FAQ: What Do I Do When A Complaint Has Been Filed Against Me?

Having a complaint filed against you as an official seems to be happening more and more often these days and frequently the official isn't sure about they should do.  When a complaint is filed against an official at a USTA tournament in Texas, this is the procedure:

1.  The complaint is received at the Texas Section office and is handled by Nick Arnold.
2.  Nick determines the validity of the complaint and then asks for an accounting of the event from the one who filed the complaint and the one against whom the complaint was filed.  He will then discern the level of validity for the complaint.  He will also correspond with the person who filed the complaint to share the results of his inquiries.
3.  The Texas Section will then send a copy of the complaint to the referee for the tournament as well as the one upon whom the complaint was filed.  If you do not receive a copy of the complaint filed against you, then contact Nick Arnold and ask for a copy.  It is only right and fair for you to see the original complaint.
4.  If your area has a President or coordinator, they should be notified of the complaint.

The vast majority of the complaints are dealt with by the Texas Section office.  Once the referee has received a copy of the complaint they should contact the official personally to discuss the complaint and its validity.  They should be opening to listening to your account of the incident.

If you have had a complaint filed against you, these are some guidelines to remember:

1.  Don't overreact and be attentive to the complaint.  You may feel you have been unjustly accused but be open to any criticism that might be valid.  Many complaints are simply the result of an angry parent or player and are trivial at best.
2.  Respond in writing to the Texas Section office as well as your referee and local coordinator.  Its always best to have a written record (emails or letters) when a complaint has been filed for your future reference.
3.  Be open and honest with your referee so you can both learn from the incident.  If you are innocent in the incident, the referee should uphold and support you.  If you are at fault, then be open to admitting your error and then see how the problem can be remedied.
4.  Do your best to do your job professionally at all times.  Remember that not every parent and player are going to like your judgments but be sure you know the rules and apply them fairly.  Many complaints arise from an official simply not knowing the rules or lacking the personal skills to apply the rules.
5.  If you feel that you have been judged unfairly then personally contact your local coordinator or President and if that doesn't satisfy, then contact Nick Arnold in the Texas Section office or Bruce Sampley who is the sectional chairman in Texas.

FAQ: How Do I Get To Work More Often?

This is by far the most frequently asked question posed by our new officials--and a good one!  Here are some guidelines to help you in your officials life:

1.  Be sure that you have been certified (attended a school or taken the tests, passed the background check, and registered on Nucula).

2.  Be sure that you have attended the Roving 101 class and done your shadowing with an experienced official.  If you haven't been contacted about this, contact Nancy King as soon as possible.

3.  Secure a copy of the booklet of sanctioned tournaments that is given out by the USTA and Texas Section.  This booklet lists all of the sanctioned tournaments in Texas and the referee and contact information.

4.  The MTOA referees are given your name when you are certified so you should be receiving some information about work opportunities.  If you haven't, you might want to contact some of the local referees and let them know you are ready and interested in working.  One call or email will suffice.

5.  Do not hound referees about hiring you.  They will get to you in time but constantly calling and emailing will only move you further down the list.

6.  If you are interested in working at the pro level you might want to contact Stephanie Burnam (stefburnam@hotmail.com).

7.  If you are interested in working at the ITA (collegiate) level, you might want to contact Randy McDonald (rmtennis@yahoo.com).

8.  Most new officials personally know an MTOA referee so you might want to get with them and have them give you some more suggestions.  You might also ask them to evaluate you so you can work on your strengths and weaknesses.

9.  Stay positive in your outlook!  Eventually the opportunities will come.

MTOA Roster Available For Members

In order to facilitate better communication among our members, we are making available an MTOA membership roster which contains member's names and their email addresses.

If you are a member and would like one, please write to our email address (metroplexofficials@yahoo.com) and one will be sent to you.  We hope you will find this helpful.

How To Become An Official

STEPS TO BECOMING AN OFFICIAL

1. Secure a copy of the Friend at Court (FAC) rule book. You will need this rule book to take your tests. The 2011 FAC is required to take the 2011 Provisional Test and the 2010 FAC is required for all other tests.  This can be done by contacting Nancy King (information under “MTOA Officers” on the MTOA blogsite.)

2. Go to the blog (www.metroplexofficials.blogspot.com) in the upper right section and click on "Background Check Start Up" and begin the process. You must pass the background check before you can become an official.

3. Click on "Joining The USTA" to purchase a USTA card and get your member number.

4. Click on "2011 Provisional Exam" if you are a new official.  Fill out all the information they request and then take the online test using the 2011 Friend at Court rule book.  The USTA will then notify Bruce Sampley (Sectional Chairman) and he will notify you of your next steps.  The USTA will also send you an email with more details of what all you will need to do to gain access to Nucula (the national registry for officials.)

STEPS TO TAKE ONCE YOU ARE CERTIFIED

1. Click on "Nucula" and add your personal information and when you start working, add your work record on this site.

2. Contact your President (Nancy King) to let them know you have passed the Provisional test and are ready to begin training and/or working. Click on "Area Coordinators" to find the coordinator in your area. You are certified to work at all levels once you have passed the Provisional Test but some areas require more training and shadowing experienced officials before you can begin work in that area.

