Refereeing is one of the ways to be involved in competition and a referee is the person who is responsible for supervising all players at a competition to ensure they follow the rules of tennis. A qualified referee is needed at Grade 5 competitions and above as these count for AEGON British Tennis Ratings and Rankings.
Details of the steps to becoming a qualified referee are as follows:
Basic Referee course
The first step to refereeing is the Basic Referee course and these are held around the country from January - May and then September - December each year.
Details of the January to May 2014 schedule of Basic Referee courses and how to book are now available here (there is a £15 fee for the course.)
This one day course will provide you with an introduction to the role of the referee and includes
- Rules of Tennis
- Code of Conduct
- Refereeing duties
- Handling difficult situations, such as on-court disputes
- British Tennis Competition Formats
After attending the Basic course you can apply for an Officials Licence and then organise and referee Grade 5, Grade 6 and 7 competitions locally, such as Mini Tennis and Matchplays at your local Place to Play or local Open tournaments.
You will also be able to assist a referee as a court supervisor at higher Grade competitions. Officials that do not become Licensed will be able to organise and referee Grade 6 and Grade 7 competitions.
Next Steps
Having completed the Basic course you can apply online to become an LTA Licensed Official. Officials require an LTA DBS check in order to apply for an Officials Licence. Find out more about the Officials Licence Scheme here
To go onto the next stage and attend the Full Referee course you will need to:
- Have become an LTA Licensed Official
- Completed four days’ experience with a qualified referee at a local competition. Your local LTA County Office will be able to help with suggestions of referees and competitions where you could complete this experience.
Further information is contained in the handouts distributed at the Basic Referee course.
Full Referee course
In order to referee at higher graded competitions, you will need to attend and pass a Full Referee course. The course builds on the information learned at the Basic Referee course, covers various competition scenarios and also includes a test and exam element.
In order to take the Full Referee course attendees must be signed up to the Officials Licence Scheme.
These courses are held around the country from January - May and then September - December each year and you will need to have completed the requirements listed above before applying to attend the Full Referee course.
Details of the January to May 2014 schedule of Full Referee courses and how to book are now available here (there is a £15 fee for the course.)
The role of officiating in tennis is unique to other sports as it often involves regular contact and a supervisory role of children, young people and adults at risk during tournaments. For these reasons, Accredited Officials will require an LTA DBS disclosure.
To book on a course please follow the link below
http://www.lta.org.uk/Courses/Search/Results/#/?page=1&cat=/1