ITF

OFFICIATING Alison Lang and Carlos Ramos became the first chair umpires to complete a career "Golden Slam" by umpiring the four Grand Slam finals and an Olympic gold medal match T he London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Tennis Events were the highlight of the year not just for athletes but also for the officials. Fifty-three chair umpires and more than 200 line umpires representing 55 nations contributed to a very successful Games at the AELTC and Eton Manor. Nine Officiating Schools took place during 2012 as the Joint Officiating Programme continues to expand around the world. Level 1 Schools (Green Badge) were held in Argentina, El Salvador and Algeria. Level 2 Schools (White Badge) were hosted in China, P.R., Germany, Great Britain and USA. In addition, Level 3 Schools (International) took place in Italy and Hong Kong, China. Over 150 officials were newly certified bringing the total number to 1491. A successful launch of the new ITF Officiating Portal and database for officials worldwide took place during the year. This new platform has revolutionised the way officials and National Associations interact with ITF Officiating. Amongst the many features, officials are able to record their work automatically, apply for Officiating Schools and will soon have access to online education programmes. The annual end-of-year recertification meeting took place in London in December where the work records of all officials were considered together with the evaluations they received throughout the year. Upgraded to Gold Badge status were chair umpires John Blom (AUS) and Juan Zhang (CHN); chief umpires Lucie Adamovska (CZE), Matthias Giese (GER), Ross Sceats (ESP); and referees Jorge Mandl (ARG), Enric Molina (ESP), Brad Taylor (USA), Mihaela Testiban (ROU) and Gary Au-Yeung (HKG). Manuel Messina (ITA) and Mohamed Fitouhi (CAN) were awarded Silver Badges. Alison Lang (GBR) and Carlos Ramos (POR), members of the ITF/Grand Slam Team of Officials, became the first chair umpires to complete a career "Golden Slam" by umpiring the four Grand Slam finals and the Olympic gold medal match in women's and men's tennis respectively. This landmark was achieved by Alison at Roland Garros when she umpired the women's final and by Carlos at the London 2012 Olympic Tennis Event, where he officiated the men's singles final. Travel grants for officials have been re-introduced to allow the best up and coming officials to gain experience internationally and help them progress in their officiating careers. A new joint ITF/Grand Slam development group has also been created for 2013 with the goal of providing a career path for the best young officials. Members of this group are Arnaud Gabas (FRA), Isabell Seefried (GER), Tom Sweeney (AUS), Kelly Thomson (GBR) and Marijana Veljovic (SRB). PROFESSIONAL TENNIS 15

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