The infamous "undercover official"
After a lengthy discussion last night with a very influential Texas Section person, I would simply like to make the following observations and then open it up for your thoughts.
* More high quality training is always the best solution.
* Referees should take a more proactive role in selecting and overseeing officials.
* Officials should take their responsibilities very seriously. You are being paid a good wage and the employers deserve a quality product.
* Remember that at the local tournament level you are going to get the newer and less experienced officials. Be patient as they are learning--just like the players and their parents. If you see a grievous error then go privately (and quietly) and speak to the tournament referee. They are the ones in charge and have oversight of the officials.
* If an official is not doing their job properly then they should be referred for additional training or not be hired again.
* Consider more carefully the ratio of "officials to courts." Currently in Texas the ratio is 1/11 courts and that is far too many to expect perfection from an official. There have even been tournaments in Dallas where the ratio is as high as 1/24 courts so this is a problem. I also recognize that cost is a problem if you lower the ratio but with the huge fees that are being charged for entry fees surely something can be done in this area.
* The Texas Section needs to offer training for parents and tournament directors that help them deal with unruly parents, players, and spectators. Remember the mother is the one who gave birth to little Tommy... She should be the main one to discipline him and watch his behavior on the court. If he misbehaves then take him off the court. You probably won't have to do it but once!
* The Texas Section Discipline and Grievance Committee should be more active and stringent in their penalties.
These are just a few suggestions on how to improve the situation that seems to be out of control in Texas tennis.
Here are some thoughts that I think are in error:
* Putting Texas Section committee members out there as "undercover officials." They have no right nor standing to function in this position. Very few of them are trained or certified officials and it also lends itself to personal bias.
* Casting continual doubt on the integrity and efficiency of all officials because you saw one official somewhere who didn't do what you thought they should have done. Any time you code a player or don't code one, you offend someone. Let the people in authority (referees, tournament directors and leadership) do their jobs.
* Do not always say that we are being paid so much that you should expect perfection. That ain't gonna happen and you know it.
These are just a few thoughts on this vital issue. We are looking forward to your comments.
6 comments:
"If an official is not doing their job properly then they should be referred for additional training or not be hired again."
Thank you. This is so simple. The additional training doesn't have to be an officials' school (don't worry Texas Section Chairperson), it can be one-on-one with a tenured official/referee. It can be something with a local association. No huge production.
Bottom line: if they can't cut it, don't hire them anymore!
This doesn't have to be a rocket science solution.
But Randy, you can't really expect that would be the fair/right thing to do. Can you?
That would not be fair to the Diversity officials.
DIVERSITY RULES!!!
Boy, that "Ad Hoc" committee is going to be really busy with all of these suggestions.
The same holds true for certain instructors. They are inept but can't be touched because if action is taken to remove them, they will claim discrimination and the USTA has no spine for that.
So, I guess we will always have inept officiating. It's no different than government jobs in the current administration.
We had one of the worst schools this year. The instructor seemed to be ill-prepared. Also didn't seem very motivated to be there. We all passed and were re-certified. But I worried about the newer officials who clearly did not benefit from the time. And turning in a poor evaluation is a waste of paper . . . this person gets to teach for life.
Hello,
Can anyone who is an official clarify how many officials work the different Texas area ITA matches?
In ITA matches, Do you chair all doubles, rove singles?
And how many officials work the different conference level matches, men and women?
Do any schools chair all their matches?
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