Grading – Report from Darren Michaels, ABTO Chairman of Grading2015/16 – April 2017

This has been my fourth year as ABTO Chairman of Grading. During my time in office, I have continued to ensure that all members have been treated fairly and consistently in accordance with the published ABTO Grading Structures and Policies. I have also ensured that any topics that have been raised with me as concerns by members have been fully considered and discussed by the ABTO Grading Sub-Committee. All decisions reached have been clearly documented so that they can be applied fairly and consistently going forwards.

The ABTO Grading Sub-Committee met for the Winter Grading Meeting on Friday 9 and Monday 19December 2016to review the work-rate, performance and evaluations of all licensed officials during 2016. The meeting was held over two days to allow sufficient consideration to be given to each member.

The Grading Sub-Committee have a responsibility to ensure that all officials are graded not only according to their ability but also based on their current work-rate and performance. A number of decisions were taken to re-grade officials based on the criteria for promotion and retention of grades as set out in the various Grading Structures for 2016. All grade changes were personally communicated by email by me to the members concerned during January. If you have not received an email from me, your grade(s) should be unchanged for 2017. All changes to officials’ grades should now also be reflected on the Officials area of the LTA website. Please can I ask you all to check that your grade(s) are correctly displayed on the website. If any of your grades on the website do not appear to be correct, please contact Chris Drew () in the first instance who will be happy to look into this for you.

Please can I also ask you all to review the relevant Grading Structures for 2017 to ensure that you are fully familiar with the requirements for promotion and retention of your grade(s) for the coming year. The Grading Structures can be accessed from the Downloads & Resources section in the Officials Area of the LTA website. Even if your grades haven’t changed this year, please take the time to review the Grading Structures as there have been some changes this year compared with last year.

There is an enormous amount of work that goes into grading throughout the course of the year, particularly in the run up to the Winter Grading Meeting. I would like to record my particular thanks to Chris Drew and Matthew Morrissey of the LTA Officiating Department and Kath Lovell, as the Referee Advisor to the Chairman of Grading, for their hard work and support throughout the year. I would also like to thank the other members of the Grading Sub-Committee for their continued efforts and support during the year. I could not have completed everything without their help.

Whilst we appreciate that no member likes to receive disappointing news about their grade(s), please can I ask you to bear in mind that any decision that has been taken was made by the Grading Sub-Committee as a whole and not by any one person in isolation. No decision was taken lightly and consideration was given to all of the information available to the Grading Sub-Committee at the time of the meeting. The Grading Sub-Committee ensured that in making any decisions, all members were treated fairly and consistently in accordance with the published Grading Structures and Policies.

In accordance with the Grading Structures, a significant number of members contacted me in advance of the meeting to advise me of their circumstances which had affected their ability to officiate during 2016. I ensured that these circumstances were raised and considered, as appropriate, by the Grading Sub-Committee during the course of the Winter Grading Meeting. Unfortunately, if a member did not advise the Grading Sub-Committee of their circumstances in advance of the meeting, then the Grading Sub-Committee were unable to take these into account.

Please can I remind you that should you experience any circumstances during 2017 which affect your ability to officiate, if you would like the relevant Grading Committee to take these into account at next year’s Winter Grading Meeting, then you should notify either Tom Kinloch, Chairman of Referee Grading () and/or Darren Michaels, Chairman of Umpire Grading () of these as soon as practicable. In normal circumstances this should be by 1 December 2017.

One final reminder: as all grading communications are now sent by email, please can I ask you to ensure that your email address on the members area of the LTA website is up to date at all times.

The following sections describe in more detail the review that took place at the Winter Grading Meeting.

Chair Umpires

The grades of all licensed Chair Umpires were reviewed in accordance with the criteria for retention specified in the 2016 Chair Umpire Grading Structure and as summarised in the following table.

Chair Grade / Retention Requirements
Pro Chairs
Required / Warning Letter:
Pro Chairs / Total Chairs
Required / Warning Letter:
Total Chairs / Evaluations
at Pro Tournaments
U1 / 10 / 9 / 15 / 13-14 / Satisfactory
U2 / 3 / 2 / 10 / 9 / Satisfactory
U3 / N/A / N/A / 5 / 1-4 / N/A

All available evaluations for U1 and U2 Chair Umpires from professional tournaments were reviewed by the Grading Sub-Committee when making any retention and promotion decisions.

The definition of “professional chairs” for U1 and U2 retention purposes included the additional “non-professional” matches as detailed in Note 12 of the 2016 Chair Umpire Grading Structure.

Warning Letters were sent to Chair Umpires that did not chair the required number of professional or total matches in order to maintain their Chair Grade in accordance with the above table. Please note that an official may only receive one such warning letter in any three year period.

