ARE YOU INTERESTED IN OFFICIATING?

There are many ways to be involved in tennis and one of them is to be a referee or an umpire. Getting involved in these areas starts with a free introductory course, to give you an insight into the various roles of an umpire or referee. After that, you can get onto the pathway to becoming either a referee or an umpire.

The articles below will give you an overview into how to start and get an overview into these roles.

BECOME A REFEREE

If you're looking to become a referee, you'll need to start here. This free one day seminar will provide you with an introduction to:

  • British Tennis Competition Framework
  • Rules of Tennis
  • Code of Conduct
  • Referring duties
  • Handling difficult situations

The next Introductory Referees Course is on Sunday 2nd November at the Tennis Scotland offices in Edinburgh. Contact heather.lockhart@tennisscotland.org to apply. The course is free of charge and runs between 9.30 - 5pm

Once you have completed this course, then you need to do 4 days work experience with a tennis referee before finally sitting a 1 day accrediation course.

Once you have completed all your training, all accredited referees must attend an upskilling course each year to keep their knowledge up to date. These courses are free and the will be held on the following days:

 Course

 Date

Venue

 Upskilling Course  Friday 31st October  5.45pm - 8.45pm  Tennis Scotland, Craiglockhart, Edinburgh 
 TTP Training  Saturday 1st November   10am-1pm  Tennis Scotland, Craiglockhart, Edinburgh
 Upskilling Course  Saturday 1st November   2pm-5pm  Tennis Scotland, Craiglockhart, Edinburgh 
 Upskilling Course  Sunday 2nd November   10am-1pm  Tennis Scotland, Craiglockhart, Edinburgh 

Upskilling Course: Open to all tournament organisers. All accredited referees must attend an upskilling course by 30th November

TTP Training: General TTP course open to all tournament organisers and referees including those tournament organisers at clubs who do not have but are wanting to get a TTP licence.

For further information contact heather.lockhart@tennisscotland.org or call 0131 444 1984

BECOME AN UMPIRE

To become a line umpire you will need to attend and pass a National Recruitment Half Day. This free course provides an introduction to line umpiring.

This includes a small amount of classroom-based work followed by some practical work on court. This course is pass/fail from your performance on the day and successful participants will then be invited to a Basic Line Umpire Course.

Basic Line Umpire Course

This free one day course provides further training on how to become a Line Umpire, building on the overview gained in the National Recruitment Half Day.

The day will be a combination of classroom and on court work and again the course is a pass/fail dependent on your performance on the day.

Having successfully completed these two courses you will be invited to join the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO), which is free for this first stage, and you will be required to gain a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure Certificate. Once this is complete, you'll be able to line umpire at tournaments.

If you are interested in becoming a line umpire please contact Officiating.Feedback@lta.org.uk, providing your full name and address and you will be put on a waiting list for the next course.

Becoming a chair umpire

Once you have gained some experience as a line umpire, you are eligible to be invited onto a Chair Umpire Accreditation Course.

The Chair Umpire Accreditation Course is a free two day course which is run 2-4 times a year, and builds on your knowledge as a line umpire with an introduction to and training in chair umpiring.

The course is a combination of classroom and on-court work and includes an exam at the end of the course.

Upon the successful completion of the course you will be invited to join ABTO as a full member, for a fee of £20 (for the first year, £10 thereafter).

You will be able to begin umpiring at local club finals days and junior tournaments.

If you are interested in becoming an on-court official please contact Officiating.Feedback@lta.org.uk, providing your full name and address and you will be put on a waiting list for the next course.

Next Steps

With experience, good assessments and further courses you can progress to line and chair at more high profile tournaments.