Chair Training Opportunities Begin August 25th

There is only one way to becoming a good chair official and that is TRAINING and lots of it.  If you want to advance in USTA or ITA chair opportunities you need to avail yourself of as many training opportunities as possible.

Our annual CHAIR TRAINING begins on August 25th and is open to any certified official who would like to do chairs.  The training takes place at Highland Park High School during their dual matches and each trainee will be given individualized instruction by experienced chair officials while chairing a match during dual match competition.  The training program will also open the doors to doing chair officiating during the spring season at SMU and UTA and UNT.

Here are the requirements and facts of the training program:

*  Be a certified USTA official.  ITA certification helps but is not required.
*  No chair experience is required.
*  You will get to chair at least two (and sometimes three) complete matches during each dual match.
*  You do not need to commit to work every match.  You can choose those that best fit your personal schedule.
*  Must purchase a UIL officials' shirt to wear while chairing matches.  Your purchase can be made when you commit to the training program.
*  There is no pay for the training and no charge for enrolling in the training program.  The goal is to give you valuable training to enable you to work in the spring.

Listed below are the dates for training:

September 8 (3:30 p.m.)
September 11 (3:30 p.m.)
September 12 (1:00 p.m.)
September 18 (3:00 p.m.)
September 22 (3:30 p.m.)
September 25 (3:00 p.m.)
September 29 (3:30 p.m.)
October 16 (3:30 p.m.)
October 17 (9:30 a.m.)

For those who have excelled in the training program, you will also be given an opportunity to further your training at the following collegiate tournaments:

October 9-11  SMU Women's Tournament
November 6-8  SMU Women's Tournament

If you are interested in participating in the training program, contact Randy McDonald at 214 796 7402 or email at rmtennis@yahoo.com

Ten Commandments For Blog Trolls

INTERNET TROLL:   A person who posts inflammatory or inappropriate messages or comments online for the purpose of upsetting other users and provoking a response.

Since we seem to have an abundance of blog trolls (see definition above) lately, I thought I would publish a list of the "Ten Commandments For Blog Trolls."  If you are one--pay attention or your comments will never be published.

Definition of a blog troll:  a person who posts inflammatory or inappropriate messages or comments online for the purpose of upsetting other users and provoking a response.

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR BLOG TROLLS

1.  Thou shalt not mention the predominant conference in Texas by name.

2.  Thou shalt not disparage another official by name if you are not willing to sign your own name.

3.  Thou shalt not insult the blog owner if you are not willing to sign your own name to your comment.

4.  Thou shalt not disparage any person who is not now the same sex to which they were born.

5.  Thou shalt not post comments that disparage Texas and/or Oklahoma officials since everyone knows they are the far superior officials in America today.

6.  Thou shalt not post comments that name certain female officials in Texas by name.

7.  Though shalt not make any comments that pertain to any university that comes into contact with the Brazos or Trinity rivers.

8.  Thou shalt love the USTA with all your heart and mind and soul.  

9.  Thou shalt not disparage any team in the SEC, Big 10, or Pac 12 conferences.  

10.  Thou shalt send a personal picture of yourself if you want to be sure that your blog comment is published.

News From The ITA

Much has been written and said about the ITA/USTA relationship.  Here is the latest from the ITA:

August 7, 2015 Dear Colleagues: High level officiating is an important component of the success of college tennis. The ITA is most appreciative of your commitment to the sport that we all love. I am writing to you as a follow-up to the e-mail dated August 4, 2015 that F. Skip Gilbert, USTA Managing Director of Professional Tennis Operations & US Open Tournament Manager, sent to you - to offer both some clarification as well as updates. In mid-May, about six weeks prior to my July 1st start date as the new CEO of the ITA, David Benjamin and I were asked to join a phone call with the USTA's Skip Gilbert and Kurt Kamperman, the USTA's Chief Executive for Community Tennis. On that call Mr. Gilbert informed David and me of the USTA's decision "to no longer support the ITA officials program in the same manner that they had in the past." This was the first that the ITA had been told by the USTA that the USTA would no longer continue its longstanding certification program of ITA officials.  On July 1st Erica Perkins Jasper (our new ITA Chief Operating Officer) and I committed to make the current and future direction of college tennis officiating an immediate top priority for the ITA. In this regard, a few updates: (1)   On Wednesday July 8th, while in White Plains, NY to meet with senior leadership of the USTA, I also met briefly with Skip Gilbert - at which time we mutually agreed that it is critically important for all ITA officials to re-certify with the USTA by December 31st of this year, in order to be fully certified through 2016. (2)   Erica is already working with Anthony Montero and Jane Goodman to establish an ITA Officials Task Force. This group will work on developing the officials' curriculum and the organization of the ITA certification/recertification process that will start in 2016. By later this Fall we will have a concrete and comprehensive action plan in place. (3)   The ITA team is excited about the possibility of bringing new benefits to ITA tennis officials coupled with their future ITA certification. Please let me close where I began, sharing the belief of the ITA that outstanding and highly committed college tennis officials are both part of the strong foundation of our sport as well as a key to a thriving future. Please be on the lookout for updates about the future, as our planning process evolves. We are committed to:  (1) creating and implementing a well-conceived and far-reaching plan that will lead to much success moving forward; and (2) keeping you informed throughout the process. Yours sincerely,    Timothy Russell Chief Executive Officer

