A not-very-brief summary of officiating in NorCal
WHAT IS A TENNIS OFFICIAL
Simply put, a tennis official is someone who enforces the rules of play on a day-to-day basis at tennis tournaments. Most officials are motivated by a desire to see tennis well- played and fairly played. There are "types" of officials, though, all described below.
HOW TO BECOME A TENNIS OFFICIAL
- You must first be a member of USTA. If you are not a member, you can join online at USTA.com.
- You must attend a certification class each and every year.
- Umpires must attend a Sectional Umpire School and pass the test
- Referees must attend a Referee School and Sectional Umpire School and pass both tests
- A "Rookie" umpire must attend a Provisional Umpire School OR a Sectional Umpire School and pass the Provisional Umpire Test.
- An eye exam is required every two years.
- Referees must also learn and become proficient at TDM, a draw and scheduling program on computer. It is required that new referees follow an experienced referee through the tournament process prior to managing their own event.
- To become certified as a Sectional Umpire (the next step past being a rookie), an official must attend a roving clinic and work an additional 4 days as a volunteer rover.
COST
$25.00 one-time cost for your first rulebook and for membership in the NorCal Umpires and Referees Association. This entitles you to receive our newsletter and to be included on our contact sheet. You will also receive e-mail notices of events needing officials when such need falls between newsletter publication dates. In subsequent years, it is a $20.00 membership fee. If your certification is kept up to date, you will receive your new rulebook free of charge annually from USTA National.
TRAINING
In NorCal we are proud to be able to offer training sessions for Roving Umpires, Line Umpires and Chair Umpires. These training sessions (workshops) are free of charge to our NorCal member officials. The Roving Workshop is required for all new provisional officials in order to gain full certification as a Sectional Umpire. We also have local evaluators who are at some tennis events, working to help each new official.
Roving Workshops are one day each, and are offered 4-5 times per year. These workshops are offered in various locations throughout Northern California.
Line Workshops are also a one day session with follow up sessions spread out over an approx two-month period with volunteer work at qualifying weekends of various Professional Tennis events. Clinics are typically held Dec/Jan and April/May. The instructor also follows the progress of each person through these events.
Chair Workshops are for one or two days over a given weekend. They are usually offered in the fall and spring. Additional workshops are added to meet the needs of the members. Each participant must be available for both days of the clinic. College tennis officiating requires that you have both roving and chair training.
CAN I OFFICATE WHERE MY CHILDREN ARE PLAYING?
Tough question. Let’s start with your motivations.
Are you looking to fill in your time while waiting for matches to end? In that case, don’t become an official. Look at the Court Monitor description coming up. That would fill your time!
Do you think you can do a good job keeping peace between players, parents, coaches and their opponents? Do you see unfair actions at some tournaments and you think you can improve what goes on? Then you may be headed in the right direction to want to become a certified official.
You MAY NOT officiate at your child’s events. If your child plays in the Girls’14’s, you MAY NOT officiate ANY Girls’ 14’s match. You MAY officiate for the 12’s, 16’s, and 18’s. However, a Referee may or may not be able to hire you for an event where your child plays because it may be impossible for the Referee to schedule your assignment around when the 14 Girls will be playing. Then again, if there are multiple divisions playing, the Referee may be able to schedule you. The Referee will probably NOT want to schedule you for less than the full day, so if your child finishes play at noon, you would still be obligated to stay until the end of the day.
COURT MONITOR
A court monitor is a non-certified volunteer (that is, not a certified official) who has made themselves available to go on court when line calls are disputed or other assistance is needed. They may time warm-ups, flip the coin for players prior to play, measure nets, keep score, call footfaults, or even pick up the court between matches. Court Monitors may not overrule calls without a verbal appeal by the player. If the monitor cannot clearly see that a mistake has been made, the monitor must support the call. Court monitors may not give a code violation, but they do observe play and alert a referee or certified umpire if they are observing questionable behavior. Court Monitors do NOT wear USTA uniform.
ROVING UMPIRE
A roving umpire is a certified official who covers multiple courts and who may be asked to officiate on a single court when requested to do so by players or the referee. Roving umpires must have knowledge of the rules because they may be called upon to problem solve at a moment’s notice. Certified roving umpires may overrule clear mistakes when standing on the court WITHOUT a verbal appeal by the player. They are trained to solve on-court problems with specific procedures, may give code violations, and they must wear the official USTA uniform to signify they are certified officials.
REFEREE
The referee is a certified officials who does the draw, schedules play, manages the courts, hires and oversees other officials, serves as the first person to whom a player may appeal when they believe an official has applied a rule incorrectly. The referee enforces all rules and regulations governing play, must be knowledgeable about the requirements for each age group or level of play, and may be called upon to go on court when necessary. In NorCal, referees must also learn how to do a computer draw and schedule. The referee must be in USTA uniform so that they may be readily identified when necessary.
CHAIR UMPIRE
A chair umpire is a certified official who has been trained to preside over one match at a time, sitting in an umpire chair (unless none is available). Most local matches using a chair umpire hire a "solo" chair, meaning no linesmen are used, and they usually work in the chair for the semis and finals, roving matches prior to that. Chair umpires must have a very clear knowledge of the rules because they are called upon to make instant decisions that can affect the match. Many good chair umpires started as good roving officials, because. as a rover, they got a good grounding in rules and procedures.
LINE UMPIRE
A line umpire is a certified official who is very visible at tournaments as the person standing or sitting directly on a line. These officials call the balls "good" or "out".
CHIEF UMPIRE
A certified official who hires and oversees line and chair officials at a tournament, working with the tournament director and the tour supervisor to ensure a smooth running event.
If your answer is "yes", please contact the NorCal Chairperson of the Officials Committee: