Quote from the 2014 Friend at Court:
Q. What is a tennis official?
A. A person who helps ensure that any given tennis match is conducted under the fairest possible conditions. So, ideally, the official is a "friend at court," helpful to the players and the spectators.
Quite an interesting quote and perhaps one that should be given to some of our USTA referees around the country. Now that the summer season is in full swing, we hear constant reports of bad (and good) referees all over everywhere. Not that all reports are bad or untrue, but the sad fact exists that we have some referees who have trouble distinguishing between being a "friend at court" and being an inflexible referee who wreaks havoc of players and spectators alike.
Consider the following examples from around Texas:
* A well known lady referee in Texas has the nickname "feminazi" among players and spectators for her aggressive and dominant officiating style.
* A referee chased a dad into the parking lot to chastise him for disobeying rules. When asked about his behavior, the referee said, "I had to show him who was boss."
* In a ZAT tournament the parents of both players were sitting next to the sideline fence watching the match. Noone was coaching or causing any problems but the referee strutted up and said, "You have to move. There is a three foot rule regarding parents sitting next to a fence."
* In a women's doubles match both teams were putting their equipment and supplies down in a shaded patio that adjoined their court and had open and free access from the court. Both teams agreed to do so and were having a great match. The referee quickly came to court and said they could not use the shaded area and made all four of them sit out on the court in the sun with no shade available. He told the players that there was a rule forbidding what they were doing.
These are just a few of the accounts that come from tournaments every week--and its time for some of our referee to reign in their behavior. It is beyond this writer to understand why a tournament director would hire a referee that shows such utter disregard for players and spectators alike. The saddest thing to witness is a referee who is constantly abusive and rude to everyone in the tournament. Some simply seem to labor under the need to assert their authority and penalize anyone who questions them.
What is the solution? More training? If that were so, some of the greatest offenders should have been cured years ago. More pay? Money won't change a thing. Having lunch provided? Not hardly. Most of these referees already have their lunch provided by the tournament director.
Basically the best solution would be for the tournaments not to hire them... We (and the tournament directors) know who the worst referees are and its time to change it--for the betterment of the game and the players and spectators.
Here are some helpful hints for a referee with a dictator complex:
* Remember you are there to facilitate fair play and help the players and spectators have an enjoyable experience.
* You aren't king (or queen) of anything so don't act that way.
* Remember that you aren't always right.
* The people you deal with are fellow humans and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
* Don't run around just looking for something or someone to code for something real or imagined.
* Don't make up rules to suit your own agenda. Lots of people have a Friend at Court and can check your accuracy and integrity.
* Just be nice.
16 comments:
It makes it quite difficult to replace a Referee when they are self-annointed!
Bingo Bazinga!
These Referees you speak of are in the pocket, heart and mind of the Tournament Directors that do not see past the money they pay out of Officials!
Great suggestion we should all know...
Here are a couple of other considerations Ref's should know-
1. Hire enough Officials - NOT JUST AS MANY AS THE TD ORDERS YOU TO HIRE! Many times they are trying to save money - at the expense of overworking Officials.
2. SHARE THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING A REF - in other words train others.
3. Contact EVERYONE FROM YOUR AREA about every event - EVEN IF YOU DO NOT THINK THEY WILL WORK... give them opportunity to say no! Use technology like a blast email - you have a record of trying to include everyone!
4. TRAIN - you are the REF you need to train in all areas.
ABOVE ALL ELSE - LISTEN and remember that you were once a Rover and hopefully a player!
Love, BACO
We did a survey in Texas and the average ratio in USTA tournaments is one official for every ELEVEN courts. Some are even worse than that and then they expect full coverage of every match.
Ain't gonna happen...
Funny comment. We received an email in Waco looking for officials to work this weekend in the DFW area. I contacted the officials I know in the DFW area, and none of them were notifed of the opportunity to work. I spoke to five different officials from the DFW area, and they all said the same thing.
It appears the DFW area is having Referee issues. I wonder if it is a normal occurrence, or the result of this one Referee. But from what I've been told, this particular Referee essentially runs most, if not all tournaments in the DFW area.
hmmm could the referee please show the rule stating the 3ft fence rule?
The no sitting in the shade right next to the court.
Good grief they need to get a damn life, because officiating is not for, no wonder players hate officials if those are the only run-ins.
Checking on the availability of a tournament in Dallas this weekend here is what was offered:
1. Report time at 6:30 a.m.
2. No breaks.
3. No lunch.
4. End time approximately 6:00 p.m. if the whole event goes according to schedule.
5. Pay is $15/hour.
Thanks but no thanks.
In the Metroplex there are basically three people who referee all of the tournaments.
Really? No breaks and no lunches? Who was cracking the whip for that assignment? Who was the referee? And why would any referee allow that sort of treatment? Assuming, of course, that the prior posting was correct. If it was correct, I hope they couldn't get officials because the Tournament Director needs to know that type of labor/management relationship died a long time ago. Also, please note this will be the hottest weekend of the year in the metroplex with temps in the 102-104 range predicted for Sat and Sunday.
This referee and a couple of others in the Metroplex are well known for their "no lunch" policy and for overworking their officials. You would know them well.
so it is either: 809634214 or 800016514
Poor officials, hope they found some dumb suckers, 100+ is not fun to work in, especially as slave labor
Can't wait to hear from the "I do it for the love of the game!" crowd.
The tournaments and referees might be listed on the MTOA blogsite but good luck getting one of them to hire you just because you email them and tell them you are available. Its just not gonna happen. Most of them don't want their names publicized at the tournament referee.
Play started at the tournament this weekend at 7:00 a.m. so report time was 6:30 a.m. We do want you to have all the pertinent facts.
Yes, there are referees in the Metroplex who require you to be there 30 minutes before start time of the tournament and then don't pay you for that 30 minutes. Shame on anyone who works for these referees--they get what they deserve.
Its always good to check out the facts before agreeing to work for a referee. If you don't, you might come out on the short end of the stick more often than you want to.
For those who don't think its possible, you can actually make a living being a tennis official but probably not at the pro level. Its not easy nor luxurious but it can be done.
Please note that the comment by "Waco Official" did not come from the illustrious Kevin Foster. It did however come from someone in Waco or someone who signed their name that way. I have no way of knowing who writes blog comments.
Not sure the refusal to pay officials for the 30 minutes prior to tournament start is legal. If the official is working, then the official should be paid. I have seen companies sued for less.
Its a well known fact that some referees in the Metroplex have officials show up at 7:30 and then don't pay them until 8:00 a.m. The best way to cure that is to not work for them.
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