Officials Home

2010 Trainings in Middle States

What is a tennis official? 
A person who helps ensure that any given tennis match is conducted under the fairest possible conditions. So ideally, the official is "a friend at court," helpful to players and spectators.  Certified officials are involved in the game of tennis in a variety of roles, ranging from overseeing local junior, adult or senior tournaments, and collegiate events to officiating on court at professional tournaments like the US Open. The USTA and the USTA Middle States section offer an ongoing program for the recruitment and training of new officials throughout the year.

5 Steps to becoming a certified USTA official

1. Be an active USTA member. 
2. Have a correctable 20-20 vision. A doctor must corroborate this every two years. Certification for even years (i.e. 2008 processed in 2007) requires vision verification by an eye doctor. 
3. Take and pass a provisional exam. 
4. Turn in your Data Card  to the MSATO Chairman by October 5 of each year. If you do not have a blank Data Card, contact Tony Nimmons at the USTA in New York via e-mail at nimmons@usta.com 
5. Contact your area coordinator to learn about upcoming tournaments.

About the MSATO Chairman

Richard Green has been a USTA official for 27 years.  He served on the MSATO council as the Central Pa. district chairman for 17 years.  He has earned wards such as the Middle States(MS) Umpire of the Year Award, MS Rookie Umpire of the Year Award, and was nominated for the Nick Powell National Award.  Green has played tennis for 51 years and says, "I'm very dedicated to the growth of tennis in Middle States and having the most qualified officials of all the sections in the USTA."

The duties of the MSATO Chairman are listed below:

1. Oversee recruitment and training of new officials
2. Set up testing and schools for current and new officials
3. Lead the MSATO council and have at least quarterly meetings
4. Review performance and status of all MSATO officials
5. Review all Data Cards of annual work done by officials and pass this information to the USTA national office
6. Attend all national conferences and meetings of the section chairmen
7. Maintain the MSATO membership list and produce a newsletter at least twice a year passing on pertinent changes and officials that have received awards
8. Nominate a grass routes official for the Nick Powell national award and select a MSATO Rookie Umpire of the Year
9. Serve MS by setting up area coordinators (usually district chairs) to make sure there are officials for all USTA and ITA tournaments, where they are needed
10. Solve any problems that come up regarding officials

Any questions regarding USTA MS officials can be answered by contacting:

Richard Green

MSATO Section Chairman

101 Wildbriar Court S.

Lancaster, Pa. 17603

Tel:  717-560-1495 (h)

         717-413-7465 (c)

email: tnsrtgreen@aol.com

MSATO District Chair contact information

Josh Delaura - Allegheny Mountain 105 Merino Drive Canonsburg, Pa. 15317 Tel:  724-746-5752 email:  jdelaura105@comcast.net	Fred Ledonne - Central PA 1061 Country Club Drive Camp Hill, Pa. 17011 Tel:  717-761-0776 email:  fleddone@att.net
Mary Beatty - Eastern PA 360 Corys Court Birdsboro, Pa. 19508 Tel:  610-582-1610 email:  mebeatty0128@msn.com	Pat Fritz - Delaware 115 Hitching Post Drive Wilmington, De. 19803 Tel:  302-478-5386 email:  pfriz@comcast.net
Mike Butler  - New Jersey 389 Pavonia Circle Marlton, NJ 08053 Tel:  856-797-3634 email:  mikeb1207@aol.com	Paul Gruntmeyer - Philadelphia 228 Valley Forge Lookout Place Radnor, Pa. 19087 Tel:  610-567-1445 email:  granmaier@yahoo.com

Resources

• 2010 "Friend at Court"  - USTA Rules and Regulations Handbook
• Order Uniform (For registered USTA officials only)
• The USTA Officials Department Home Page
• Code of Conduct Report
• Referee Report Form