New ITA Shirts Are Coming--Better Grab Your Wallets!

The ITA announced this week in an email to collegiate coaches that the new ITA shirts should be available about mid-March. There was no color mentioned nor price so our best advice would be to grab your wallets...

The new shirts will be manufactured by Honig's (those who produce the USTA shirts for a mere $36.95 plus shipping) and the price will no doubt be the same or very close to it. Add shipping in and you are paying about $42-$45 per shirt.

Here are some things to contemplate as you are feverishly holding on to your wallet:

* Before the infamous USTA decision outlawing USTA shirts for ITA events, you could purchase a great dryfit ITA shirt for $23.00

* If we are lucky, the new ITA shirts produced by Honig's will be made out of that delightful nightgown material that they use on the USTA shirts.

* If you think the shirts are expensive, wait until you see the price tags on the ITA bags, jackets, and windbreakers--if they even carry them.

* If you live in Texas and do ITA work, you should be alright since we can continue to use the black shirts that are mandated throughout the state.

* Since we don't know the color of the new shirts you could be in a dilemma if you are a new official in Texas. We won't be allowing anything but the black shirt.

* A mid-March date is projected so that means you can't order one and get it by the first of April so you are already missing most of the ITA season.

* If you are busy blaming God and everyone else for this mess you can stop doing that and blame the USTA and their attorneys because that's where the blame belongs.

Special Order On New UIL Shirts

Special Buy UIL Cotton Poly Shirt

We were able to secure a special purchase from our supplier of the new UIL officials shirts and can offer them to you at a great price of $20 per shirt. The shirts are red with a white UIL logo and are made of cotton poly material. The first shirts were made of dryfit material and were different from this new shirt.

If you would like one, email Randy McDonald at rmtennis@yahoo.com or call him at 214 796 7402.

I will deliver them to you if you live in Austin, Waco, or DFW area and if you live elsewhere, I can ship them to you at a cost of $5 for shipping. You can also have your area coordinator place an order for numerous shirts and save on the shipping.

There is a limited number of these shirts available to let me know if you want one as soon as possible.

NOTE: These shirts are now in stock and are available for immediate shipment.

NOTE: If you have previously ordered and paid for a dryfit shirt, they will be shipped to you on March 6th.

Tidbits From The Weekend

TWO OF THE THREE STOOGES FROM OKLAHOMA

Since tennis officials are a special breed of cat and always enjoy hearing and seeing a good story about their fellow officials, I thought I would do a post on some good tidbits I heard and saw over the weekend.

PICTURED ABOVE

Pictured above are two members of the former OKLAHOMA THREE STOOGES. Can you guess who they are?

WHAT IS AN EXCESSIVE NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR AN OVERRULE?

This doesn't come up often but it did happen this weekend to yours truly. The girl had 26 requests for an overrule in the first set so I warned her about excessive requests. Her coach came quickly to the court and asked why I told her that--of course when he found out she had 26 requests in the first set he quickly moved to another court. BTW, none of her requests for an overrule were granted.

LOW ALCOHOL TOLERANCE FOR OUR FEMALE OFFICIALS

Seems that one of our female officials here in Texas has a low tolerance for alcohol. Over the weekend as she was out imbibing with other officials, one of her male official friends called with a question about a tournament. She quickly asked him, "Did you call me so I can talk dirty to you?"

After he recovered his senses, he quickly asked "Who is this?" Obviously, he was wondering who he had gotten on the phone.

This one will be hard to guess since this official is normally above reproach and very seldom lets alcohol touch her lips.

Can you guess who she is?

CASE OF THE PILFERED SINGLES STICKS

Seems that in a recent ITA match Official A finished his doubles match and then put up the singles sticks. Official A then took a little break before the singles began and noticed that his court did not having singles sticks on it so he returned to his doubles court and PILFERED the singles sticks to take to his own court.

Official B and the referee stood in abject amazement as they watched Official A pilfering the singles sticks!

