Thursday, September 28, 2017

Swing Wide The Door! Change Is Here...

Since "change" seems to be the by-word all over America today, we don't want tennis officiating to fall behind.  Change is really here and its showing off in our apparel and the way we dress at tournaments.


The USTA swung the door wide open when officials were permitted to wear "shoes of color" instead of the all-white shoes of the past.  What a great change!  Our previous blog post about clothing is just a precursor to what will be coming in the months ahead.


Here was our sedate recommendation for USTA wear.  Over the weekend, I added a pair of colored shoes to the look.  Check it out below..


To say I got a lot of comments from players would be an understatement...

I would be amiss if I didn't bring up the subject of the new ITA shirts.  First, let me begin with my recommendation for style in the ITA...


Of course the outfit doesn't include the matching white cap which makes the outfit quite stunning!

Then the next question arises--DO WE TUCK OR NOT TUCK????  Personally I'm not comfortable with the ITA shirt hanging out but that's a matter of personal preference in today's world.  Check out the picture below and you decide what you like.  Note that you can have your choice in what look you prefer.


Now that we have discussed shoes, outfits, and "tucking or not", its time to check out the new ITA shirts.  There has been much discussion across the land and I'll not make a personal statement at all, but will simply share the pictures with you and let you make up your own mind...

Here is the new ITA shirt fresh out of the package.  Dang nice looking!


And here is the same shirt in a tournament on a hot day!









And pictured below is the same shirt on a hot day worn by a female official.

Now, you make up your own mind about this issue...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There has been some talk among officials I've been with, and although it's just another uniform shirt........the majority do not care for the material. I wore this shirt last weekend at an event and always tuck it in.....it displays a professional appearance and is exactly how one should be observed while at a public venue.
I'm also not certain about the sizes?! I wear my shirt comfortably and ordered a 2XL, but I swear it's an XL. The older ITA shirts were perfect in fit (for me), but the new ones run a bit smaller. A question for referees: If your officials look like those in the pictures after a match and they're to continue officiating later in the day, do you ask them to change into another shirt for that professional image? In closing......I don't care for the new shirt material.

AR Hacked Off said...

I wore the new ITA shirt for the first time last weekend in 90+ degree weather and higher humidity. Absolutely horrible, hate the shirt. Comes out nice from package but after 15 min it is sweat soaked and nasty.

Anonymous said...

The new shirts show sweat and make us look unprofessional.

The Black shirt did not show sweat. It also looked sharp all day.

Change is not always good.