Two More Tournaments Down, More Awards

This weekend was busy for the Ohio University Intramural Sports crew.

Ian Swoboda and Mary Pittman traveled to the University of West Florida in Pensacola, FL to officiate along with Brad Whittaker, Haley Drometer, and James Kaikis who were on staff at the tournament. Mary officiated well at her alma mater and was rewarded by working field judge for a mens semi-final and line judge for the co-rec final. Ian had a great tournament and was named All-Tournament. He worked line judge in the mens open final and field judge in the mens collegiate final.

Also this weekend, Ben Strunk and Larry Lawson drove across the prairie to Carbondale, IL for the University of Southern Illinois tournament. Though there were fewer games than most regional tournaments, both officials worked deep into Sunday. Larry was back judge in the womens final and down box in a mens semi-final. Ben was referee of a mens semi-final and field judge in the mens final. He received All-Tournament honors and a bid to the NIRSA National Tournament at Texas A&M in early January.

Next weekend, Mary Pittman and John Mason will make the trip west to the University of Nebraska. Stay tuned for their tournament recap!

2010 Totals:
Tournaments- 6
Officials Sent- 14
Championship Games- 12
All-Tournament Awards- 7
Nationals Bids- 4

Ohio Brings Home Some Hardware

This past weekend Ohio University sent four officials to regional flag football tournaments. Kevin Nye and Andrew Clark drove up SR 33 to Ohio State while Ben Strunk and Doug Vinci ventured through the night to the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

Both Ben and Doug had a fun weekend in North Carolina despite the chilly temperatures on the cast. Doug improved his crew all weekend. He was the referee for a mens quarterfinal and line judge for a corec semi-final. Ben was named All-Tournament and finished with working referee for a corec semi-final, field judge for a mens semi-final, and line judge for the corec final.

In Columbus, Andrew had a great first tournament. He earned referee of a mens quarterfinal and field judge of a corec semifinal. Kevin had an excellent tournament and was the referee for the mens final. He was named All-Tournament and received a bid to the ACIS Nationals in New Orleans.

The Ohio University Coed flag football team also traveled to Ohio State and won the entire tournament. They won each game they played by mercy rule and will also be headed to New Orleans for nationals.

2010 Totals:
Tournaments- 4
Officials Sent- 10
Championship Games- 7
All-Tournament Awards- 5
Nationals Bids- 3

Great Weekend in Murfreesboro

Ohio University rolled into Murfreesboro, TN this past weekend for the Middle Tennessee State Flag Football Tournament. Ian Swoboda, Kevin Nye, and Justin Carr officiated at the tournament and Greg Allensworth served on the officials committee.

From the beginning all three officials were crew chiefs and in the end all three worked the Mens Championship Final. Kevin Nye worked referee, Justin Carr worked line judge, and Ian Swoboda worked field judge.

All three officials earned All-Tournament awards. Ian and Justin received bids to the ACIS National Tournament in New Orleans, LA.

Next weekend Ohio University sends Kevin Nye and Andrew Clark to Ohio State and Ben Strunk and Doug Vinci to UNC-Wilmington.

2010 Totals:
Tournaments- 2
Officials Sent- 6
Championship Games- 5
All-Tournament Awards- 3
Nationals Bids- 2

Flag Football Extramural Season Begins!!!

Another flag football extramural tournament season has begun for Ohio University Intramural Sports and the OUSOA. We sent Mary Pittman, Larry Lawson, and Ben Strunk to the Swamp Bowl at the University of Florida this weekend to kickoff the travel year.

The tournament included a 13 hour drive, but the three officials represented Ohio University well. Larry had a great tournament and worked field judge in a men's quarterfinal. Mary was a crew chief most of the weekend and worked field judge in the women's final. Ben was also a crew chief on the weekend and worked line judge in the corec final.

This weekend Ohio University will send Ian Swoboda, Justin Carr and Kevin Nye to Middle Tennessee State University. Greg Allensworth will also travel to Murfreesboro to serve on the officials committee.

