2, and #3)

Last night (Friday night) was a great night for collegiate men's tennis in Norman, Oklahoma as the Sooners edged the Longhorns 4-3. Here are the details:

* The match started at 6:00 p.m. and finished at 11:00 p.m. Five fun-filled hours of top notch tennis--what more could you ask for...

* The deciding match came down to the #4 singles match with the score tied 3-3.

* The deciding match ended up with a chair official and four linesmen. (Two on the long lines and two on the baselines.) Talk about coverage...

* The last two matches (#4 and #6) ended up with all players cramping but playing valiantly through their injuries.

After getting home at 2:30 a.m. I can still say it was one of the greatest evenings of collegiate tennis I have ever experienced! Congratulations to both teams for a grand evening of tennis.

"Home Cooking" Still On The Front Burner

In slang jargon, "home cooking" means that the officials regularly make calls that favor the home team. After the recent incidents in Virginia (Baylor vs Virginia women's match) and Tulsa (Tulsa vs TCU men's match), the issue has come to forefront among officials both on and off the blog.

Home cooking is a very serious issue for officials and one that needs to be confronted quickly and decisively. Personally, I have had a coach tell me that he "expects to get good calls when we are home" and have heard of another coach saying, "you need to remember who pays you," so it happens--and it happens right here in Texas and Oklahoma.

The question is: what do you do about it?

Here are some suggestions (and I'm sure you have more):

* Immediately suspend or de-certify any official who has been found guilty of home cooking. There is no tolerance for error on this issue.

* If a coach asks for or demands home cooking, immediately inform him that that isn't an option for you as an official. When the above-mentioned coach told me he expected good calls when they were at home I told him that if that was what he expected, then he needed to hire someone else.

* If the problem gets out of hand, inform the school's athletic director and the conference director if the school is in a conference.

* If you're a referee and know an official is known for home cooking, don't hire them! If they don't work, they can't cook.

* Remember that there is a difference between making a bad call or ruling and home cooking. Home cooking smells different and permeates the air all around the place! You'll know it when you see it and smell it...

The saddest part of all is that if an official and/or coach is guilty of home cooking, the PLAYERS THEMSELVES will know you have cheated on their behalf. They might like the moment of instant gratification but in the long run, you will be treated with contempt (which you so richly deserve.)

Just make the right calls as best you can, and go by the book regardless of where you are working and home cooking will disappear...

Men in Action!

ITA men in action at Baylor University.

From time to time I find great pictorial opportunities--and one of those came yesterday at the Baylor versus Stanford men's match. Not only did I get to watch some of the finest ITA tennis I have ever seen, I also received this picture.

Pictured above is Ed Price arguing (as usual), Kevin Foster explaining, Myron Krueger looking for someone to torment, and David Fleuriet looking official.

Enjoy the moment...

How Would You Rule?

SCENARIO

In a women's ITA doubles match, one of the players on team A called the ball out on the baseline but her partner and the other team kept playing the ball. Team B then hit a ball that was in the court but team A stopped play saying the previous ball was out.

(Nothing was done about the original out call but the chair official said to the Tennis Blog that the ball was good but that she wasn't sure about what she should have done.)

The referee ruled that they should play a let.

How would you have ruled???

Interesting Concept: The Inherent Right To Argue Without End

As I was recently working an ITA match and had made a ruling against a certain team (it was for a let since the receiver had his hand up before the server served), both players from the serving team stood screaming and arguing. After a more than normal time for arguing, I instructed the players to play. After they refused and continued arguing and verbally abusing my personal character, birthright, and actual existence upon the planet earth, I coded them for unsportsmanlike behavior.

Their coach then ran to the court and vehemently objected. When I explained to him the series of events he said, "We have the right to argue as long as we want. You officials are not perfect and if we believe in our case, we can argue forever."

I lovingly assured him that you can always present your case--but you have no inherent right to argue nor to argue without end... He didn't buy my concept but soon realized that at some point the official has to make a decision--and then its time to play.

Such is the wonderful life of an ITA official in Texas...

Only In California

From the glorious land of California!

Just when you are thinking you have seen and heard everything in Texas--you hear what happens in CALIFORNIA... Its sometimes called the land of the "fruits and nuts" but I'm beginning to think they need some help in officiating.

One of our Texas collegiate coaches shared with me about his recent trip to California...

Seems that the ITA official standing at the net called a footfault in the deciding doubles match during the latter stages of the match. Asked for an explanation, he said, "it wasn't his foot on the line. It was his knee that was in the air over the line when he hit the ball!"

Later in the singles match the same official overruled a far sideline call. When questioned about this and asked why he didn't get up in the chair, he said, "I can see better standing at the net post."

Just when we think we have seen and heard it all, we hear that infamous call, "Go west young man, go west!"

Its Truly A Dog's Life...

"I'm the new CEO of the USTA. Welcome to my world!"

Modeling the new look for the Big 12 officials.

"I spent all weekend studying for my background check."

"I'm the new high-tech ITA official."

"I'm so tired of parents."

"They told me they hit the ball out here somewhere."

"I'm late to my shift!"

"Sometimes I feel like I'm just trying to keep my head above water."

"Had to run home to spend time with the baby."

"I just had to take a bath when I got home."

"This is our new provisional official so ya'll be nice to him."

"I'm bored."

"I told you to quit trying to kiss me."

"We are the poster girls for ITA women's tennis."

ITA Men's Bathroom Breaks

Bathroom breaks in Division I men's tennis are expressly forbidden in the ITA rules--but these rules are frequently suspended in order to allow bathroom breaks. Some coaches say they want to suspend the rule because they don't agree with it and some say they just want the boys to have a chance to go to the bathroom if they need to.

