ITF

A proposal from the ITF to include ITF Wheelchair events in the certification structures for International Officials (Bronze, Silver and Gold) was approved at the annual end-of-year recertification meeting. The meeting, which evaluates the work records of all officials, was held in London in December with representatives from the four stakeholders – ATP, Grand Slam tournaments, ITF and WTA – in attendance. From 2014 ITF Wheelchair events will count towards international official's minimum requirements for retention. The events will also form a part of the minimum requirements for White and Green Badges. The ITF's strategy to develop officials continued in 2013 with a focus on holding officiating schools in key markets. Level 3 Schools (International) took place in Sao Paulo (Brazil) and in Paris (France) while Level 2 Schools (White Badge) were held in Vierumäki (Finland), Heraklion (Greece) and in Bangkok (Thailand). These schools saw impressive results with an overall 85 per cent pass rate. Santa Cruz (Bolivia) and Kigali (Rwanda) hosted Level 1 Schools (Green Badge) with 40 national officials having the chance to increase their level of experience and test their officiating knowledge. A new Officiating Membership Scheme was introduced in 2013 to help improve the service offered to officials. In addition to the online ITF Officiating Portal, Officiating schools and a helpline supported by the officiating team in London and by the ITF Officiating Regional Officers, a number of new benefits will be rolled out over the next 12 months. These include a new online education service to support officials' career development. In a continuous effort to promote female officiating, 2013 saw a 12 per cent increase in female officials selected for Fed Cup assignments. The effort ensured that 54 per cent of the overall yearly assignments had been fulfilled by female officials. Enric Molina, Head of Officiating, Carlos Ramos, ITF/GS Chair Umpire and Ricardo Reis, ITF Regional Officer for South America, initiated the ITF's development plan for officials in Brazil ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympics Games. This first training session of national technical officials took place in three major cities: Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre, with 220 officials attending the courses. They will continue to have their progress monitored over the next three years with the goal of selecting the best 60 Brazilian officials for the Rio 2016 Games. The ITF carried out a site visit to Rio de Janeiro, the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games, in May where they met with the different functional areas (departments) of the organising committee and looked at the site for the Olympic Tennis Event and the Olympic Village. The venue for the 2016 Olympic Tennis Event is ideally located within the Olympic Park in the Barra Cluster, which will host 60 per cent of all sports, including swimming, cycling, gymnastics and basketball. It is approximately 3km from the Olympic Village and is adjacent to the International Broadcast Centre and the Main Press Centre. The tennis venue will comprise a 10,000- seat Centre Court, 5,000-seat Court 1 and 3,000-seat Court 2. There will be seven additional match courts with 250 seats each and six practice courts. The court surface will be hard. The dates for the 2016 Olympic Tennis Event have been confirmed as Saturday 6 August until Sunday 14 August, with Monday 15 August as a contingency day in case of bad weather. This is week one of the Olympic Games. Rio 2016 has a challenge to ensure enough suitable accommodation is available for the Olympic Games (c. 45,000 rooms required). New hotels are being constructed and cruise ships will also be used to provide additional choice. Investment into the development of transport links for the Olympics and the future of Rio de Janeiro is planned. This will involve renovating the railway and underground networks, plus the creation of four Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems. The first sessions of the National Technical Officials Line Umpire Training Programme for Rio 2016 took place in Brazil at the end of October in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre. These were very successful events with a total of 220 officials participating. Following the London 2012 Olympic Tennis Event, the ITF reviewed the format and scoring of the individual disciplines with an aim to securing the top ranked players' participation in more than one discipline and also to aid the event scheduling over the nine days of competition. The ITF also consulted with the IOC and the following changes will be implemented for Rio 2016: Scoring Change Men's Singles Final set tiebreak (remain best of 5 sets in Final) Women's Singles Final set tiebreak Men's Doubles Final set tiebreak Women's Doubles Final set tiebreak Mixed Doubles No change (i.e. match tiebreak) OLYMPIC TENNIS EVENT OFFICIATING 16 PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: OLYMPIC TENNIS EVENT 17 PROFESSIONAL TENNIS: OFFICIATING The venue for the 2016 Olympic Tennis Event is ideally located within the Olympic Park in the Barra Cluster, which will host 60 per cent of all sports. In a continuous effort to promote female officiating, 2013 saw a 12 per cent increase in female officials selected for Fed Cup assignments.

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