The Northeast Region has substantially strengthened its cadre of court officials recently, the result of two Umpire Clinics held in the past several weeks with 12 new trainees.  Both clinics took place in the Boston area, one at the Maugus Club in Wellesley run by Lily Lai and the other at the Gut ‘n Feathers Club in Marblehead coordinated by Arthur Schwartz.  While Lily has run a number of Umpire Clinics over the years, this was the first one for Arthur who was assisted by Chris Lawrence and Charlotte Ackerman.  The Northeast Region is proud and fortunate to have so many qualified umpire trainers as both Ikuko Mukai Cheh and Beth Sopka are also active trainers.

Many of these new trainees took advantage of the upcoming New England Junior Open, November 17-18, in Marblehead to practice their new skills on court.  They are hoping to achieve full Regional status by June when the USAB Junior Nationals will take place in Marblehead.  This huge event requires 14 courts to be run constantly for 5 days and it is the goal of the tournament committee that every match be umpired officially.

The new umpire trainees are Peter Ayer and Jim Sullivan from the Gut ‘n Feathers Club in Marblehead and Wen-Foo Chern and Igor Shekhtman from the Maugus Club in Wellesley.  These trainees will now need to pass a written test in order to be designated as Regional umpires.

Not only do we have a burgeoning crew of Regional Umpires, but three Massachusetts umpires have risen to new levels as well.  Chris Phillips has just received his credentials as a BWF Umpire while Arthur Schwartz and Beth Sopka both have achieved National Level 3 status.  All were evaluated in September at the US Open in California.

The Region’s Court Officials Committee is always looking to expand the base of local officials and is willing to organize clinics wherever appropriate.  Those interested in attending an umpire training course are urged to contact Lily Lai, the Chair of the Region’s Court Officials Committee.