A Great Article On "Fairness"

Since most politicians and our beloved USTA love to talk about "fairness" and "diversity" and all their inherent values, I thought it would be good to present the most balanced article I have ever read in a newspaper about fairness. Here is the article from today's Dallas Morning News:

During a recent Fox News Channel debate about the Obama administration’s tax policies, Democrat Bob Beckel raised the issue of “fairness.”

He pointed out that a child born to a poor woman in the Bronx enters the world with far worse prospects than a child born to an affluent couple in Connecticut.

No one can deny that. The relevant question, however, is: How does allowing politicians to take more money in taxes from successful people, to squander in ways that will improve their own re-election prospects, make anything more “fair” for others?

Even if additional tax revenue all went to poor single mothers — which it will not — the multiple problems of children raised by poor single mothers would not be cured by throwing money at them. Indeed, the skyrocketing of unwed motherhood began when government welfare programs began throwing money at teenage girls who got pregnant.

Children born and raised without fathers are a major problem to society and to themselves. There is nothing “fair” about increasing the number of such children.

A more fundamental problem with the “fairness” issue raised by Beckel and many others is the slippery vagueness of the word “fair.”

To ask whether life is fair — either here and now, or at any time or place around the world, over the past several thousand years — is to ask a question whose answer is obvious. Life has seldom been within shouting distance of fair, in the sense of even approximately equal prospects of success.

Countries whose politicians have been able to squander ever larger amounts of a nation’s resources have not only failed to make the world more fair, the concentration of more resources and power in these politicians’ hands has led to results that were often counterproductive at best, and bloodily catastrophic at worst.

More fundamentally, the question whether life is fair is very different from the question whether a given society’s rules are fair. Society’s rules can be fair in the sense of using the same standards of rewards and punishments for everyone. But that barely scratches the surface of making prospects or outcomes the same.

People raised in different homes, neighborhoods and cultures are going to behave differently — and those differences have consequences. The multiculturalist dogma may say that all cultures are equal, or equally deserving of respect, but treating cultures as sacrosanct freezes people into the circumstances into which they happened to be born, much like a caste system.

While talk about “fairness” may provide a fig leaf to cover politicians’ naked attempts to grab more and more of the nation’s resources to spend, there is no assurance that raising tax rates on “the rich” will result in any more tax revenue for the government. High tax rates have too often simply caused wealthy people to put their money into tax-free securities or to send it overseas.

Four years ago, TV interviewer Charles Gibson pointed out to candidate Barack Obama that raising capital gains tax rates had on a number of occasions led to less capital gains tax revenue being collected — and, conversely, lowering the capital gains tax rates had on other occasions increased the amount of capital gains revenue collected by the government.

Obama readily admitted that. But he said that “fairness” justified a higher tax rate on “the rich.” Yet how does a higher tax rate on paper, without a real increase in the amount of taxes actually collected, promote fairness?

However, raising tax rates on “the rich” pays off politically, even if the government loses revenues when the rich put their money into tax shelters.

High tax rates in the upper-income brackets allow politicians to win votes with class warfare rhetoric, painting their opponents as defenders of the rich. Meanwhile, the same politicians can win donations from the rich by creating tax loopholes that can keep the rich from actually paying those higher tax rates — or perhaps any taxes at all.

What is worse than class warfare is phony class warfare. Slippery talk about “fairness” is at the heart of this fraud by politicians seeking to squander more of the nation’s resources.

Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and may be contacted through www.tsowell.com.

FUEL SURCHARGE: Maybe Not Such A Bad Idea After All

Gas prices in California today.

The reality of gas prices on our pocketbooks.

Since gas prices in California are now over $4/gallon, maybe its time we as officials consider a FUEL SURCHARGE to be added to our invoices for services rendered. I realize this is a sensitive issue but one that I think needs fair consideration in light of the fact that spiraling gas prices are affecting us all.