Ohio University flag football extramural totals:
Tournaments Officiated: 1
Officials Sent: 3
Championship Games Officiated: 2

Final US Open Recap for 2010

Well it was an exciting year for the US Open. Being in New York City for three weeks was quite the experience. It all started with qualifying where the good news started being put on serve. Then came main draw. 1st Monday night I was on Ashe with Federer, and won my first Hawkeye challenge. From there I was on Grandstand and Armstrong a lot of the tournament. The good news kept on coming when the following Monday I was Awarded the Jack Stahr Award. I will never forget the Djokavic match where I was challenged 4 times and won all 4 challenges (I sound like Al Bundy, he had 4 touchdowns in one game back in high school). When all was said and done I was extended to the final weekend and put on the women's final. For those of you who watched I was on a baseline so I was probably hardly seen. Stepping on the court on the final of a Slam, with a 25,000 person stadium packed full was truly a memory I will have forever.

The most rewarding experience though was stepping onto the court for my first wheelchair match. These athletes are amazing at what they do and it was very humbling to be on court with them.

All in all it was a great experience, got to see some old friends, and made new friends. The experiences I had at this open far exceeded the experiences that I had at last years, and hopefully they will keep on coming for years to come.

Saturday US Open Update

Well, since my last post some things have changed. Two days ago I was in the recruitment booth trying to recruit new officials, and yesterday I was on the back courts doing juniors and wheelchair tennis. This was actually very cool because I had never seen wheelchair tennis before, I was very impressed and humbled. What these athletes do is unbelievable. Today, I am on the back courts again working juniors and wheelchair until tonight when I go to the big house and work the women's championship match, so take a break from college football tune into CBS at 7pm and look for me.

Thursday Open Update

Well all of yesterday, I was on Ashe, which was a lot of fun. We ended our day with the Monfils vs Djokavic match. The first set was a very high level of play, and a lot of lines being hit, especially mine. In fact, in my first rotation my line was so hot, that I was challenged 4 times and won all 4. My last challenge, I called the ball good, the chair umpire overruled me to out, and then the Chase Review said I was correct the ball was in. A very exciting time. Today, Thursday, I am off court working the recruitment booth, tomorrow I will be back on court.

US Open Update Final Wednesday

So yesterday I was on Armstrong for two men's fourth round matches and a women's doubles QF and and men's doubles QF. Fun day, and because I was at the site until 11pm the night before I got a sub and was home before the sun set, first time I think all tournament. Also, this morning I found out I was being extended until the final weekend. Today I will be on Ashe starting at noon, so look for me on TV. As for yesterdays post with all the spelling errors...that was done on purpose to see how many comments I would get HA

US Open Update

Well I am still here at the open, and I haven't forgotten to post on the blog, but because I have been on show courts I have been leaving the site at 11pm for the most part, so I have decided not to post. The past few days I have been on grandstand, except two days ago, I was on Armstrong for the Murray match, and yesterday I was on court 11, where 3 of the 4 quarterfinals in mixed doubles was there. Today, I am on Armstrong where we have 2 men's 4th round matches and 2 quarterfinal men's doubles matches.

Also, yesterday was the awards meeting for officials. I am honored and privileged to announce I received the Jack Stahr award. This award is given to an umpired who is in their first three years at the open in recognition of hard work, professionalism, technical ability and cooperative attitude. It recognizes outstanding work primarily as a line umpire. I am very honored to have received this award.

Main Draw Day 4

Well today, I was on Grandstand again, and got a little more TV time. The day again was pretty routine. I did make my first error, but I corrected myself, so in the end I got the call correct. I am writing this from the site, because my court got a match added to it from another court, so I will be here for awhile. Tomorrow I will be out in the park right outside the site to be a chair umpire for the Junior Qualifying tournament. Saturday I will return to the main site again, that is if we don't get any of the wet stuff.

Main Draw Day 3

Well today was day 3 of the main draw here at the open. I was put on another TV court, Grand Stand. The day went smooth and quick...too quick actually because we ended getting another matched moved to us, the Bryan Brothers. Our first match was interesting because one of the participants passed out. Other than that the day was routine, I did not get hawkeyed which was nice. Actually, my crew only got hawkeyed once and the lineumpire who got challenged was correct. That is it for now.

