John Mackey
John Mackey, of the SSC Aces team, is a Blue Badge International Table Tennis Umpire, an elite qualification requiring the highest professional standards. In 2005 he completed the process to move up to Blue Badge status. This involved a demanding written examination and a requirement to pass four practical assessments of umpiring performance at international events. These evaluations of performance are extremely rigorous and any mistake may result in a fail. There are approximately 4,000 International Umpires worldwide of which 235 hold the Blue Badge qualification.
John has represented England at two World Championships, one in Shanghai, China and the other in Yokohama, Japan. Other notable achievements have been appointments as the umpire for the Men’s World Cup Final, the Women’s Singles Final at the 2011 English Open and the Men’s Team Final at the 2011 European Championships. John began umpiring in 1996 when he qualified at the entry level of County Umpire. In 1997 he moved to the next level of Tournament Umpire, and in 1999 qualified as a National Umpire. In 2002 John achieved his ultimate ambition of becoming an International Umpire. This opened the door to going abroad to events and the opportunity to meet the world’s best players.
John’s table tennis career has been varied. In 1983 John became Secretary of the Scunthorpe League and relinquished this post in 1987 to become League President, a position he held until 2006. John was also Press Officer for the League, writing the weekly match reports for the Evening Telegraph, between 1988 and 2006. He stepped aside from his League positions in 2006 because of increasing commitments with the English Table Tennis Association and disabled table tennis.
In 2004 he was appointed to the National Umpires and Referees Committee (NURC) of the ETTA. This Committee controls and regulates umpiring and refereeing matters in England. John’s responsibilities within this committee involve training new and existing umpires, assessing the performance of umpires in match situations at National Championships, and acting as co-ordinator for the umpires section of the ETTA website. In 2009 John was appointed to the Rules Committee of the ETTA.
John also became the treasurer of the British Table Tennis Association for People with Disabilities (BTTAD) in 2007. This is the national governing body for disabled table tennis throughout Britain and trains and selects players for international events such as the Olympics, World Championships etc. He stepped down from this position and from the Rules Committee in 2011 because of increasing commitments within the NURC.
There are tremendous opportunities open to all of us by getting involved in the wider world of table tennis, whether it is in local administration or by officiating at tournaments. If you are interested in finding out more about what becoming an umpire could mean for you then please contact John and he will be very pleased to help.
john.mackey1@btinternet.com