U3 Chair Umpires that did not chair any matches in 2016, received an email advising them that if they do not chair any matches in 2017 then in accordance with Note 7 of the 2017 Chair Umpire Grading Structure, they may be re-graded to UZ (Inactive Chair Umpire) at the 2017/18Winter Grading Meeting. It should be noted that officials with this Chair Grade will have the lowest priority for selection at all non-professional tournaments. U3 Chair Umpires that did not chair any matches in 2015 and 2016 were re-graded to UZ.

All U1, U2 and U3 Chair Umpires were required to complete an annual online rules test as part of the requirements to maintain their Chair Grade. The deadline for completing the test was 15 November 2016. Three reminder emails were sent out by the LTA Officiating Department to all Chair Umpires regarding the deadline: One 2 months before the deadline, one 1 month before the deadline and one 1 week before the deadline. In addition, the deadline was mentioned in my articles in The Line throughout the year and on the homepage of the OLS Website.

U1 and U2 Chair Umpires that did not complete the test by the deadline were re-graded accordingly. U3 Chair Umpires that did not complete the test by the deadline, were sent a warning letter advising them that they would be re-graded to UZ if they do not complete the 2017test by the deadline this year.

Please note that the deadline for all U1 to U3 Chair Umpires to complete the appropriate 2017 online rules test is 15 November 2017.

Line Umpires

The grades of all licensed Line Umpires were reviewed in accordance with the criteria for promotion and retention specified in the 2016 Line Umpire Grading Structure.

The procedure as laid out in Notes 12 to 17 of the 2016 Line Umpire Grading Structure was followed to determine the L1 and L2 Line Umpires for 2017. Specifically for each Line Umpire an average score per line umpire assessment received was calculated. The 55 existing L1s and L2s with the highest averages were graded L1 for 2017. Any remaining L1s plus those L2s and L3s with next highest averages were graded L2 for 2017, so that there were also 55 L2s in total.

In order to be an L1 Line Umpire for 2017 an average score per line umpire assessment received of 0.893 was required. To be an L2 Line Umpire for 2017 an average score per line umpire assessment received of 0.600 was required.

In determining the L1 and L2 Line Umpires for 2017, it was necessary to bear in mind Notes 15 & 16 of the 2016 Line Umpire Grading Structure, namely:

  • Line umpires cannot change grade by more than one line grade per calendar year.
  • In order to be eligible for promotion in a given year, the line umpire must have met the retention requirements for their existing grade, along with the other relevant promotion criteria.

Warning Letters were sent to Line Umpires that did not work the required number of days or obtain the required number of line umpire assessments in order to maintain their Line Grade in accordance with the following table. Please note that an official may only receive one such warning letter in any three year period.

Line Grade / Retention Requirements
On–Court
Days Required / Warning Letter / Assessments Required / Warning Letter
(~10%) / (~10%)
L1 / 30 Days / 27-29 Days / 30 / 27-29
L2 / 25 Days / 22-24 Days / 25 / 22-24
L3 / 20 Days / 18-19 Days / 20 / 18-19
L4 / 15 Days / 1-14 Days / N/A / N/A

As previously communicated line umpire assessments of “4” obtained at events with prize money of $25k and below were not included in the calculation of an official’s average score per line umpire assessment received. These assessments did, however, count towards the number of line umpire assessments required.

In line with the approach taken last year, the L4 promotion figure was set at a total score of 10 and an average score per line umpire assessment received of 0.3333.

L4 Line Umpires that did not work any days in 2016, received an email advising them that if they do not work any days in 2017 then in accordance with Note9 of the 2017 Line Umpire Grading Structure, they may be re-graded to LZ (Inactive Line Umpire) and UZ (Inactive Chair Umpire) at the 2017/18 Winter Grading Meeting. L4 Line Umpires that did not work any days in 2015 and 2016 were re-graded to LZ/UZ.

In addition, all service line designations were reviewed and adjusted in accordance with the following table, based on each Line Umpire’s total score on serve only.

Existing Service Line Designation / Score on Service Line Only
Less than -6 / -6 to -1 / 0 / 1 or 2 / 3 or More
None / None / None / None / Add $ / Add $ or S at Grading Sub-Committee discretion
$ / Remove $ / Remove $ / Stay as $ / Stay as $ / Add S
S / No designation / Transfer to $ / Transfer to $ / Stay as S / Stay as S

Please note that as previously communicated, in order to make it easier for non-designated service Line Umpires that wish to gain more experience of calling serve, any line umpire assessments obtained by non-designated service Line Umpires on serve were not used for the purposes of determining that Line Umpire’s average score per line umpire assessment received. These assessments did, however, count towards meeting the Line Umpire’s required number of assessments and for determining that Line Umpire’s service line designation.

In addition, Line Umpires with no service line designation and an overall score of zero on serve that obtained two or more line umpire assessments of “4” on serve during 2016, were granted a $.

Referees

The grades of all licensed Referees were reviewed in accordance with the criteria for promotion and retention specified in the 2016 Referee Grading Structure and as summarised in the following table.

