Many people often ask about how to become a tennis official. The short answer is you have to take a test and that is it, the rest is up to you.
Any individual who is interested in tennis officiating can become certified by the USTA and join the ranks of the 425 current officials here in the Midwest Section.
Throughout the year each of the thirteen districts in the five states of the Midwest Section offer training schools for officials. These schools are structured for the beginning to the highly seasoned official. Every year each official who has been certified the previous year must attend one of these schools and pass a written exam to retain their certification. The certifications start with the beginning or provisional umpire to the most experienced professional umpire and include referees and collegiate officials (national and professional officials need only pass an exam).
Once certified an official will receive on court training at local tournaments assigned through their district. As your skill level and interest increase you may become eligible for more challenging events even professional.
To get started you must be a USTA member then contact your district chairman of officials or go the Training link on this web site to find a school nearest you. At the school you will get up to date information, learn techniques and procedures while sharing and learning experiences from some of the most experienced officials in our section. You’ll also get in touch with and/or learn about the contacts that you will need to get assigned to events.
Officiating has been very rewarding to me and remains the one best way that I can Give Something Back to Tennis.
If you have other questions remember to contact your district chairman and get started.
Alan Steinhauser
Chairman of Officials, USTA/Midwest Section
4305 Market St.
Youngstown, OH 44512
330-782-5621
330-782-6165 fax
alan (at) steinhauseragency.com
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
USTA Officials Department Newsletter, May 2008,
The May 2008 edition of USTA Officials Department Newsletter is now available.
You can access the newsletter by doing one of the following:
1. Click on the following link http://www.usta.com/rules/default.sps?iType=923 in order to access the USTA Officials Department web page and click on the link that reads Officiating Tips Newsletter-May 2008.
2. Go to www.usta.com, click on the “Get Involved” tab, click on “Officials” and click on the link that reads Officiating Tips Newsletter-May 2008.
If you have any questions about or problems accessing the newsletter, please contact us at officiating@usta.com.
You can access the newsletter by doing one of the following:
1. Click on the following link http://www.usta.com/rules/default.sps?iType=923 in order to access the USTA Officials Department web page and click on the link that reads Officiating Tips Newsletter-May 2008.
2. Go to www.usta.com, click on the “Get Involved” tab, click on “Officials” and click on the link that reads Officiating Tips Newsletter-May 2008.
If you have any questions about or problems accessing the newsletter, please contact us at officiating@usta.com.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Improve chair umpire techniques
As college officiating increases, there are more and more needs for good chair umpires. Since many of us do not get evaluated very often, and we are often working alone, it's is hard to improve. We are doing the best we can, but we don't always know that we could do better.
If you are a beginning umpire and want to have experiences as a chair umpire, you really cannot suddenly jump in and do a tournament final. You need to practice chair techniques without affecting the outcome of a match when you practice. A great way to practice is to do all the chair umpire techniques while you are roving on a court. Make copies of a blank score card and practice marking up the score during the roving assignment. This will give you practice in keeping track of your card while still concentrating on what is happening on the court. All the proper score marking information is on p 155-157 in the 2008 Friend at Court.
As you watch the match progress, practice your verbiage in your head exactly as you need to say it every time you need to say it. The precise verbiage and chair umpire procedures are given on page 150-154 of the Friend at Court. The language is as stated. Even if you say something that means the same, it is not what is expected. So memorize the verbiage and use it. Nothing shows up a rookie as one who uses the wrong verbiage. If you listen to the professional chairs you will find that they all say the same phrases. This is not an accident.
We have plenty of roving opportunities, so you should have plenty of opportunities to practice chair techniques. Practice during roving allows you to be prompt with your words. You also should practice watching the losing player long after the point is over. Don't be so eager to mark the score card. When you head is down in the score card is when something bad may happen and you are not watching it happen. Watch the player to the bench on the change over. Keep track of the match balls. If one ball stays into the next court, keep track of it so you can remind the players where the ball went when they are looking for the lost ball. Be aware of all the match balls.
When doing chairs, one way to keep track of the current score is to say the score everytime the server hits the ball. Say it is 30-15. Every time the server hits the ball, say to yourself, 30-15. Then when the point is over, even after 45 hits, you know exactly what the next score should be and you can announce it without looking into your score card.
Try it. You'll find that it really helps you become a better chair umpire. The key is court awareness. Know what is happening on and around your match court.
If you are a beginning umpire and want to have experiences as a chair umpire, you really cannot suddenly jump in and do a tournament final. You need to practice chair techniques without affecting the outcome of a match when you practice. A great way to practice is to do all the chair umpire techniques while you are roving on a court. Make copies of a blank score card and practice marking up the score during the roving assignment. This will give you practice in keeping track of your card while still concentrating on what is happening on the court. All the proper score marking information is on p 155-157 in the 2008 Friend at Court.
As you watch the match progress, practice your verbiage in your head exactly as you need to say it every time you need to say it. The precise verbiage and chair umpire procedures are given on page 150-154 of the Friend at Court. The language is as stated. Even if you say something that means the same, it is not what is expected. So memorize the verbiage and use it. Nothing shows up a rookie as one who uses the wrong verbiage. If you listen to the professional chairs you will find that they all say the same phrases. This is not an accident.
We have plenty of roving opportunities, so you should have plenty of opportunities to practice chair techniques. Practice during roving allows you to be prompt with your words. You also should practice watching the losing player long after the point is over. Don't be so eager to mark the score card. When you head is down in the score card is when something bad may happen and you are not watching it happen. Watch the player to the bench on the change over. Keep track of the match balls. If one ball stays into the next court, keep track of it so you can remind the players where the ball went when they are looking for the lost ball. Be aware of all the match balls.
When doing chairs, one way to keep track of the current score is to say the score everytime the server hits the ball. Say it is 30-15. Every time the server hits the ball, say to yourself, 30-15. Then when the point is over, even after 45 hits, you know exactly what the next score should be and you can announce it without looking into your score card.
Try it. You'll find that it really helps you become a better chair umpire. The key is court awareness. Know what is happening on and around your match court.
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