1000 Officials have now joined the LTA Officials Licence Scheme which launched in April 2013. Membership consists of Chair Umpires, Line Umpires and Referees.
The LTA Officials Licence Scheme has been introduced with the support of the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO). Benefits of the scheme for officials include eligibility for LTA selections, personal accident insurance and civil liability insurance, regular communication from LTA officiating and access to an extensive online officiating resource.
LTA Officiating Development Manager, Sarah Wooding, said “1000 licensed officials is a fantastic milestone to reach, in just over six months of the scheme’s operation. Membership of the scheme allows officials to develop and become the best officials they can be, further improving our officiating reputation worldwide. The Continuous Personal Development requirements of the scheme ensure that officials are up-to-date on current procedures and will support consistency in officiating at competitions. It is also an easy way for parents, players and clubs to identify officials who meet the LTA’s required standards.”
Adrian Wilson, Officials Licence Scheme Advisor for ABTO, commented: “Reaching 1000 licensed officials is a landmark for the scheme but one which only tells a tale of numbers. The real advantages of only licensed officials working events is only starting to be felt and all those involved in British Tennis, whether they are players, parents, coaches, volunteers or organisers will see the improvement in the services that officials provide over the coming years. ABTO is very proud to have been involved in this change in UK officiating."
Glen Wheeler-Kingshott, from Tennis Together in Surrey, is one of the latest officials to join the Officials Licence Scheme. He says “Becoming a licensed official is great for me as now I can confidently deal with all the elements of running tournaments, on and off court. The main reason I became licensed was so I could referee grade 5 tournaments, the second reason was to expand my knowledge and give the best I can organising and running tournaments, thirdly it really helps my tennis centres to have recognition through the LTA for our tournament officials.”
Membership of the scheme is available to anyone who has completed a Basic Referee course, or passed a Basic Line Umpire course and details on how to join are available at http://www.lta.org.uk/volunteers-officials/officialslicence/