There probably isn't a bill that you receive each month that doesn't have a FUEL SURCHARGE added to it. If you have ever sponsored a USTA tournament they have more surcharges than even the local electric company--if that is possible. There is a charge to sanction the tournament, a charge to enter the tournament, a charge to register online, and then a charge for player development so the tennis world is well accustomed to surcharges.

To put it in an understandable perspective, less than three years ago the price of gasoline was under $2/gallon. Today it is fast approaching $4/gallon and should be that price country-wide in the near future. If you drive to a moderately close tournament you would use at least two gallons of gas to get there and then two more to get home. That alone is an increase of $8 just in the past couple of years--with no recognizable increase in our rates during that same time period.

While I realize we are not in officiating to make money (even though I don't for a second believe that statement), we are also not in officiating to lose money either. Every official I know loves tennis but also needs the money they make in officiating. If you're not in it to make money, then don't charge at all.

I would recommend from a 6.8% to 8% fuel surcharge on every invoice to begin to recoup some of these losses. Personally, I think the 8% is a better number since it wouldn't force us to increase our rates in the next year or two to even stay near inflation.

If you work a 6 hour shift for $15/hour, a 6.8% fuel charge would amount to a $1/hour increase. I don't see how you could consider that a huge increase with all of today's increases in every area of our lives.

I thought I would just throw the thought out there for consideration. By the time this policy would be in effect (if it ever would), the price of gasoline will be well over $4.50/gallon and then what will we do?

For those of you who don't think higher prices are coming (and I mean really higher prices) be sure to read this article (and you didn't think $6/gallon was upon us):

http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2012/02/22/florida-drivers-shelling-out-nearly-6-a-gallon-at-some-gas-stations/

Lightning Strikes Again--And It Didn't Need To Happen

Seems like it was just yesterday (but it was a year ago this month) that the Baylor women's tennis team was subjected to some ridiculous and highly questionable actions by a chair official at the National Indoors Tournament in Virginia--and it has happened again this year but this time it was to the Baylor men's team.

Seems that in the Baylor match with Stanford (with Stanford leading the dual 3-2), the Chair Official overruled the Baylor player in the 3rd set when the Stanford player was leading 15-0, 6-5, and serving. That gave the Stanford player a 30-0 lead, and he then served a first serve wide on the far sideline--the Baylor player called it out and was again overruled. Since it was the third overrule, a point penalty was assessed giving the game and match to Stanford.

Noone would question the authority of a chair official to make an overrule on an erroneous call, but its hard to believe that a chair official would overrule twice in a third set as close as this to determine the match. The even sadder part was that one of the overrules was down the T on a first serve and the second overrule was on the far sideline on a first serve. Now, what experienced official do you know that would overrule in a situation as questionable as that?

Sadly, this all could have been averted if the tournament had posted a LINESPERSON ON THE LONG LINES during a deciding match. This is common practice in the Big 12 and has gone a long way to stopping problems.

Sometimes lightning strikes twice--but in this case it didn't have to...

Great Idea For Parents in General And Dads In Particular

In the Dallas Morning News today there was an article about a coach of a 4 year old boys soccer team. He sent out an email to the Dads saying these were his requirements:

* Kick a ball at least a half-hour a week with your son.

* Help the coaches at practice.

* Watch the movie "Courageous."

* Answer his emails.

* Show up a half-hour early for games, or your son sits out the first quarter.

These instructions were for dads only...

Might be good to send out an email tennis dads saying the following:

* At least have some civil conversation with your son while driving him to his first match.

* Tell his Mother to behave when she starts arguing with other parents and/or the official.

* Be supportive of your son whether he wins or loses.

* Don't try to live your life through your son.

* Be respectful and supportive of the tournament personnel and officials.

* Actually consider complimenting the tournament personnel and officials when they do a good job.

* Don't get up and storm out when your son starts losing. They actually do see you doing this.

* Take your son to HIS favorite place to eat following the match.

* Make him feel special in your eyes since you only have him for a little while and then he'll be just like you.

