24 February 2015 | Tennis Queensland

Written by Cheryl Jenkins

Happy New Year!

I realise we are now in February, but no doubt many of you are aware that our January in Australia is quite busy for many involved in Tennis. Our Officials are one piece in the puzzle of putting together a tournament. Along with having many local AR tournaments in Queensland  during January which our Officials service, we also had many Queensland Officials servicing the Brisbane International, ATP Challenger in Happy Valley, Apia Sydney International and Australian Open, along with the many events held in and around Melbourne during the Grand Slam. This year we also had James Tucker appointed to be Chief of Umpires at the Hopman Cup. Well done and thank you to all involved.

As we settle into the new year, we are excited to announce many changes ahead for Officials within Australia. By 1 July 2015, we will have the introduction of Tennis Australia Officiating Membership.

Before we get to discussions about Membership, we also have many upcoming courses for people to become involved in, including Line Umpiring, Court Supervisor, and a ‘come and try’ Chair Umpiring session.

Please note all courses until the 30th June will remain free of charge for participants. From the 1st July, there will be the introduction of a charge to participate.

The minimum age for Line Umpire courses is 16 years of age; the minimum age for Court Supervisor courses is 18 years of age. Everyone wishing to be accredited as an Official must have or be able to obtain an approved ‘working with children’ check (commonly known in QLD as a ‘Blue Card).

All courses have a pre-course online learning component. Participants must register prior to courses – one week prior for Metro; two weeks prior for Regional; to receive the online learning in time, along with confirmation of attendance. Please note – if courses don’t achieve the minimum number of participants required, we will have no choice but to cancel/postpone.

Upcoming Courses

• 1st March – Line Umpires Course at QTC, on the Clay Courts. 12:30pm to 4pm. (this is a new date, following the postponement of the course from the 22nd Feb. This was postponed due to the weather.)
• 20th March – Court Supervisor Course, Mooloolaba. Venue TBC for Theory on the 20th, 6pm to 9:30pm. Practical component conducted 21st/22nd March at Mooloolaba.
• 22nd March – Line Umpires Course at QTC, on the Clay Courts. 9am to 12:30pm.
• 22nd March – Come and Try Chair Umpiring at QTC, 1pm to 3pm. (this is pre requisite for anyone new to the Chair Umpiring)
• 29th March – Level C Chair Umpires Course – 9am to 2pm. Available to accepted ONLY participants.
• 10th April – Court Supervisors Course at QTC, 6pm to 9:30pm. (practical 18th/19th April in Brisbane)

All of the above courses, have practical follow up opportunities. Some are mentioned as above, the rest will be communicated at each course.

To express interest in wishing to attend a course, please visit the following link – http://www.tennis.com.au/learn/ballkids-officials-coaches-and-volunteers/officials or contact Cheryl Jenkins at [email protected]
Look forward to seeing you at a course soon!