New Penalty For Bathroom Break--Default!

One of the joys of having a tennis officials blog is that I get emails from all over the country telling me about "strange and unusual" things that tennis officials are doing--and this weekend is no exception!

I got a call last night telling me about an official at a tournament here in Texas.  Seems that a 4.0 woman was going to take a bathroom break and was carrying her racket with her while she left the court.  The official quickly informed the woman that if she took her racket with her on a bathroom break that it is an IMMEDIATE DEFAULT!

Oh well, guess its time to go back to the drawing board...

Today's Interesting Announcement: What Does It Really Mean?

Skip Gilbert of the USTA came out with an interesting announcement (printed below).  Kind of brings up more questions than answers...  What are your thoughts?

ITA Certification

USTA Officiating Department is in the process of creating a new curriculum structure along with newly defined certification levels and evaluation processes to better support and develop all officiating disciplines (Chair, Line, Referee, Rover, Umpire, etc.).  Due to the differences between USTA/ITF sanctioned events and ITA Rules and Regulations, the ITA and the USTA have decided to take a close look at how the relationship between our organizations will operate in the future. 

Please note: Anyone interested in working ITA events in 2016 needs to re-certify in 2015.  Please contact your district or section chair of officials for any schools that may be remaining in your area.  In addition, for anyone who was not able to attend an in-person school,  the details of a webinar school are posted on the NUCULA event listing. If your section has approved the webinar for certification, you may make yourself available(please see note in the event listing).

The Facts of Life (Tennis Officiating Style)

One of the most thankless jobs in tennis officiating is the job of "match coordinator" and now that it is nearly time for the spring assignments to start coming out, that job has new meaning and focus.  Here are some things to remember when the assignments come out:

*  Don't count everyone else's assignments and compare them to your own.  This will only create headaches for everyone concerned.

*  Many times a coordinator will make assignments based on an official's ability to be part of a team when they are working a match.

*  If you got more than one bad eval last year that probably means you will get fewer assignments (or less stressful ones) this year.

*  Keep in mind that the pay is the same for men's and women's matches so don't pull out the crying towel when you don't get a bunch of men's assignments.  Besides, the stress level is usually less for a women's match (but not always).

*  Remember that coaches have the ear of the coordinators.  You may not like it, but its a fact of life.

*  Some coaches keep files on officials.  Another fact of life you need to remember but it sure would be fun to read through those files.

*  Only one coordinator in Texas gets paid for doing the job so don't be too quick to criticize.

*  Always remember that you don't know how many officials signed up for the match.  There are times you have 20 people sign up for 6 spots so someone is going to be left out.

*  Remember that some conferences pay more than anyone else and that's why people wait until their assignments come out before committing to anything.

*  Try not to cancel out of too many previous assignments after you have gotten the big conference assignments.

*  The SEC pays as good as anyone in the nation so turn your eyes toward College Station, Baton Rouge, and Arkansas if you want to branch out.

*  There are times that a coordinator has to match up coaches, players, and officials according to their personalities and job performances.  Just like some coaches and players are hard to get along with, there are some officials that make life miserable for everyone.

*  Don't threaten the coordinator with a lawsuit if they don't give you enough matches.  This has already been done in Texas and it didn't work out well for the official.  She no longer works collegiate matches...

*  If you and the coordinator don't get along well don't even begin to think you will get a ton of assignments.

*  Be thankful for the assignments you get and then do the very best job you can do when spring rolls around.