* Get up early enough that your son is late checking in and gets penalized. You're the one doing the driving and nothing is more embarrassing for your son than being late.

* Don't make up some lame excuse for being late when everyone knows it isn't the truth.

* Don't berate the officials when they overrule or discipline your son. Remember he's a child and sometimes they act like one.

I Must Be A Democrat!

After reading the percentages in our recent poll, realizing we have 53% Republicans and 17% Democrats, and after someone accused me of being a "leach" (sp), I have come to the realization that I must indeed now be a DEMOCRAT. Here are the reasons why:

* I do enjoy a free lunch and/or supper. Of course, in the Metroplex this has only been the custom for the past 17 or 18 years and was only changed to "no-meals" by a Republican woman or women. I do believe the Constitution says that all officials are entitled to a lunch meal that costs as least $12.50.

* I do love the thought as given to me by a blogger of getting 25% of a tournament's receipts. This does indeed fall in the Democrat's thinking of taking away from our wicked employers to give to the most-deserving employees.

* I would love to have the tournaments pay for our tolls and gas mileage (even though most don't). This comes right out of the Unions playbook.

* I would love to get "Stimulus Money" for our officials. We could use it for training, eating, and vacationing on great beaches.

* I am firmly committed to diversity at every level so that should immediately make me a good Democrat.

* I love eating out in Austin and not as much in College Station and Waco so you know what that means.

* My wish for a Christmas present was a framed picture of Nancy Pelosi to put on my mantle; but alas, Santa did not honor my wish.

* I voted for Michelle Obama to take Rich Kaufman's place but noone even had a poll.

* I sometimes think that our employers (TD's) make way too much money and we as the lowly employees have a right to their profits and should be able to decide how much money they make even though we have no part in their risk.

These are just a few of the reasons that I think I may have actually become a Democrat.

Note: Before you get your panties in a wad, this whole post was made in jest (kind of).

Analyzing Our Readership

Our recent poll of our readers has revealed some interesting statistics. Here they are:

53% are Republicans. A thought for which I am eternally grateful...

26% are independents. Doesn't surprise me when it comes to officials...

17% are Democrats. Maybe they will be able to get us some stimulus money in Texas...

68% are umpires. Interesting since I thought it wouldn't be that high...

26% are referees. There are fewer of us than I thought...

6% are tournament directors. At least they had the courage to admit it even though it was anonymously.

There are still five more days to register your vote but this is how the trends are running so far.

I'll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusions--but there should be plenty!

Helping To Define Our Blog Readership

In order to understand a bit more about those of us who read and post on this blog, please participate in the polls listed to the top right.

It might be great fun to actually visualize who we (and all our anonymous posters) are...

Thanks in advance!

And What Would Be Your Thoughts And Opinions On The Use Of Court Monitors?

Friend at Court, Page 154-155

Court Monitors are not certified officials. They assume limited duties to help ensure fair and sportsmanlike play at sites lacking a sufficient number of certified officials. Based on the experience and training of the Court Monitors, the Referee or Site Referee shall advise them of the courts to which they are assigned and their responsibilities, which may include some or all of the following:

1. Maintain control over assigned courts.

2. Measure the net at the beginning of the first match and at other appropriate times.

3. Time warm-ups and, when possible, announce "two minutes" at two minutes before the end of the warm-up, and announce "time" when play is to begin.

4. Call footfaults, remembering that there is never a warning.

5. Stop play when the monitor observes a code violation and seek assistance from the referee or other official.

6. File suspension point reports with the referee concerning offenses they personally observed or heard.

7. Settle scoring disputes on a limited basis.

8. Overrule clear mistakes.

9. Time rest periods.

10. Record scores of matches.

11. Inform the desk of open courts and of the progress of matches in play.

12. Send for a certified official if there is a question of rule interpretation.

13. Call the score if assigned to only one court.

Listed above is a description of a court monitor and their responsibilities. It seems that a major non-sanctioned tournament in the Metroplex and the state of Texas has chosen to use court monitors instead of certified officials in their tournaments. They plan to hire only a referee and then use court monitors for all the other work. These court monitors would not be paid and only be given a meal and a t-shirt for their work.

