Do you want to become a Referee?
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
The first step to refereeing is the Basic course and these are held around the country from January - May and then September - December each year. These courses are currently free to attend.
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 will be able to organise and referee Grade 6 and 7 competitions locally, such as Mini Tennis and Match plays at your local Place to Play. You will also be able to assist a referee as a court supervisor at higher Grade competitions.
Friday 13th April - Bromley Tennis Centre, BR6 9SA - Basic Referee Course - 9.30am - 5pm - Free
To book onto this course please contact Siobhan Butler on 01689 880755 or siobhan.butler@lta.org.uk
Next Steps
If you would like to go on to become an accredited referee, the requirements to attend the next stage (Full Referee course) are as follows:
- Join the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) as a Trainee Referee and paid the first year’s membership fee of £20
- Obtain an LTA CRB check
- Complete 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
In order to become an accredited referee and referee Grade 5 competitions and higher, you will need to attend and pass a Full Referee course. This is currently a free one day course, which builds on the information learned at the Basic Referee course, covers various competition scenarios and also includes a test and exam element.
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.
Thursday 16th February - Bromley Tennis Centre, BR6 9SA - Full Referee Course - 9.30am - 5pm - Free
To book onto this course please contact Siobhan Butler on 01689 880755 or siobhan.butler@lta.org.uk
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 CRB disclosure.