MTOA Annual Meeting & Board Meeting

Tonight was a very special night for the MTOA as Terry and Mark Gatzki hosted the annual meeting at their home in Plano.  Before the annual meeting everyone enjoyed a time of food and fellowship and during the meeting, Board Member Joe Mounger, introduced our new MTOA website.  You can view the new website at:

http://www.mtoaofficials.com/

Also during the annual meeting our membership elected and re-elected the following board members:

Nancy King (re-elected)
Randy McDonald (re-elected)
Joe Mounger (elected)
Gary Tolbert (re-elected)

Immediately following the annual meeting, the Board of Directors met and unanimously approved the following action:

EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2015:

New pay scale for all officials working sanctioned USTA tournaments in the Metroplex:

Referee:  $20/hour with an 8 hour minimum
Umpire:  $18/hour with a 6 hour minimum

MTOA Annual Meeting

The MTOA will hold their annual meeting on Wednesday, December 11th at 7:00 p.m.  This is always a great time to get to know your fellow officials and there will be a short business meeting in which the financial accounting will be given and some new board members elected.  There will also be a Board Meeting immediately following for all of the board members.

The annual meeting will be held at the home of Terry Gatzki.  Here is her information:

4505 Turnberry Court
Plano, TX  75024
432 528 7389

A Word From Our President

MTOA Officials,

Just a reminder.  Complete your work record on Nucula making sure that your school grades are included. Once completed, highlight the My Account tab and click on the My Settings tab.  Next click on the Certs Tab and scroll down the 2014 Pending Certifications and at the bottom is the Re-certification request button.

This must be completed by October 31, 2013.

Best regards,

Lee Thornburn
MTOA President

New Chair Training Opportunities Being Offered

In order to succeed in the ITA world or in the world of officiating in general the key to success is TRAINING AND MORE TRAINING.  As officials we never get too old to learn and if we expect to be successful in our profession, we need to be as well-trained as possible.

This is especially true in the ITA officiating realm.  Many officials aspire to do chairs at collegiate matches since they are some of the most exciting venues in tennis--but--you will never get that opportunity if you aren't trained in chair work.  The beginning stepping stone for this is the chair training that is offered this fall at Highland Park High School and UNT.  This training opens the door for spring ITA work and ultimately the Texas Section Chair Academy in May.  If one aspires to do Big 12 work, the Chair Academy is a requirement.

The only requirement for the fall training is that you are a USTA certified official and have a desire to learn.  An ITA certification would be helpful but not required.  The training consists of doing chairs at a dual match under the supervision of a trained instructor.  Listed below are the dates for the training:

HIGHLAND PARK HIGH SCHOOL

August 23                               August 24

September 3                           September 10

September 24                         September 27

October 4

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS COLLEGIATE TOURNAMENT

November 1-2, 2013

Since these opportunities are for training purposes only there will be no pay but the experience gained is invaluable.  If you are interested, contact Randy McDonald at 214 796 7402 or rmtennis@yahoo.com

New Officiating Opportunity

Officials needed to work the USTA SuperExcellence Tournament Aug. 31 - Sept 2 in Richardson, TX.

This tournament features the best players in Texas.

If you are interested in working the tournament, please send message to Joe Mounger at mounger@gmail.com.  Include what days you can work and if you want to work all day or a shift; if just a shift indicate which shift.  Shifts run 7:30 am - 1:30 pm and 1:30 pm until end of day.

Chair Training Opportunities

The month of August marks the beginning of some new CHAIR TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES in Dallas.  The chair training will take place at Highland Park High School during the school's fall dual matches.  There will be an instructor at every match and anyone is welcome to participate.  The only requirements are that you be a certified USTA official and desire to learn to do chair officiating.  Here are the dates for the chair training:

August 23        Opportunities at 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
September 3     3:30 p.m.
September 10   3:30 p.m.
September 20   3:30 p.m.
September 24   3:30 p.m.
September 27   3:30 p.m.
October 4         3:30 p.m.

This chair training is invaluable for advancement in ITA officiating and provides a great opportunity to also attend the Texas Section Chair Academy in May, 2014.

There will also be a special CHAIR EVALUATION OPPORTUNITY on October 5th.  If you are needing an evaluation there will be a certified evaluator on hand to provide you with an eval.  Reservations are required for this evaluation.

To participate in either the chair training or the evaluation, email Randy McDonald at rmtennis@yahoo.com or call him at 214 796 7402

Plano Officials School--May 12th

There will be an Officials School in Plano on May 12, 2013.  Here is the information:

Time:  1:00 p.m.

Location:  Southfork Hotel, Plano, Texas

Schools offered:  Sectional, Referee, and ITA

How to sign up:  Go to the blog (http://www.tennisofficials.blogspot.com/) and click on "Schools Registration Link" on the right side of the blog.

Contact Person:  Randy McDonald  (214 796 7402)