To further complicate the matter, the President of the Metroplex Tennis Officials Association is said to be training these court monitors for the tournament.

Personally, I will not comment on what our President does or does not do, but I consider the use of court monitors instead of certified officials to be fraught with issues and disasters in the making. Here are some of my points in that part of the discussion:

* Areas of concern in the description are highlighted in italics.

* A court monitor is not certified and therefore does not have training as an official even though they are being placed in that role.

* They have not been trained in how to deal with disruptive players and/or parents.

* They have no authority to deal with these parents and/or players other than to call for the referee.

* What will the referee do if more than one court monitor at a time needs them on their court?

* Since a court monitor is not employed by either the tournament or the referee, they have no recourse to demand accountability or work product.

* Court monitors were meant as a help to certified officials who had too many courts and not as a replacement for certified officials.

* The use of court monitors INSTEAD of certified officials seems to be a first step by a tournament and/or tournament director to replace officials in order to save money and expense.

* Court monitors serve on a volunteer basis and therefore can choose to be on time or not, to deal with issues or not, to walk off the court or not, and to do the right thing or not.

These are just a few of my random thoughts about court monitors and I'll leave the discussion of who is training them up to our readers.

So You Think You Actually Got A Raise To $15 An Hour?

Much ado is given to the cost of a $28 shirt and the poor TD's in Texas who have to deal with spiraling costs in our economy and yet people hyperventilate when we even bring up the suggestion of our rates.

NOTE: This blog post DOES NOT apply to ITA and UIL events since they pay a decent wage and provide meals to their officials when necessary.

NOTE: This blog post DOES APPLY to sanctioned USTA tournaments and specifically in the Metroplex.

Three years ago the Metroplex Tennis Officials Association raised their rates to $18/hour for the referee and $15/hour for umpires. You would have thought the world had come to an end when listening to the gnashing of teeth from TD's and tournaments. To retaliate, the Dallas Tennis Association and the Ft. Worth Tennis Association promptly stopped providing meals for officials (which had been the policy since the beginning of time.) Since that time, numerous other TD's have followed suit in denying meals to officials.

Just to put it in perspective, here is a breakdown of our pay now as compared to three years ago:

THREE YEARS AGO:

$12.50/hour

Meals provided

Gas was less than $2/gallon

No toll roads of consequence

TODAY:

$15/hour

No meals provided

Gas is more than $3.50/gallon

Toll roads are everywhere.

Here is a MONETARY BREAKDOWN of your $15/hour today:

$90.00 Pay for one 6 hour shift at $15/hour

-$10.00 Cost for a decent meal

-$6.00 Average cost for tolls to tournament site

-$6.00 Cost of gasoline at $1.50/gallon more than 3 years ago and based on four gallons

per day to drive roundtrip to the site.

$68.00 Real pay for a 6 hour shift

That comes out to $11.33 per hour for a 6 hour shift.

And some people think we actually raised our rates and make too much money...

UIL pays $160 per dual match and when we work a UIL tournament they pay $15/hour plus meals and plus mileage--so why would we complain over wearing a $28 shirt??? I sure won't.

Every tournament where I serve as referee (at UIL, ITA, & USTA), I make sure that they provide meals for the officials and if they don't, we add $10 per meal to the invoice. Interesting enough--90% of the time they choose to add $10 so they don't have to mess with it.

Its time our referees stood up for the umpires and did what is right--and maybe that includes actually discussing raising our rates. The TD's and tournaments have sure raised their's since the bottom line is that they are in it to make money.

Understanding A Divorce

I'm sure by now you have all received the letter (email) from the USTA about the shirt change. In that email, they presuppose to tell us what we need to do and recommend that we buy a colored polo shirt and wear that to officiate.

My response to this would be the same as the Baylor women's basketball coach when A&M asked to play them again in basketball--when you get a divorce you don't get to choose who the divorced partner dates or dances with...

Those are my sentiments exactly. In Texas, we do things much better than putting officials out on the court in a solid black (or blue or green or purple) shirt. At least here we have ITA and UIL shirts to wear so we won't look like a joke.

Divorces are heck aren't they?

UIL Shirts Now Available In Texas

Good news for those who do UIL events in Texas--we now have UIL shirts and caps available for ordering.

I have gotten the approval of the UIL to do a UIL shirt and UIL cap for our UIL matches and tournaments. This is basically only for those who do UIL events and for your convenience. You must order them through me personally or your local coordinator and please note these guidelines:

* The shirts are red dry-fit and have a white UIL logo with the word "official" on them.

* The caps are khaki and have a red UIL logo with the word "official" on them.

* The shirts are made out of dry-fit material and come in small, medium, large, extra large, and 2XL. They do not come in women's sizes. There is a $1 extra charge for 2XL.

* Cost for the shirts is $28 and for the caps is $11.

* No refunds or exchanges so please be sure your sizing is correct when you order.

* Orders should be placed originally through your local coordinator and if you do not have one, you can order directly through Randy McDonald. You can place your order by email to: rmtennis@yahoo.com

* There is no tax on the order and no shipping if I can deliver them directly to you. If shipping is required, it will be billed separately.

* We take only cash or checks and payment must be made before the order is shipped or delivered.

* Deadline for the first order is February 14th with a delivery time of February 27th. After that, turnaround on orders is 7-10 days.

I hope you will find this helpful and easy to understand. I will have quite a bit of stock on hand but please understand the normal shipping time is 7-10 days. There is no such thing as overnight shipping on anything.

Please note that I am not going into the business but simply trying to provide a service for our UIL officials. All of the Texas coordinators have received emails and order forms so please use them for your original order.

If you have questions or orders you may contact me at:

Randy McDonald

rmtennis@yahoo.com

214 796 7402

Great Song & A Letter From The Texas Section Chairman

TEXAS

"The Greatest State of All"

If tomorrow all the things were gone,

I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be a TEXAN,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be a TEXAN,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be a TEXAN,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Aren't those of you who live in TEXAS glad that you don't have to worry about what the USTA is up to! We already have our ITA shirts and apparel in order so they don't cause a moment's worry.

Letter From The Texas Section Chairman

USTA Texas Official,

As some of you are aware, the USTA has recently adopted the stand that USTA Officials are not to wear the USTA-logoed apparel at non-USTA events. This has been brewing for a couple of years now and finally came to a speedy head during the past few days. This includes ITA (collegiate), UIL, non-sanctioned, ITA, WTA, and any other event where USTA officials are used to officiate in any capacity.

Since we are in the middle of many of these seasons and have no alternatives at this time, I am issuing the following instructions:

1. Most Division I events have been using the black shirt with the ITA logo. Please continue to wear these shirts to do your matches. For any ITA events where these shirts are not used and the standard USTA shirt is worn, please wear a navy or black polo-style shirt. If there is more than one official, I ask that you all wear the same color, which means communicating a bit prior to the event.
2. For all other events including UIL, non-sanctioned, and all non-USTA events, please wear the navy or black polo shirt. A navy shirt may be better just to distinguish you from the ITA shirts above, but just agree on a color prior to the event in the case of more than one official.
3. All USTA-logoed accessories (caps, visors, bags, and outerwear) are not allowed at these events either. Please take care to use alternate gear or at least cover up the logo(s).

The USTA and ITA are considering alternatives as we speak, but nothing has been decided, and this process will likely take at least a few weeks for any new shirt to become available. The black ITA shirts currently used here in Texas are not available from Bear Cotton at this time. This will be the case until some agreement is reached.

