7310 Ticonderoga Road
Downers Grove, ILLINOIS  60516
April 15, 2009

Tennis Officials:

We are gearing up for another successful officiating event at the Kalamazoo National Boys 16 and Boys 18 tournament on Friday August 7, through Sunday, August 16, 2009.  We will be chairing all the matches and there will be no roving assignments.   All the 11 courts at Stowe Stadium at Kalamazoo College and 20 courts at Sorenson Stadium at Western Michigan University will be continually chaired, with extra officials rotating into the next open court.   The players at this tournament are the best junior boys in the nation with the winners of the 18s getting wild cards into the US Open while the winners of the 16s get into the US Open Junior tournament.  The stakes are high, so we need the best officials available.  On Wednesday, Aug 12th, we will use Western Michigan University only for the morning.  All the officials will then move to Stowe Stadium at Kalamazoo College.  With the increase in available officials, we may begin using line umpires for two stadium courts if conditions warrant.   Lunch is provided daily for working officials.  Tournament shirts may be provided, or else we will use the red and blue national umpire shirts.   There will be shuttle buses between the two sites during the day.  

National Trainer/Evaluators will be available to evaluate all chair umpires at both sites during the first weekend.  If you need a chair evaluation to maintain your certification level, you must be available during the first weekend starting Friday.    

Kalamazoo community is wonderful in supporting this event and they come out to watch the matches, even during weekday afternoons.  They also support the players and officials by providing housing as well as many different events during the evening throughout the whole tournament.   It is a great opportunity to witness the possible next big player to emerge from the junior ranks.  

This letter is going to all the Midwest certified officials, section chairmen of all sections, as well as those officials from other sections who have expressed interest in working the tournament.  Feel free to forward the information to other officials.  If you are new to this tournament, you will need to provide a reference from your sectional chairman.  This is not a position for someone new to officiating or someone with limited experience.   All things being equal, Midwest officials will be given priority, but we will select the most qualified officials for this tournament.  A certification level of USTA Chair is helpful but some Sectional chairs may be invited.

The application is available on-line at  http://www.geocities.com/KZooOfficials and it is due by 
May 15th.  If you forget the link, you can go to the Midwest officials’ web site http://www.geocities.com/mw_officials and follow the link to Umpiring Opportunities.   Paper application may be printed from the same site or please contact Terry Miller at boysusta@aol.com  269-337-7343.  We will only select certified officials, so if you did not certify at the end of 2008, please be sure to attend a class quickly.  Darrell Davies may be conducting a re-certification class in Kalamazoo.   Officials new to Kalamazoo are expected to work from Friday, Aug 7.   If you need housing, it will be provided either with a private family or at a hotel.  Two officials will share a hotel room.  Please work with the housing chairman before making any changes in your housing assignment.   Matches start at 8:00 am each day and the report time is 7:30 am each day. 

The pay for 2008 was $80/full day, $40/half day and up to $50 to defray travel expenses.  The Friday night exhibition pay is $15.      

All application received will be acknowledged by John Coleman via separate email.  If you do not get an acknowledgement within a week of your application, please email John Coleman to clear up unanticipated network difficulties.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at jbcpharmd@aol.com 

Look forward to hearing from you.

John Coleman
Chief Umpire and Deputy Referee