Monday, December 05, 2011

New MTOA Board Members & Policies

In last night's meeting, the Metroplex Tennis Officials Association elected five new board members and then the board selected the officers for 2012.

The new board members added were:

Susan Wertenberger
Nancy Ebersole
Gary Tolbert
Larry Gendron
Stephanie Burnam

The new officers for 2012 are:

President: Nancy King
Vice President: Susan Wertenberger
Secretary: Roz Tuerk
Treasurer: Randall Edwards

The board also discussed various issues with the issue of tournaments providing meals for officials occupying the majority of the discussion. The board finally came up with this policy:

"A tournament is responsible for providing meals for officials. If they choose not to, then the official may leave their site for a reasonable time period to secure and pay for their own meal. They will be paid for this time."

This new policy is to be followed by all tournaments and enforced by the referee. If the referee does not secure the cooperation of the tournament, then it is their responsibility to notify all officials who will be working of this change in policy and procedure.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like an unenforceable mandate to me.

So I am by myself roving 12 courts. I leave for 30 minutes to go get a sandwich. While I'm gone there is a huge problem. I am then written up by a parent or coach for abandoning my responsibilities. . . and I'm out the cost of the sandwich.

Tournament director still comes out ahead on this deal.

RM said...

I agree with you totally and this was brought up in last night's discussion. The consensus was that when this happens it might cause tournament directors to provide meals for their officials.

A lot of complaints and comments in Austin will go a long way in changing hearts, minds, and pocketbooks.

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like you people are drinking at the trough of power of the Dallas Tennis Association and the Ft. Worth Tennis Association. You are just like the movie where the tail wags the dog.

Anonymous said...

Do you really have tournaments where there is 1 official for 12 courts?

Who gets the officials?--the referee/chief umpire or the tournament director?

Do you not have relief umpires to allow off court time for rest, and to eat whatever meal is provided?

Why do you not have a per diem added to the day rate, so the officials can get their own meals, and eat at their breaks provided by the relief official?

Meals provided by the tournaments usually are left overs from whatever kid food is provided by the tournament directors from sponsors eateries. Who wants to eat cheese pizza everyday?

Do your referees not advocate for the officials as to court numbers, meals and pay?

Are officials associations in your area unions?

Sounds like a lot of sour grapes and gripes for how officials are treated. Who is in control of the associations, and what do they do for the officials?

Like to know the answers to the above if possible by someone in the know.

Anonymous said...

"unenforceable mandate" for sure. Who wrote this policy, members of the US Congress? This "policy" proves that the DTA, FTW TA or TD's have a great deal of influence over the board of the MTOA. Past history proves someone has a bunch of influence over a bunch of the Referees. Which member of the board came up with the policy's "reasonable time" clause? Talk about reasonably vague! And how did that individual define reasonable time? Frankly there are some tournament venues around that it would take a bunch of time to find a restaurant, let alone a safe restaurant in the vicinity. Who in their right mind would sign up to work a tournament without lunch or rest breaks?

Anonymous said...

I am a relatively new Metroplex official and have worked for at least three of the board members who do not provide meals. Why are they on the board if they won't abide by the policies?

I also heard that Bruce Sampley is on the board of the Ft. Worth Tennis Association and they also don't provide meals. Why is he the Sectional Chairman if he isn't watching out for us officials? Maybe some of you older, more experienced officials and board members can explain this to me.

Anonymous said...

RE: 3:29pm

Oh my, the naivete of a new official! I remember being that new and green at one time. Oh to return to those blissful days.

But alas . . . they are gone forever.

Anonymous said...

I am a TD and you guys are CRAZY! I hire a referee and the REFEREE hires you cry-babies... NOT ME! If he/she has ONE official for 12 courts TELL HIM/HER - do not blame me. Yes I pay the bills, yes i take the risk of rain, poor turnout, insurence, sanstion fees, lights, court fees, site director fees, and yes this is part of my overall compensation for the year... it is MY JOB. BUT, do not blame me something that your referee is suppose to do. BTY - at your other job - do have them pay for your lunch or do you bring a lunch? It does not seem that difficult to packa sandwich - or BETTER YET - ask your referee if there is a relief person - if not DON'T WORK!

RM said...

I agree totally with that lost post. It is the referee's responsibility to uphold the MTOA policies and negotiate on behalf of the officials that they hire. On the other hand, nearly every TD that I know tells the referee how many officials they can hire per site so that is something that the TD's have to take credit for. I'm afraid that most of what is happening is governed by the almight dollar.

I can assure you of this one thing--if an official works for me as their referee, I guarantee you that you will at least be paid the MTOA pay scale and you will receive lunch (or $10) and/or supper if you work past 6:00 p.m.

That's just the way it works in my sphere...

Anonymous said...

IMHO there should be a pay scale for tournaments that provide meals and another one for those that don't. That would put a stop to some of these tournament's shenanigans.

Anonymous said...

Does the MTOA have a policy ref the information a referee must provide umpires/rovers along with the request for availability? If a rferee were to tell officials they have to work more than a reasonable number of courts, officials could politely decline to work the tournament. And yes, serving on the board of a local tennis assoc. and being the sectional chairman of officials is a conflict of interest.
Also, in response to the "TD" who blogged earlier.....can I start to pass the hat for? Poor baby, I had no idea your life was so hard.

RM said...

When a referee sends out an availability they should include the following:

* Approximate number of courts you will be working or at least how many sites.

* Whether or not meals will be provided.

* The pay scale.

This way the officials can make an informed decision before committing.

Anonymous said...

As a tournament director I pray for rain so I can get the referee to cancel the tournament which allows me to keep all the money.

Anonymous said...

For once we have a tournament director telling the truth. Keeping all the money when it rains is a sick joke on the players.

Anonymous said...

The whole debacle of not getting paid for lunch took hold when Susan Wertenberger took over the reins of the MTOA. That is the main reason why the MTOA should look very closely on who is elected President of the organization. It is extremely important to have someone in charge that will stand up for the rights of all officials and not crater to tournament director's every desire since they feel a stronge obligation to do what they say because they referee for most of them and will be out of work if they dont do what the TD's tell them to do.