3. Click on "USTA Apparel" to order your officials' shirt and other equipment. Such things as khaki pants/shorts, bags, and stopwatch can be obtained much cheaper at the local stores.

4. Contact the local ITA coordinator if you are interested in working at the ITA level. Each coordinator will have a training program that you can enter and you will also need to click on "ITA Apparel" to order your ITA officials shirt and other equipment.

5. If there is still an Officials School offered in your area, you need to attend if at all possible. If not, you are certified to work until you can attend a school in 2012. A list of those schools can be obtained by clicking on "Certification Schools."

MTOA Constitution & By Laws

For those of you who are members of the Metroplex Tennis Officials Association, you might like to have a copy of our Constitution and By-Laws.  It makes for great reading and something every member should understand.

If you are an MTOA member and would like a copy, please write and request one at:

metroplexofficials@yahoo.com

Minutes Of The February 17, 2011 Board Meetings

MTOA BOARD MEETING  I
17 February 2011

Meeting called to order at 6:46 p.m. by president Cathy Kennan.  Present were Stephanie Burnam, Nancy Ebersole, Randall Edwards, Cathy Kennan, Nancy King, Myron Krueger, Randy McDonald, Lee Thornburg, Susan Wertenberger, and Roz Tuerk.  

The minutes were approved as  read.

1- Financial Report -- total income for the past year - $215,763.71 -- total expenses -- $215,348.40 --- Net Income -- $415.31
Randal also provided some interesting general information:  During the past year MTOA was paid for 214 events worked.  938 checks were written.  79 officials were paid $600 or more.
Moved to accept the financial report,  seconded and passed.

2 - Website -- There was discussion on what to do about the website now that Jim Garcia is no longer with the organization (MTOA).
    It was brought out that the website costs (about) $120 a year.
    Not many people use it.
    Email is about all it is used for.
    Randy suggested creating a blog.  He also pointed out the blogs are free.
    There was discussion.
    Motion made to let the website "die a natural death".  Seconded and passed.

3 - Randall then brought up for discussion that Angel Martinez goes all out for the MTOA in securing/providing the use of Grapevine High School as the site of our
certification/recertification school.  It is a facility that all nation instructors have praised.  There should be something that MTOA can do to say thank you.  It was mentioned that he has a tournament in the spring and that we (MTOA) could provide officials for it.  There was also more discussion on using this as training for new officials.
     Randall will follow-up on this.

4 - Myron gave a brief report on what happened at the Texas Sectional Meeting.
There was discussion on the background check.  That all referees should make sure that those they wish to hire have passed it.
Myron als pointed out that various forms (for tournaments etc.) that had to be gotten through the TTA are now available on line.  These are generic and for local use.

5 - Next item on the agenda was the election of officers for the coming year.
The nominations were:   president                 Nancy King
                                       vice-president          Susan Wertenberger
                                       treasurer                  Randall Edwards
                                       secretary                  Roz Tuerk
Since there were no nominations from the floor a motion was made to accept this slate.  Seconded and passed.
The new Board of Directors for the MTOA:
    Those with terms ending 31 December 2011
        Stephanie Burnam
        Nancy Ebersole
        Carol Linden
        Susan Wertenberger
    Those with terms ending 31 December 2012
        Randall Edwards
        Myron Krueger
        Lee Thornburg (replaced Jim Garcia)
        Roz Tuerk
    Those with terms ending 31 December 2013
        Cathy Kennan
        Nancy King
        Randy McDonald
        Seande Pulley

Call for adjournment.  Seconded and passed.
Meeting adjourned.

MTOA BOARD MEETING II (began immediately - same members in attendance)

Meeting called to order by president Nancy King.
Nancy brought up for discussion the training of new officials.   Due to Susan Wertenberger's current obligations she has recommended Seande Pulley to take over the training and shadowing.  It was felt that some restructuring was in order.
Discussion:  Let the trainer evaluate the trainee.  Referee recommendations should also be a part of this.  
Nancy will talk with Seande about this.
The discussion then moved on to how "roving 101" fit into this.  It was recommended that the actual roving need not be (the current) two 6 hour shifts.  That one shift would probably be enough.  The discussion then moved to communicating with referees regarding the new official.  It was also felt that the scheduling of the roving classes be on a "need" basis.

Motion made to adjourn.
Seconded and passed.
Meeting adjourned 7:49 p.m.

Upcoming Roving 101 Class

Attention all new officials in the Metroplex--there will be a Roving 101 class taught on March 1, 2011, at Brookhaven Country Club.

The Roving 101 class deals with all the basics for a new official and is required of all new officials in the Metroplex.  The class covers such things as:  introduction to the MTOA, finding work as an official, uniforms, Nucula, officiating opportunities, and much more valuable information.

If you would like a copy of the curriculum, send a request to:  metroplexofficials@yahoo.com and a copy will be emailed to you.

For further information or to enroll in the class, you may contact Lee Thornburg (626 825 6930) or Susan Wertenberger (817 235 5988).