US Open Update Main Draw Days 1 and 2

Alright, so I skipped day 1 because I was at the site until midnight so i decided not to do one then, so i guess that is where i will start. Monday I made my debut on Ashe Stadium, working the night matches. First up was with Venus, and second was Federer. The matches were pretty routine. I did get challenged on the baseline by Federer, and the Chase Review said I was correct.

Tuesday I was out on court 14, 3 women's matches and a men's match. The men's match was exciting, it went to a 5th set tiebreak.

Keep up to date with me on twitter, if I am on a TV court I will put it up on there. The TV courts are Ashe, Louis Armstrong, Grandstand, 7 and 11. Wednesday, we are taking the group picture. I was not able to be in it last year because of weather.

US Open Qualies Update Days 4 and 5

Well, Friday at the open was a perfect day not too warm, the sun was shining, and there was no rain in sight. I was out on court 5 yesterday, or as I like to call it the Heineken Court, it is located right next to the Heineken bar. I was also put back on serve so I was happy about that. We had 4 matches, two of which went three sets.

Today because of the rain the first two days we have to go back, instead of getting today off. We start at 3 and there are 2 matches on each court. Once we are done today we have off until Monday when Main Draw starts. When the Main Draw starts check out my new twitter feed www.twitter.com/gallensworth to see what court I am working that that day. I do know now that I am working night duty Monday night, which means I will be making my Arthur Ashe debut at the open Monday evening. So tune into ESPN 2 opening night and look for me.

This is my last post until the Main Draw starts, so until then enjoy the weekend. Don't forget www.twitter.com/gallensworth and ESPN 2.

US Open Qualies Update Number 3

Today was a much better than the other days. It was about 80 and sunny all day. A perfect day for tennis. I was on court 16 with 5 matches that started at 11am. With the number of matches that we had today, I think we were lucky that I am done and writing this post at 9:30pm. It could have been a lot later. The highlight of the day was a match that finished 6-7, 7-6, 7-6 an amazing match that was very contentious.

With how well the day went, we did get some bad news. Because of all the rain, we will now be working Saturday to finish up the Qualies. Also, today the Main Draw was made, so if you want to see who is playing who, excluding the qualifying spots, go to usopen.org to check it out.

US Open Qualies Update 2

Well today was day two of rain here at the open. We got on the court a little more than we did yesterday but not much. I was put on court 11 which is another show court, but it did not matter, because of the weather, not many people were there. We finally got rained out at 10pm, leaving a lot of matches left to be finished. The good news is tomorrow is a high of 86 and mostly sunny, however the bad news is with an 11am start there are 6 matches on each court...should be a great day of tennis.

US Open Qualies Day 1

Well the first day of qualies is over, and the Open is off to a very wet start. We started the morning off with a meeting at 9am and then it was off to court, the first matches started at 11. I was assigned one of the service line people for my crew today, which was very exciting, since last year I was near side only. Also, I was on Court 10 which is one of the show courts.

Unfortunately, I only spent about one full rotation on the court because of the rain. We were on and off all day, and we did not finish all the matches, which will make the day tomorrow a lot longer. With that being said, tomorrow there is also a chance of the wet stuff so it will be very interesting to see what will happen. I do have another meeting at 9am tomorrow, with all the first and second year umpires. And again an 11 o-clcok start. Stay tuned for more updates from the open.

Summer Update

Here we go everyone just thought I would give an update on this summer before I start my daily updates from the Open next Tuesday. I have been all around, starting in Rochester, New York. Rochester went really well, and I actually got to chair my first professional semi-final. Also, in Rochester, we had a late start one day so another umpire and myself went to Niagra Falls, the first time I have ever been there. From there I went to Pittsburgh, a pro event that I have been fortunate enough to be going to since my first year of officiating. After Pittsburgh, I travelled to Lexington, Kentucky and Decatur, Illinois. From Decatur I went to Cincinnati for the WTA event as a linesperson. After Cinci, I went north to Kalamazoo, Michigan for another tournament I have been fortunate enough to go to since the beginning of my officiating career. This year however, I was fortunate enough to be selected to be the chair umpire for the Boys 18's National Championship Match, the winner gets a wild card to the US Open Main Draw! It was an honor to be selected to be in the chair for this match. The match was really a good way to end my "summer tour."

