How safe are we in America? That's the question filling the news on every hand--and a legitimate question at that. Here is the quote from USA Today:
President Obama "is legitimately and correctly alarmed that things that were available, bits of information that were available, patterns of behavior that were available, were not acted on," Jones said in an interview Wednesday with USA TODAY.
Reports like that should stir our thoughts here in the land of the free...
Going another step further would be the question, "How safe are we as officials in a tennis tournament/match?" I would venture to say that we are not nearly as safe as some might think. There is hardly a week goes by without an account of an irate parent/player attacking someone in authority.
In the latest USTA newsletter we were reminded that ITA officials are not covered under the USTA insurance policy. The only problem is that noone seems to know what insurance policy that is and who is covered--but at least we know for sure that ITA officials are not covered... That should be cause for concern for our officials.
Here are some steps to insure your safety at tennis matches:
1. Always acquaint yourself with the exits and security personnel if they have them.
2. Make sure you keep a watchful eye on disruptive parents, players, and spectators. Do not take anything for granted.
3. Do not hesitate to deal quickly and decisively with disruptive people. Don't be overbearing but be proactive and protective in your decisions.
4. Remember that you can have a disruptive coach, parent, player, or spectator removed from a facility.
We would welcome your comments on how to deal with these issues...
We have all done matches with little "Timmy the Terror."
And we have all encountered his Dad who thinks his son is always right and being abused by the other players and officials.
But then, one of the roots of our problems could be the fact that we permitted John McEnroe to behave like he did. Permissiveness always leads to abuse.
9 comments:
I think we should demand at the USTA back us up when we are officiating college matches. There is no distinction between USTA and ITA matches, other than you can make a lot more money doing ITA matches and they definitely don't last as long. We are considered contract labor and the USTA has repeatedly stated that they dont hire officials, so I can't see what the difference is.
If there is a difference, then why in the hell do ITA officials have to get certified via the USTA. We should walk away and become our own organization.
You know darn well that anyone who has done a variety of events for many years has worked a match where a player had a gun on court in his bag or a parent watching from the stands was carrying a gun - permits not withstanding. Someone is going to shoot someone one of these days. If it can happen in a church it can happen anywhere. What a sad commentary on our society.
I think the insurance thing is a big deal. Of course, if "Tommy the Terror" hurts you, your health insurance would probably pick up the tab, or Tommy if he is insured and any injury was accidental.
But if we get sued by Tommy's dad for some reason, I doubt your homeowners coverage would cover us. Most homeowner's policies, at least in Texas, exclude liability for business related enterprises. And while I don't referree for the money, I do get paid, and I could see my homeowner's carrier claiming that being a referee is an exluded side business venture.
That little announcment about insurance is causing me to rethink how much of this refereeing I really want to do. I worry less about the ITA matches I do, than some of the really crazy people I run into on the junior circuit.
How many "National" Schools are being conducted in TX and surrounding region this year? How many "National" instructors will boondoggle down for the weekend to enlighten all of us who they feel aren't capable of being taught how to do this job by anyone other than a "National" instructor? And how many of the people attending the training sessions will ask the pointed questions about security and insurance that the "National" folks need to hear and respond to? Isn't about time that we demand answers to, and action on, the questions that concern those of us who actually officiate? I'd ask where our sectional leadership is on these matters but, I think we all know the answer to that question.
Several people who are higher up the food chain that I have asked about the insurance deal and have gotten the run around. It will be interesting to see how the national instructors have been told to answer the question. But then, you will have 8 hours for them to answer you!
The only national schools in Texas are the ones in Dallas and Houston.
I think we should learn from our enemies. The CIA should perfect the device used by this guy so the exact same result are 100% repeatable. Then they should replace waterboarding with this device as the newest "enhanced interrogation technique."
National instructors will talk about the NASO official organization. It is our best option.
does anyone know of a supplemental policy that could be purchased, and the cost of the same, to provide liability coverage for officials?
If you're afraid about personal liability esposure then you might want someting to cover you. You never know when Petey might show up.
Info on NASO.
http://www.naso.org/
current annual fee $94.
WHAT are the Policy Limits?
• The policy provides excess coverage up to a $3,000,000 per occurrence general liability
limit with a personal policy aggregate of $4,000,000.The per occurrence limit is the most
the policy will pay for all insureds for any one occurrence.
• $50,000 per occurrence for unintentional errors and omissions of NASO members.This limit is included, and not in addition, to the overall $3,000,000 occurrence and $4,000,000 personal aggregate limits.
• The per occurrence limit is the most the policy will pay for all insureds for any one
occurrence.
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