Want To Create Absolute Bedlam? Just Try Enforcing This Rule...

From time to time we find a tennis rule that is absolutely ridiculous and totally unenforceable...

Here is one for you...

Source:  USTA Tennis Officiating:  Procedures and Techniques 2018  (Distributed to all USTA officials.

Rule:  Page 5 

B.  Roving umpire procedures.
     iii. Overrules - A Roving Umpire should never overrule an extremely close ball.
          1. Players are playing under The Code and are expected to give their opponents the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, a Roving Umpire should be reluctant to call a ball out that has been played as good.
          2. The overrule of an out ball that has been played as good may be made only when a Roving Umpire is stationed on court.

Let me assure you--if you are roving and start to call balls out for the players when they have played the ball as good is going to create ABSOLUTE BEDLAM!

It may be a rule but it is a rule that should be ignored and hopefully removed from the manual in the near future.

Want To Be A Collegiate Chair Official? Training is a must...

We frequently hear people saying, "I want to be a collegiate chair official.  It looks so exciting!"  It is exciting and lots of fun--but it also requires TRAINING in order to even be considered as a collegiate chair official.

That's where the difficulty comes in.  There are very few training opportunities being offered even though we face tremendous shortages in qualified chair officials.

If you are interested in becoming a chair official, here are things to remember:

*  You must be a certified USTA official.  Its not impossible but you have to meet the requirement.  Check out the previous post about how you go about getting your USTA certification.

*  You must be a certified ITA official.  This can only happen after you obtain your USTA certification.  Again, check out the previous blog post about how you go about doing this.

*  You must be invited or apply for training opportunities.  In Texas, we are greatly expanding our training opportunities to include the dates listed below.

NEW CHAIR TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

In order to train more new officials, we will be making available a great opportunity for you to receive actual chair training in an on-court setting.  There are numerous opportunities this fall and if you do well, you will be invited to work collegiate matches beginning in January.  

During this training you will be given specific chair instruction as well as on-court training in actual matches.  The matches may be in an ITA tournament setting or in a UIL setting with the best high school program in the nation.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in the training, you will need to contact Randy McDonald (214 796 7402) as soon as possible so you can get started.  You may also email him at rmtennis@yahoo.com  The opportunities begin very soon so let us hear from you as soon as possible.

During your training you will be able to select your training times from the following list.  You will also be able to choose as many opportunities as you would like--remember, the more you practice, the better you will be...

Here are the training dates and times:

July 13-15   ITA tournament at University of Texas at Arlington. 

July 27-29   ITA tournament at SMU

August 27 (3:30 p.m.)  Highland Park High School Dual match 

September 10, 13, 20, 24.  Highland Park High School dual matches beginning at 3:30 p.m.

September 22-23  ITA tournament at Tyler Junior College

September 27-28  ITA tournament at Arlington Tennis Center

October 1, 4, 8  Highland Park High School dual matches beginning at 3:30 p.m.

If you are interested, let us know as soon as possible!