January 2023 Shout Outs
Lots of competitive tennis has already taken place in 2023 so a big thank you to all all Officials for their hard work off an on court at all levels of competition so far this year.
Sara Bryson and Keith Palmer share this Shout Out: "Massive thanks to Sara and Keith for their support court supervising at the Ipswich Sports Club Christmas Open. They remained cheerful throughout despite a very busy schedule and some chilly weather."
Parul Patel receives this recognition: "A big thank you and 'well done' to Parul (Patel) on successfully completing COMPETE's annual Christmas tournament (17th-23rd Dec.) at Taunton. In spite of enough snow to cause arrival delays, enough rain to cause concerns on some of the indoor courts and barely enough courts to get all 350 matches played by the 23rd, Parul's professionalism and organisation (always with a smile on her face!) steered the tournament to a successful conclusion. Thanks Parul, always a pleasure working with you."
Vikki Paterson receives this Shout Out following feedback from a Parent: "I wanted to let you know how good the referee Vikki Paterson was at the Grade 3 U11 Girls event in Stirling. Really exceptional. She didn’t have to come to my Daughter's court at any point but I just observed the way she handled situations, spoke to the girls and kept her eye on the tournament at all times."
John Clack, Dariusz Golas, Cheng Li, Christopher O'Hara, Victor Prelici share this Shout Out: "Well done to all the team at the Coventry Winter Exhibition event at the end of December - we had two very long days with a small team and a very high standard of play, involving professional players. A great effort from all the team, so very many thanks"
Jonathan Worthy received this recognition: "Jon was 'Mr Waterman' at the Pro Event in Sunderland. This was really appreciated. Thank you" (Jon is photographed with the rest of the team at the Sunderland ITF World Tennis Tour)
The team of Faris Ahmad, Jack Askew, Kamil Borkowski, Gavin Brennan, Cath Brimmell, John Clack, Stephen Connor, Nigel Cooper, Sean Coopey, Mike Crossley, Stefano Dall'aglio, Andrew Davies, James Driscoll, Dariusz Golas, Alistair Henderson, Michael Horkan, Christopher Knight, Vlada Koval, Jayne Littlewood, Gill Mason, Jacob Miles, Iain Millington, Dai Parker-Sellars, Chris Robson, Luke Smith, Natalie Smith, Christopher Smyth, Trevor Stent, Ted Watts, Jonathan Williams and Jonathan Worthy share this Shout Out: "Thank you to the team that worked the Pro Series Sheffield in particular those that worked Main draw end especially the Tuesday. We were tight on numbers, and it was a long day. We could not have managed without your professionalism, flexibility an team spirit. In particular, thank you to Faris, Gavin, Jayne, Natalie and Trevor who gave extra last minute availability to help us through Tuesday."
Fiona Ross receives this recognition "For her hard work as ABTO Honorary Secretary for two years."
Yusuf Bankole receives a Shout Out for being available to Referee a Winter Regional Tour event at short notice. Jenny Sayer receives a Shout Out for offering Referee availability at short notice. Thank you both!
Andrew Emsley, Johnny Hughes, Amrita Patel, Mustafa Vatansever, Robert Young all receive a Shout Out for being available to umpire at short notice which is much appreciated.
Jonny Gordon, Lawrence Mcarthur and Michael Ross share a Shout Out for stepping in to officiate on the final day of the North East of Scotland Indoor Championships when called upon by the Organisers.
Mike Crossley receives a Shout Out for noticing that an event was missing from the umpire calendar which allowed us to approach the Organiser and get the event added to the calendar.
January 2023 Shout Outs
Officiating Abroad
Congratulations to Robert Balmforth, Richard Haigh, Alison Hughes, James Keothavong, Scott Noble and Kelly Rask who were all selected to officiate at the 2023 Australian Open in Melbourne. We hope you had a great time.
Congratulations to Jack Askew and Rob Wilkinson who were selected for the BW Open Challenger in Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium. We hope it went really well. (Jack and Rob are photographed before the singles final.)
If you receive a selection to officiate abroad please let us know by emailing chris.drew@lta.org.uk
Welcome
Welcome to all of the following newly licensed Officials. We wish you all the best with your officiating.
The following Officials are newly qualified as Referees - Sallie Allen, Jason Atkins, Chris Burton, Carolyn Crocker, Elliott Kami, Andrew Spencer, Sarah Thomas, Christian Yeates
The following Officials are newly qualified as Court Supervisors - Jason Atkins, Chris Burton, Becky Kaufmann, Paul Moffat, Katarzyna Pessel-Piotrowska, Carol Romaya, Toby Runciman,
The following Officials are newly qualified as Line Umpires - Pablo Alfonso Palanca, Holly Barne, Joe Barrick, Anish Chauhan, Matthew Croston, Julia Frost, Victor-Ciprian Grecu, Tom Griffiths, Ewa Kaminska, Becky Kaufmann, Opeline Kellett, Scott Leadbetter, Roy Lunio, Jim McBrierty, Clement Ma, Juliet Malone, Eleanor Moore, Katarzyna Pessel-Piotrowska, Thomas Quinn, Emma Read, Sophie Ryan, Gordon Shirreff, Savannah Chan, Alexandra Siegel, Mayur Vadher, Russell Webber, Anna Williams,
Qualifications
Well done to the following Officials adding another string to their officiating bow: Maria-Christina Balatsouka who is now qualified as a Line Umpire, Sam Perkins who is now qualified as a Court Supervisor
Congratulations and Thank you!
Well done to the Officials receiving a Shout Out this month - thank you for all you do for British Officiating and British Tennis.
Many thanks to Melvyn Billingham, Barbara Lloyd, Kath Lovell, Chris Matthews, Chris Rudolph and Derek Thorpe, who submitted Shout Outs to recognise Officials this month
Thank you also for those Officials who submitted photos with their Shout Outs, it's always great to see you all in action at competitions.
If a fellow Official goes the extra mile, is a fantastic support to you or just does a terrific job please consider recognising them with a Shout Out. Shout Outs can be sent in using the short online form below:
It's also great to see photos of you while you are officiating at tournaments. If you have any photos taken that you would be happy to share please contact chris.drew@lta.org.uk or you include a photo when you submit a Shout Out
This month the following three Shout Out recipients - Joe Barrick, Jacob Miles, Carol Romaya - were successful in our random draw this month and will soon receive a £25 PREZZO voucher
PREZZO is now the official competition restaurant partner of The LTA!
We will be serving a new and exclusive set menu for LTA Advantage Members to enjoy before, during and after competitions, and will be supporting the local community of tennis players, officials and venues, providing them with a great restaurant experience during competitions, including discounts and offers