HighFIVE: Jackie Jones
The following HighFIVE profile appears in the 2017 Fall/Winter issue of Colorado Tennis newspaper.
The future of tennis depends on more than great coaches, dedicated players or a steady line up of leagues and tournaments. The future also relies on maintaining the integrity of the sport, which is what drives Colorado’s own Jackie Jones. Jackie was chosen as the 2017 Nicolas Powell Award winner, the most prestigious award the USTA gives to an official and celebrates that official’s contribution to grassroots officiating, which was presented to Jackie at the Officials Award Ceremony during the US Open.
“It was a thrill to accept the award with my family [including her 11 year-old grandson, Hayden] there.”
Introduced to the game in high school where her two options were cheerleading or tennis, Jackie’s passion for the sport was immediate. She began officiating in 1970 while a student at the physical education department at a Texas university and went on to officiate for a long list of local tournaments, high school and collegiate play, USTA local events and professional tournaments.
In her 47 years as an official and referee, she’s been part of a few notable events including the Alan King Caesar Classic in Las Vegas, women’s pro events at the Manhattan Beach Tennis Club in California and the men’s pro senior event held at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. While the bright lights and notoriety of professional play might seem more glamorous, Jackie loves the local tournaments the most, noting that the dynamics of officiating pro events can be challenging.
Officiating in her own community allows Jackie to make a positive impact — players know they are competing in a fair environment, and having a resource for line calls and rules helps to maintain the sport’s integrity.
“At the core of it I am passionate about helping kids and helping adults. I’m all about education for the athletes, coaches and parents.”
Passionate about recruiting and teaching new officials, she worries about the 20% decrease in available officials in Colorado. Jackie acknowledges that online training is less engaging than face-to-face interaction, and that it is harder to find young people with the time to become an official in their already busy lives for relatively low pay.
To attract the next generation of officials, Jackie said it’s about empowering young people to see the importance of helping within their tennis community.
“It’s a way to give back and to do it through the great sport of tennis. They will see things from a whole new perspective and will be able to do something good at the same time.”
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