Holidays in the firing line for Wimbledon officials

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - When chemical scientist Kevin Howell takes a holiday from work he does not spend it lying on a beach topping up his tan but dodging high-speed tennis balls hit by some of the world’s top players.

“You are in the firing line,” the 40-year-old Wimbledon line judge told Reuters. “We have all been hit. You get used to it, when you are nimble you can read the play and you either duck under or duck to the side.”
One of around 240 British line judges at this year’s championships, Howell has officiated at 21 Wimbledons, three U.S. Opens and the ATP World Tour finals.
He got involved in officiating after seeing an advert in the Wimbledon programme.
“It said: ‘Put yourself on the line’ and I thought that is something I would be interested in taking up,” he said of his hobby, which now takes up most of his weekends and annual leave.
The process is pretty simple: attend a recruitment day which covers the basics of tennis and being a line judge before giving you the chance to try out your skills on a real game.
“We are looking for volume, decisiveness, the right stances, the right signals,” said Howell, who is also involved in helping to pick new recruits for the Association of British Tennis Officials, which takes people as young as 16.
A full day of intensive training later and the recruits are ready to be unleashed on local club matches and park tournaments.
Those who really shine and have the time to dedicate to clocking up experience could be at Wimbledon the following year, but most will take a couple of years to reach the right grade.
GOING UNNOTICED
Howell made his first Wimbledon final in 1995—four years after getting into officiating—when Pete Sampras beat Boris Becker. But no one else remembers he was there.
“If you are doing your job right, keeping your concentration, being accurate, making good decisive calls, you will not be noticed. That is our aim,” he said. “You should be low key, the players are the stars.”
While it might not bring fame, tennis umpiring can take people all over the world.
American Tim Kurtt, one of 114 international umpires at Wimbledon, has officiated at major tournaments over the past 15 years. He has worked at nine U.S. Opens, five Wimbledons, four Australian Opens and one French Open, as well as the Beijing Olympics.
“I spend around 25 weeks a year on it,” said the 50-year-old from Minnesota, who also runs a hot tub business with his brother. “That is all I can afford.”
While umpires at large tournaments and grand slams are paid, with Kurtt able to make around $115 a day as a chair umpire on U.S. pro-circuit events, most events provide just expenses.
“I do it because it is a passion,” said Kurtt, who organised his first tennis tournament aged 17 and describes his fellow umpires as “like a family”.
Wimbledon’s line judges, who collectively cover around 650 matches over the fortnight, work in teams with two teams on each court working rotations of 75 minutes on, 75 minutes off.
Seven line judges are on the outside courts at any one time, while nine are on the four main show courts—the two extra covering the centre service line.
“That is the best position. Once the rally starts you can watch the match,” said Howell, dressed in the Polo Ralph Lauren designed uniform worn by umpires since 2006.
As well as having good concentration, officials need to stay calm under pressure.
The introduction of hawkeye has eased rather than added to that pressure, the pair say, as the technology avoids any unresolved tensions building up on court. Around 30 percent of calls at this tournament have been overturned on the challenge.
“We are human. It doesn’t matter how good you are, you are going to miss one and when you do you want to get it fixed and make sure play is not impacted by your mistake,” said Kurtt.
Both men laugh when asked if they will admit to feeling even a little vindicated when a challenged call goes in their favour.
“It is human nature,” Howell grinned.