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.
Basic
The first step to refereeing is the Basic course.
Leicestershire will be running a Basic Referee course on Saturday 13 October 2012 at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre, Loughborough University from 9.30am – 5pm and this course is currently free to attend.
If you wish to take part on this training please contact the County Office at Leicestershire@LTA.org.uk or call us on 01509 226722 to register.
Details of courses in other areas of the country can be found here - Download 2012 course information
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 Matchplays at your local Place to Play. You will also be able to assist a referee as a court supervisor at higher Grade competitions.
Next Step
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:
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.
Leicestershire will be running a Full Referee course on Saturday 29 September 2012 at the Dan Maskell Tennis Centre, Loughborough University from 9.30am – 5pm and this course is currently free to attend.
If you wish to take part on this training please contact the County Office atLeicestershire@LTA.org.uk or call us on 01509 226722 to register.
Details of courses in other areas of the country can be found here - Download 2012 course information.
In order to enrol on this course you must:
- Join the Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) as a Trainee Referee and have 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.
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.
After you have completed the requirements and passed the course, you will then receive Calendars from LTA Officiating three times per year, asking for availability to officiate at competitions. It is also a good idea to make contact with your local LTA County Office, to advise them that you are newly qualified and looking to gain more refereeing experience.
Please contact Officiating.Feedback@LTA.org.uk for further information.