Today I am returning my attention to the post COVID-19 protocols implemented a couple of weeks ago at the “$Prize Money Austin UTR Open @ Austin Tennis Academy. ” Earlier this week I wrote about the ball hygiene practices implemented during that tournament in “Tournament Ball Safety Protocols.” Per the convention established in that post, I will continue to refer to this event as the “ATA” tournament.
One of the practices at the ATA UTR tournament that originally put this event on my radar was the virtual elimination of the tournament desk. This leans directly into one of my return to play concerns, which is the fact that there is frequently congestion in the proximity of the tournament desk. It is the one point that every single player in a tournament is guaranteed to visit.
At the ATA tournament, checked in for all matches and reporting of scores was performed virtually via text messaging. The players were requested to remain in their cars until their match was “called” via text. The tournament staff placed the balls to be used for the match on the assigned court prior to player arrival. The tournament director, Brian Notis, strategically placed ball hoppers between the courts for the return of balls.
This prevents players from having to having to visit the tournament desk at all. Before COVID-19 I would have scoffed at the idea that the tournament desk could be eliminated. Now the ATA tournament is a shining example that it can be done. It is a transformative concept.
I found myself hoping that the USTA will consider similar provisions when tournaments resume in July. I also had the stark realization that I would probably prefer the virtual elimination of the tournament desk regardless of the concern level over communicable disease.
Some tournaments that I play have chronic issues in scheduling and keeping the event running on time. Frequently this is beyond human control. Rain can obliterate a previously well thought out and optimized schedule. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to every tournament director for the times when I have progressed through the draw with series of three and a half hour matches. Trust me, I didn’t want that any more than you did.
I have sat behind a tournament desk enough to have first hand knowledge of the how challenging it can be to run events. I also have back office experience dating back to the days when registration was via postal mail and the the draws were either handwritten or typed. A lot of my historic involvement was essentially conscripted labor, now that I think about it.
The umpire who gave birth to me waxes nostalgic about the time when she took my brother to lunch and returned to find me sitting behind the desk at a tournament where she had only parental involvement. I was NOT going to spend the rest of my life in Big Spring, Texas. That was a distinct possibility based on the lackadaisical way the tournament had been run up to that point.
Nothing frustrates me more as a player than the tournament desk providing unrealistic match times. I have been directed to “hang close” to the tournament desk when my match position in the queue was two complete court turnovers away from being actually called. Virtualization of the tournament desk eliminates that problem.
Huge crowds around a tournament desk actually slow down and impede the speed at which matches can be cycled through the courts. When scheduling goes sideways at an event, the problem seems to cascade and compound.
I am “all in” on electronic notification of court assignments and reporting of scores. I should note that this transcends any concerns over COVID-19. I would be happy to see a permanent transition to this practice.
In order to do this, the USTA would have to make an investment to improve the back end IT and mobile apps. This would improve the overall player experience and is something that is desperately needed.
I would be willing to wager that UTR is already working on adding support for tournament desk virtualization to their platform.
- “$Prize Money Austin UTR Open @ Austin Tennis Academy,” https://app.myutr.com/events/15205, page viewed June 6, 2020.
I was wondering how they would do the tournament desk and waiting for your court. Not a bad solution. They needed to switch to digital for score reporting anyways. It gets the next court on faster. Would love to see USTA switch away from Active for their website and app, but didn’t they just recently renew that contract?
I have not seen any recent updates on the USTA contract with Active, but that would not surprise me. I actually spent some time digging around trying to find out the value and terms of the contract, but came up empty.
I have a future post planned that specifically compares and contrasts the UTR and USTA approaches to information technology. (It’s like you are reading my mind.)