The question is: if bathroom breaks are allowed, how many should be allowed?

One, two, three, or unlimited???

(Personally I have no problems if both coaches agree to suspend the rule but I tend to think that one bathroom break with reasonable time is enough. If they need another, they can take it in conjunction with a medical time out.)

Since this post was published we received this explanation from USTA powers about the bathroom break: (I'll let you be the judge of how correct they are.)

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 Really Mean What We Say?

"I'm not so sure you really meant what you said."

In the world of child rearing, one of the basic principles is that you say what you mean--and then stick by it. By doing so you enable the child to have confidence in your guidance and leadership.

In the tennis officiating world, this is not always true. Many times we say something and then don't back it up, or just simply ignore a written rule for some unknown reason. Consider these examples:

* FAC says no bathroom breaks in men's tennis (FAC, p. 250) yet the only school that enforces this rule is Baylor University. If coaches and officials regularly disregard this rule then why have it in the first place?

* The USTA tells us that we must pass a background check and also be registered on Nucula in order to be a certified official yet we all know that isn't true in Texas.

* FAC says we are not to give warnings and call foot faults yet many officials (even at the ITA level) warn players before calling a foot fault. One official even said they weren't calling footfaults because "the player wasn't going to net."

* FAC gives us step by step instructions on how to deal with coach's and player's behavior in a match yet it seems not to be followed in Tulsa.

* FAC says there are to be no outbursts in a foreign language yet we permit players to regularly scream "Vamos" with no penalty. Swedish words are beautiful so why don't we let them scream out in Swedish?

* FAC says to code references to a deity when in conjunction with curses. That leaves out "Jesus Christ" but you can add it back in when it says to code words that are considered patently offensive to court personnel, players, or spectators.

* Schools teach us that we shouldn't code "Jesus" but should code "Jesus Christ" because He has to have a last name before we can code it. Sorry guys but Jesus' last name was not Christ...

These are just a few examples of saying something and then doing something else. Perhaps we need to "right the ship" a bit...

How Would You Rule?

You are the chair official in an ITA women's singles match. Player A serves a second serve and Player B calls a let on the serve. You do not hear nor see a let and Player A did not hear nor see one either.

What would you rule?

Note: Please be sure to vote in the poll on the top right side of the blog.

The Bear Facts...

Just wanted to reaffirm our belief in "diversity."

"I told you I wanted to work that site!"

"We're going to settle this once and for all."

Just catching a little more sleep before I have to get up and go to work...

Noone is here to open the site for me.

"Whew, I'm glad I'm through working that ZAT."

"Just wondering when my background check will be approved."

"It sure is fun hanging out with my tennis official buddies."

"I'm starving and I can't get my lunch opened!"

"I'm pooped!"

"Just finished working and now going for a swim."

A new official who just did their first chair.

A new official after doing singles and doubles chairs.

"Dang, I'm good!"

"I told you I wanted to do the #1 singles match."

"I just graduated from the Chair Academy!"

"I found a new girlfriend at the last tournament."

"I'm ready for my lunch. Why aren't there here with my Subway sandwich?"

"What a great day! I'm so glad I'm an official."

How Would You Rule?

COOPER

(Tennis Dog Expert)

Cooper is back among us and has a great scenario for you...

In a men's ITA singles match, Player A hits the ball to Player B's baseline. Player B calls the ball out and the chair official immediately says, "Correction, the ball was good" before player A has a chance to voice an appeal.

How would you rule?

Cooper would also like to know how you would rule if Player A had time to appeal before the chair official overruled the call and did not register an appeal.

Update On Ordering ITA Apparel

We have recently received word from the ITA apparel supplier that numerous people are writing in and wanting to do returns on shirts and caps they have ordered. This company does not do returns so please be aware of what you are ordering before placing your order.

Be sure you understand the following:

The black REFEREE shirt will be embroidered with the word "REFEREE" on it. If you do not function as a referee, do not order this shirt.

The black REFEREE CAP only comes in black. Again, do not order this cap if you do not function as a referee.

The OFFICIALS CAP only comes in khaki. This is for those who function as umpires.

The black OFFICIALS SHIRT will be embroidered with the word "OFFICIAL" on it. You must tell them which shirt you want when ordering since both referee's and official's shirts are black.

** If you have purchased a shirt without the word "referee" or "official" on it, they will not do returns on this item. You can still wear it when you function as either a referee or an umpire so there should be no problem. The shirts with just the ITA logo are no longer available.

Please be sure you order the right size when placing your order as there are no returns.

A Bunny Among Us

Our tennis officiating world in Texas has been graced with the presence of a former Playboy Bunny. Of course the official is no longer a practicing bunny but still maintains the celebrity status of that selection.

Guess who she is...

Note: Comments will be accepted on your guesses but please do not post anything derogatory or demeaning.

What Would Be Your Ruling On This One?

Since we are having such a good comment response on "how would you rule?" questions, we will post some new ones for you. Here you go!

In an ITA singles match, player A breaks a string in the middle of the point. He immediately hits a lob as high as he can hit it. While the ball is in the air, he runs to his bench, trades rackets, and then resumes the point before player B hits the ball back.

What would you rule?

How Would You Rule?

In an ITA doubles match, the receiver's partner steps into the service box during the server's motion on the second serve.

As the chair officials on this match, how would you rule? (This actually happened at A&M and will tell you how they ruled after your discussion.)

How Would You Rule?

An interesting event took place in a recent ITA dual match and we would like to hear your opinions and thoughts on the matter.

In a doubles match, player A served the second serve. The ball hit the net and player A's partner reached up and caught the ball in the air.

How would you rule????