Tennis Book 2009 - TIA UK

Frequently Asked Questions
hilst representation of the tennis industry is the TIA’s
Wprime function, its officers are frequently asked
questions appertaining to the sport itself. There is certainly
interest in becoming more involved in the game and it seems
strange that individuals find it hard to obtain the relevant
information. Or are they just looking for the easy option.
The first stop is to check out the LTA’s website (lta.org.uk)
which is a mine of information. It isn’t easy to navigate,
especially for the older generation who find the modern
technological world hard to deal with. But that aside, the
information is there and it is a matter of perseverance and
patience.
How can I join a tennis club?
How to join a tennis club is one of those much asked
questions. The first thing is to find a club close by to you and
the list of LTA affiliated clubs is one of the major items within
the website. Having chosen your club, contact the secretary
and establish the criteria for joining. These days the ‘playing
in’ aspect to confirm your standard of play isn’t as prevalent
as it used to be, though a minority of clubs do attempt to
maintain a higher than usual standard.
The story that Bjorn Borg, whilst practising at a club as
Wimbledon champion, when asked how easy would it be for
him to join, was allegedly immediately told he would have to
undergo a playing in test, underlines how farcical the system
was! Fortunately those days are virtually over.
Everyone aspires to be a Wimbledon Umpire but you have to
work your way to the top. Picture David Musgrove.
How can I become a Tennis Umpire?
More frequently we get asked how difficult is it to become an
official.
There are two types, Referee and Umpire. If you are looking to
become a Referee you must, in the first instance, attend a
one-day introductory seminar. These are set up around the
country between September and May, and are free to attend.
The qualities which you must bring to the table are a sound
Coaches brief a group of children. Picture TIA
knowledge of the rules, a good image and a confident
approach.
At the end of the seminar, you would be invited to join the
Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) and become a
trainee referee, which will enable you to work at club or
county-level tournaments with an Accredited Referee. At this
stage you would need to gain 4 day’s experience assisting an
Accredited Referee at a tournament.
You would also have to obtain a Criminal Records Bureau
(CRB) Enhanced Disclosure Certificate through the LTA.
Finally you would be required to pass an LTA Accreditation
Course, again a one day free course which contains a multiple
choice Rules Exam.
On passing the Accreditation Course, and joining ABTO as a
full member (which costs £20) you would be qualified to
referee LTA Sanctioned Tournaments. Remember, only referees
certified by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) can
referee professional tournaments.
Finally, further progress as a referee is dependent upon your
work rate, good assessments and passing various courses.
The procedure for Line Umpires is slightly different. ABTO run
a Line Umpire program annually which starts at the end of
each year so interested parties must first attend a National
Recruitment Day and then pass a Basic Line Umpire Course.
The day provides an introduction to line umpiring with a
small amount of classroom based work providing teaching on
the basic techniques of a line umpire followed by some
practical work on court.This is a pass/fail course based on the
day’s performance and the successful participants will then be
invited to a Basic Line Umpire Course for further training
where again participants pass/fail on the day’s performance.
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