I personally am maddened at this hastiness of this action. We are all aware of the hardship this may place on some officials. These USTA’s actions are based on liability and branding concerns, also known as legalities. I ask that you comply, to the best of your ability, and please stay tuned for more information as it comes out. I will use email and the Texas Official’s Twitter to update you. For you newer officials, please communicate with your referee or assignor if you have any questions or doubts as to what shirt to wear. Please keep in mind that any shirt you have to purchase may be used as a deduction on your taxes.

One final word, I ask that you maintain your professional attitudes as we deal with this. Do not believe or spread any rumors you may hear concerning these actions, event though they may be true. I promise to share any legitimate information to you as described.

Thanks for your cooperation and keep up the good work,

Bruce Sampley

USTA Texas Section Chair of Officials

ITA Apparel Items For Sale

Black ITA Jacket

If you are interested in purchasing some black ITA apparel, one of our Texas officials has retired from officiating and has the following new (these items have never been worn) items available:

1 Extra Large black jacket ($56)

1 Large black windshirt ($39)

1 Women's extra large black shirt ($25)

If you are interested in any or all of these, email me at rmtennis@yahoo.com and we can arrange for you to have them. The cost is listed above and shipping is additional.

These black items are primarily for Texas officials since that is the accepted ITA apparel in the state.

February 3rd Update On ITA Apparel

I just got off a conference call with David Benjamin and Angel Prinos of the ITA and Randy Cox, owner of Bear Cotton, so I can give you the latest status on our ITA apparel.

First, let me say that David and Randy are both men of high integrity and are doing their best to meet our needs as ITA officials. I trust both of these men to work out something that is best for all of us.

As the situation stands right now, the ITA will present their proposal to Bear Cotton and then both parties will decide if it is mutually beneficial for both of them. This is a decision that needs to be made quickly and I'm confident that both parties will be working with appropriate haste.

As soon as the ITA makes a decision we will print it on the blog so you can spread the word. Right now the ITA apparel website is down and will remain so until a formal legal agreement can be reached. Hopefully that will be all be done within a week or so and we can get back to officiating ITA matches.

Thank goodness this crisis doesn't affect us in Texas since we are all equipped in our sharp looking black ITA apparel. There are 1,800 ITA officials in this country so there is a great group of officials who are awaiting leadership on this issue. The USTA has put us all in a very difficult situation and personally I am thankful that we have people like David Benjamin and Angel Prinos that are busy working out what is best for all of us.

We will patiently wait for their direction and able leadership...

Morning Update On ITA Apparel

As of this morning, Bear Cotton will no longer be providing ITA apparel for officials. Their website will be taken down and no orders accepted for any reason.

We are working closely with the ITA to see what can be done and details will be put on the blog as soon as something is finalized.

As for now--we will continue to wear the black ITA apparel in Texas. I assume they will continue to wear the navy blue ITA apparel in California also.

Latest Decision By The USTA Concerning ITA Shirts

Well, we have yet another chapter in the "USTA Shirt Saga" and it includes this letter from the USTA:

Hello Everyone,

We know the season has started and the 2012 USTA shirt policy at non-USTA events will be a challenge for you and your officials.

We have discussed this transition for a number of years at our fall meetings and now the USTA would like for us to enforce the policy. Please relay to your officials and other interested parties that the USTA shirt and gear (including USTA Sectional Shirts and gear) are not to be worn at non-USTA events; like ITA, High School, ATP and WTA events.

David Benjamin, the head of the ITA is looking into having a National ITA shirt. He understands that some regions/conferences have already decided or are currently working with the officials to have their own shirt. The ITA has not and will not discourage schools from doing this. If no shirt is offered by the teams/conferences in a region, then a generic ITA Officials shirt would be available through the ITA. We are currently working with the ITA and our vender to offer an ITA shirt and every effort will be made to keep the cost down. Stand by for further information on this.

In the meantime, if no shirt is offered to the officials by non-USTA events, decide upon a solid color polo to be used at these non-USTA events. This can be determined by your section with input from the college/school or any other organizers of non-USTA events.