Also, during my adventures, I received notice that I will be attending the ITF Level 2 Chair School in Toronto, to hopefully become a white badge chair umpire.

Now I am home for a week, until Monday when I go to the US Open until September 9th. Hopefully I perform well enough to get extended to the end. Keep your eye on the OUSOA blog for daily updates from the Open.

Aworth

Sony Ericcson Update

Hello Everyone,

Reporting live from Sunny Miami Florida, and the Sony Ericcson Open. Monday was a very long day. The start time was suppose to be 10am, however, because of rain the 48 match day started at 2pm. The last crew was done at 2am, I was fortunate enough to be finished at 10pm.

Today was a much nicer day, 75 and sunny. We started at 10am, so for the crews that finished up for to, it was an early morning, and we were all done by 7pm. Today we finished qualifying and started a few main draw women's matches.

Tomorrow the big shots start, the main draw begins, and the action should heat up. Come back later for constant updates

Aworth

Extramural Update 3 &4

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for the delay in the extramural updates. The past two weekends we sent officicals to Middle Tennessee State University and The Ohio State University. Representing us at MTSU was Preston Carr and Sam Schwieterman. Sam was a semi-finalist, and Preston was a finalist.

We sent John Mason to OSU. He also did a very nice job, and recieved a semi-final game.

This upcoming weekend, Justin Carr will be travelling to Mississippi State University.

Extramural Update 2

Hello All,

Reporting from sunny Las Vegas, I have the second installment of the Extramural Basketball season. This weekend myself, Brian Beam, Ian Swoboda, and Andrew Hiltbrand travelled to Sin City. Beam and I were on the officials' evaluation staff while Hiltbrand and Swoboda officiated. Both Hiltbrand and Swoboda did a wonderful job. Hiltbrand officiated a men's quarter final game, while Swoboda officiated the men's final. When it came down to giving out awards Mr. Swoboda was honored as an All-Tournament Official.

Coming up in the future are tournaments at Middle Tennessee State University, Mississippi State University, and The Ohio State University, so keep your eyes posted to the blog for more updates

Basketball Extramural Update 1

Hello All,

Its that time again, time for basketball extramural Season. This past weekend we sent Max Hopkins to Miami University (Ohio), and Preston Carr to Western Michigan University. Also in attendance were Nick Brigati on the officials' committee at Miami and Brian Beam was on the officials' committee at WMU.

Preston and Max both represented the program in a very positive light. Max, officiated in a men's quarter final, and was the official score keeper in the women's final. Preston officiated a men's semi-final.

This upcoming weekend four of us will be travelling to the University of Nevada Las Vegas for their regional basketball tournament. Brian Beam and Greg Allensworth will be on the officials' committee, while Ian Swoboda and Andrew Hiltbrand will be officiating. If you see Ian or Andrew wish them luck as they officiate in Sin City.

NIRSA NCCS Flag Football National Championships

Hello Again,

Well everyone it is the final update for flag football for this season. It comes action packed with highlights from the NIRSA NCCS National Flag Football Championships in Tampa, Florida. OUIM sent Ian Swoboda to officiate in the championships, and did a stand up job. The last day of the event, he had the privelege to referee a highly contested men's semi-final, and was the line judge in the women's final. Unlike at the ACIS National tournament where being in a final did not guarantee you the recognition of being All-American, at NIRSA it did. Thus because Ian was the line judge in the women's final, he is OU's 3rd and final All-American of the season. Please congratulate him if you see or talk to him!

This being a final post for the flag football season, here is the wrap-up:

OUIM sent 25 officials to 10 different regionals or state tournaments, and 2 national tournaments. At the end of the regional and state tournaments, Preston Carr, Greg Allensworth, John Mason, and Ian Swoboda were named All-Tournament officials. Making the voyage to the ACIS National tournament was John Mason, Greg Allensworth, and Dan Fladda, while Ian Swoboda travelled to Tampa for the NIRSA National Championships. When the national tournaments were finished OUIM came away with 3 All-American officials: Ian Swoboda, Dan Fladda, and Greg Allensworth.