As you can read from the previous post, there is a lot of interest and differing opinions about what to do with inept officials. This is an age old problem and one that won't be solved quickly--but I tend to think that we need to make more progress than we are currently making.
One of the dilemas you face is that you don't want to hurt someone's feelings--and that's an admirable attribute but probably one that will get you in trouble in the long run. A few years ago I had an official that had been banned by a college coach from ever doing his matches again and I tried to keep from hurting her feelings by telling her that we had to make some "adjustments in the schedule" instead of telling her that she had been banned. I guess in my desire to protect her feelings I thought she would appreciate me and my efforts--but that didn't work! Instead she blamed me personally and went on a vicious and verbal crusade around the state saying I had deliberately removed her from matches. Finally, I listened to the advice of an older and wiser official and told her the unvarnished truth--she was fired because she sucked! She still bad mouths me whenever she can but at least she knows the truth...
The other issue that confronts us in today's world is the threat of a lawsuit. The USTA is certainly no stranger to lawsuits so referees and sections tend to be wary when the issue of firing or removing an official comes along. A few years ago in our infamous ad hoc committee meeting (at Bruce Sampley's house) we were trying to remove a certain instructor who was obviously inept and unuseable but basically we backed off the issue because we were afraid of a lawsuit. When it comes to this issue, I guess sometimes retreat is the better part of valor--even though it makes me carsick!
I think the things recommended in the previous post will work but I agree with those who have written in that the BEST METHOD is DO NOT HIRE THEM AGAIN. There is a corporate responsibility for the Texas Section Chairman and the local coordinator but the main responsibility lies with the referee who hires them. If they don't have assignments they will eventually figure it out.
Now the real question arises--what do you do when the inept official is the referee????
Just a little food for thought.
7 comments:
We need to start an heirachy assignments system like is used in the professional ranks. The inexperienced officials can only work entry level kiddie tournaments and as your skills improve and you have achieved a certain accreditation level through testing and evaluations, you get more opportunities to work more prestigious tournaments. This way, only the qualified officials will be able to work events of importance.
This is a win-win situation for both the officials and players.
Sounds like a good idea but it doesn't insure immunity from frivolous lawsuits. Also, some of our more inept officials are some of the most experienced in Texas. The vast majority of the complaints come from a specific section of the state and it is one that has the oldest officials.
That's why you have to undergo testing. Those incompetent experienced officials would eventually be weeded out, unless of course you have incompetent evaluators which is a totally different story.
Regarding inept referees:
I guess it depends on what the issues of ineptness are. If they don't schedule enough officials to cover all the sites/courts then it falls on the tournament director. Of course they make more money in that instance!
If the issues are related to rules of tennis, then it probably is not clear cut. If players/parents/officials complain in great numbers to USTA, I assume a tournament would eventually get de-certified.
But if it is an issue of being impossible to work with, playing favorites with officials, dropping officials at the last minute, etc. etc. they will eventually find that it is very hard to staff their tournaments because very few want to work for them.
Again, just as referees should not hire inept officials, officials should not work for inept referees.
What are the stories out there about inept referees? There must be some great ones for this to be a blog topic!
I have a great one from the recent ITA tournament in Waco. The referee (who has a very high pitched voice which drives me crazy but that's another matter) only gave a player 20 minutes between his Singles finals match (which lasted over 2.5 hours) and his doubles finals. Of course the player was exhausted after his singles and didn't have time to recover. I thought the rules were rather clear on amount of minimum rest time between matches, but for some reason it apparently doesn't apply when players are in the finals.
Can this be true? The finals are the most important match of the tournament. I could possibly understand the reasoning if there was televised coverage of the match but in Waco? Give me a break.
Any additional comments on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
I forgot to mention the Waco referee was a WHITE badge. I guess badges don't mean what they used to if this is what being a referee has come to.
Does anybody know who's bright idea it was to only allow badged officials to referee ITF tournaments? I can understand the reasoning as long as they are competent but give me a break here - there are lots of great referees out there that could care less if they had a badge or not that do fantastic jobs.
I always heard that white badge meant "use caution when hiring."...
Enough for that thought.
Normally I would give 30 minutes between a singles match to a doubles match but that's not true if the singles match took 2.5 hours.
The only exception I would make is if the player agreed to play after 20 minutes--which I cannot understand happening in this situation.
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