Referee
Grade / Retention / Promotion
Total
Days
Required / Warning Letter
Tot Days
(~10%) / Referee
Days
Required / Warning
Letter
Ref Days
(~10%) / Days
R1 / 30 (at least 22 Non-MT) / 27-29 / 20 / 18-19 / N/A
R2 / 25 (at least 18 Non-MT) / 22-24 / 15 / 13-14 / Case-by-Case
R3 / 20 / 18-19 / 10 / 9 / >=25 Days as Referee at Non-MT tournaments
with at least 7 days as Referee at Grade 3 or higher
40 Days in Grade
Satisfactory Evaluation
R4 / 10 / 9 / 5 / 4 / Pass National Referee Course
>=20 Days as Referee
No Adverse Evaluations
R5 / 5 / 1-4 / N/A / N/A / 10 Days in Total, of which at least 5 as a Referee
No Adverse Evaluations
RL / N/A / N/A / 5 / 1-4 / N/A

Non-MT = non Mini Tennis (ie tournaments that include events other than Mini Tennis)

All Referees graded R1 to R5 and RL were required to completeboth their online Referee Work Record and the annual online rules test by 15 November 2016as part of the requirements to maintain their Referee Grade. Three reminder emails were sent out by the LTA Officiating Department to all Referees regarding the deadline: One 2 months before the deadline, one 1 month before the deadline and one 1 week before the deadline. In addition, the deadline was mentioned in my articles in The Line throughout the year and on the homepage of the OLS Website.

Any Referees graded R1 to R4 that had not met this deadline for completingeither their online Referee Work Record and/or the online rules test were deemed not to have met the requirements for maintaining their Referee Grade for 2016and were re-graded accordingly. R5 and RL Referees that did not complete the online test by the deadline, were sent a warning letter advising them that they would be re-graded to RZ if they do not complete the 2017test by the deadline this year. R5 and RL Referees that did not complete their Work Record by the deadline were deemed not have worked any days in 2016 and were sent a warning letter advising them that if they do not submit a Work Record again in 2017, then in accordance with Note 6 of the 2017 Referee Grading Structure, they may be re-graded to RZ (Inactive Referee) at the 2017/18 Winter Grading Meeting. R5 and RL Referees that did not complete their Work Records by the deadline in both 2015 and 2016 were re-graded to RZ.

Please note that the deadline for all R1 to R5 and RL Referees to completeboth their 2017Work Record and the appropriate 2017 online rules test is 15November 2017.

A number of Referees contacted me to say that they were unaware that they needed to complete a Work Record and others were unaware as to where to find their Work Record. The requirement for Referees to complete their Work Record annually by 15 November each year has been part of the Referee Grading Structure for many years now. Since the vast majority of refereeing assignments are not made by LTA Officiating it is essential that all Referees complete their Work Records so that the Grading Sub-Committee can review what refereeing work they have completed during the year. Without this information the Grading Sub-Committee have no idea what work a Referee has done and therefore cannot determine whether they have met the requirements for promotion or retention of their grade. In the absence of this information the Grading Sub-Committee have no choice but to assume that the Referee has not met the requirements to maintain their existing grade.

The Referee Work Record can be found in the Members Area of the LTA website under the My Roles-Officials section. There are detailed instructions for completing the Work Record on the website. However, if any member has any questions regarding completing their Work Record or needs any assistance, please contact either Chris Drew in the LTA Officiating Department () or Tom Kinloch, the Chairman of Referee Grading (). There is no need to wait until the deadline to record your work; you are able update your Work Record continuously throughout the year at the end of each tournament. This should make the whole process less onerous and avoid any last minute problems.

Warning Letters were sent to all Referees that did not complete the required number of total days or days as a Referee to maintain their Referee Grade in accordance with the above table. Warning Letters were also sent to those R1 and R2 Referees that did not complete the “R2 Specific Tournaments” requirement or their Non-Mini Tennis requirements. Please note that an official may only receive one such warning letter in any three year period.

Where a requirement had been removed in the 2017 Referee Grading Structure (eg Non-Mini Tennis Requirement for some grades), then this requirement was not enforced for 2016.

Court Supervisors

A new Court Supervisor Grading Structure was introduced with effect from 1 January 2016 to recognise this important area of officiating.

As the structure was introduced and grades were circulated after officials would have applied for and, in some cases, been selected for events at the start of 2016, it was agreed that any official not meeting their retention requirements for 2016 would receive a warning letter as opposed to being re-graded. This included court supervisor days, workcard completion and online test submission. It is likely that court supervisors not meeting their retention requirements in 2017 will be re-graded accordingly.

Any Referees without a Court Supervisor Grade that did at least 1 day court supervising (based on their submitted workcard) in 2016 were, in general, assigned to a grade that would be consistent with the grade that they could retain in 2017 if they did the same amount of court supervising work next year.

Please note that Referees are not required to hold a Court Supervisor Grade in addition to a Referee Grade. Any Referee that does not wish to have a separate Court Supervisor Grade should notify Tom Kinloch, Chairman of Referee Grading.