The new policy is that if a Texas Section Key Committee member observes a junior tennis player (or parent or coach) misbehaving at a tournament they can send a note into the Section office after the tournament and the player can be penalized on the word of this committee member.
Perhaps we should consider this policy a bit closer...
In the past few years the Junior Council has accused the officials of not "enforcing the rules" strongly enough in Texas. Personally I consider this an insult and completely unfounded. When I asked the Junior Committee representatives how many courts the average official has to observe they said "ELEVEN." And they want us to enforce the rules more stringently with eleven courts??? Give me a break.
The main issue with this new policy is that the enforcement of rules and code violations are the responsibility of the officials--and not some committee member who may be observing a match from the stands. Imagine the problems you are going to have if a committee member "has it in" for a specific junior player and writes a bunch of bogus complaints. You will have one irate junior player (and mother) snapping at your heels...
I think it is all well and good for committee members to attend tournaments and observe ways to make them better but in no way do I condone their becoming JUNIOR OFFICIALS...
Hopefully this new policy can and will be discussed at the annual TEXAS SECTION OFFICIALS COMMITTEE MEETING in Dallas on Saturday.
8 comments:
I believe this policy has been in effect for some time now. The bad thing about it is there really is no grievance process by the offending party. I can't wait for the first lawsuit to hit the streets from a pissed off parent who happens to be a lawyer.
I guess my first question has to do with the "policy" -- is it really a policy in writing or has one committee member turned in notes to the Section office and the Section office has done the WRONG THING by processing the penalty?
If this was done outside of policy, then the Section office is totally out of line.
If this is indeed in writing then we have a major problem in Texas! Why would I as a roving official bother to enforce the rules if I knew someone sitting in the stands was doing my job? Or are they there to watch me? And I have no problem if they are there to watch me . . . just do it honestly, openly, and above board!
(By the way, is this member of the key committee a certified official? If not, then we have a major USTA rule violation!! In which case the Section Chairperson will . . . . . oh . . . never mind.)
It is a policy of the Texas Section and any committee member can send in a complaint. Who knows if they are certified or not--but I imagine, they probably are NOT.
The reason the Junior Committee took action was due to inadequacies in the current officiating at Texas tournaments. Numerous complaints have been made concerning officials not coding obvious infractions, even when they are in direct observation of the offense. In addition, undercover committee members report back from certain tournaments on their personal observations.
The intent of this action it to discipline those bad actors and their parents. If something isn't done soon, the situation could escalate and become even more of a problem.
If officials would code obvious offenses instead of turning their back and walking away, we would have the current unwritten policy. I understand, in most cases, the officials not assessing appropriate code violations are relatively inexperienced, which is part of the problem. But due to high fees paid to officials for working USTA junior events, there is no excuse for this lack of oversight.
That new policy was established in that 'Ad Hoc' meeting that Randy missed. They wanted to address those situations where the on-site official was off having lunch, or around the corner for a smoke, or standing around talking on their cell phone.
Dear Unnamed JC Council Member,
First, it is the responsibility of the referee to discipline umpires who are not coding obvious offenses--not a junior council. If the referee isn't doing his job, then get another one.
Second, having "undercover" committee members running around evaluating everything in sight is pathetic. Most of you council members aren't certified officials so I doubt seriously if you know the rules.
I doubt seriously if there are many officials who deliberately walk away from an offense. Of course your "undercover" army might have found one so you can build your whole case on that supposition.
As to our "high fees" I think we have addressed that frequently enough for you to know our thoughts. Perhaps we should talk a bit more about your unbelievably high entry fees and the obscene profits that are being made by some tournament directors.
I would be open to meeting with you and sharing financial statements from officials and tournament directors and tournaments. I think you would quickly change your tune...
Most of us on the Junior Council are coaches and are well aware of the rules. We aren't trying to come down on officiating, but we want to see better sportsmanship among the junior players and their parents.
If you are a coach and that is your goal then you are to be commended but the fault doesn't lie solely with officials. Coaches need to discipline their players just like the parents need to and if that was done, then our job would be much easier and we could be much more effective.
If you also are well aware of the rules then you are to be doubly commended. I know plenty of coaches that don't know them...
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