Just covering the logo on the current USTA national shirt does not suffice since our USTA shirt is highly recognizable with or without a logo. In time we may also offer a non-logo generic Tennis Officials Shirt (slightly different from our current USTA shirt) for use at non- USTA events other than ITA. We can look into having a shirt that can handle patches to be attached to the sleeve of such a generic shirt that would accommodate other non-USTA events.

We appreciate your cooperation and patience throughout this transition. Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Thanks

Donna

Feel free to draw your own conclusions about this fiasco. As for those ITA OFFICIALS WHO WORK IN TEXAS--we will continue to use the black ITA apparel. The letter clearly states that if we already have an ITA uniform in a region, then we can continue to use it.

For those who work UIL events, we are working with the UIL and trying to come up with a suitable shirt to be worn with the UIL logo. We will let you know when the details have been finalized.

Its Time To Ease Up On Our ITA Supplier

Well, about the time I think I have seen and heard everything and have seen people react in just about every way possible, I get surprised--and I'm surprised at how some of our officials around the country are treating the people at Bear Cotton. Bear Cotton is our ITA supplier in Waco and they do a fine job in supplying all our officials' needs but some of the rude treatment, emails, and phone calls need to STOP IMMEDIATELY. The quickest way to lose a good supplier is to offend them over a $28 shirt when they are nationwide company that does a ton of business annually.

The people at Bear Cotton have shared with me that they are receiving unreasonable requests (such as having them measure a shirt from the armpit to the waist and sending them the measurements and then demanding that a jacket be embroidered today and sent in the morning). This doesn't even include the rude and harassing phone calls and emails they have been receiving.

This is a terrible testimony to our officiating world and it needs to come to a stop today. The ITA officials in Texas are already supplied because we have been using the black shirt for two years but these new officials from around the country who are paranoid about not being able to wear the USTA shirt are giving us all a bad name. If you don't like Bear Cotton and their prices, then go contract with someone in your own state and see what they charge you... We have done all the legal work and gotten the ok from the ITA to work with Bear Cotton so if you aren't happy, then don't ruin a good thing for us here in Texas.

Here are things you need to remember when you order:

1. They do not do refunds or exchanges. Their apparel runs true to size so if you want to know if you wear a large, go to the mall and try on a large shirt and see if it fits.

2. They do not measure all their garments and email the facts to you. Honig's does not publish their measurements nor do they mail them out to people so please don't expect Bear Cotton to do this.

3. They are good people trying to make a living so don't yell and harass them when you call.

4. Their turnaround is 5-7 days so don't get mad when they can't ship your item the next day. They don't keep the tennis stuff in stock so it takes a couple of days to get the apparel in before they can embroider it.

5. BE NICE! These are fine folks and will work with us if we have the right attitudes.

6. Yes, they do charge for shipping as do all online clothing companies. They charge a flat $10 and that is for one order no matter how large it is. If you want to save on shipping, order a large order for you and your friends. I would recommend collecting from your friends before you place the order though.

7. They do not give discounts. Their prices are already quite low so please don't ask. The ITA officials in Texas placed a large order in the beginning and we did not get a discount since we asked them to give us their lowest price in the beginning--and they did.

How Would You Rule? (This Is A Good One!)

Two different calls on the same ball.

Rule I-B-3 (Page 242, FAC)

Disagreement between partners over a call. A doubles partner is obligated to disagree with his partner if an erroneous "out" call is made. When doubles partners disagree on a call, the point goes to the opposing team. The point is never replayed.

Scenario

In a women's ITA doubles match last weekend at Baylor, team A hit a passing shot past one of team B's players. As she missed the ball, the girl said "good shot" and put her hand out signaling good. When the ball landed outside the baseline, the other team B player said "out."

Team A said they deserved the point since the rule states that if partners disagree on a call, the point goes to the opposing team. Team B said the ball was out and the chair official agreed with the out call, disregarding the player's disagreement on the call.

How would you have ruled?