USRA

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USRA RACQUETBALL SUMMIT IN THE
ROCKIES Cheyenne Mountain Resort Colorado
Springs, CO Friday, Sept. 5th
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Founding Members

• Doug Ganim - HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports
• Ron Grimes - E-Force
• Terri Graham - Wilson Racquet Sports
• Mike Martinez - Pro Kennex
• Scott Winters - Ektelon

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Evolution of the RMC

• During the mid to late 1990s SGMA funded and
• managed a Racquet Sports Committee made up of
  members
• from the racquet sports industry
• Funding was derived from SuperShow and
  distributed from
• grants received for Racquetball, Squash,
  Badminton and
• Table Tennis.
• Our SGMA funding was terminated at the U.S. OPEN
  in 1998.

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Evolution of the RMC(cont.)

• Founding members met at the U.S. OPEN in 2000 to
  
• form the RMA. A completely independent group
  of concerned
• members of the racquetball industry.
• The RMA was formed as a non-profit organization,
  
• by the major racquetball companies with an
  interest in
• growing the sport of racquetball.
• We assessed ourselves an annual membership fee
  which
• would allow us to realize an amount of funding
  similar
• or greater than what we had received from the
  SGMA.
• Assessments were made based on estimated market
  shares
• for each company.

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Mission Statement
Dedicated to growing the sport of racquetball
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Re-Organization

• After one year of operation as the RMA, we
  realized that
• the SGMA could provide valuable resources to
  our group.
• In January 2001, we re-organized under the SGMA
  umbrella.
• We re-named ourselves the Racquetball
  Manufacturers Council
• and officially became a Committee of SGMA
  International.
• Our finances are administered by the SGMA,
  American Sports
• Education Institute (ASEI), with funds
  designated to the
• Grow Racquetball Fund
• The RMC operates under the By-Laws of SGMA
  International.

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Membership Structure

• Executive Committee (voting) - Consists of
  original
• founding members carrying one vote each. Criteria
  includes -
• Current member of SGMA International.
• Required to pay an minimum annual assessment fee
  of 6,000.
• Must develop and market racquetball racquets,
  bags and gloves.
• Annual sales of racquetball products must exceed
  1,000,000.
• Must be in business a minimum of 3 years.

Patron Member (non-voting)- Includes any company
or organization receiving revenues from the
sport of racquetball. An assessment fee
determined by the Executive Committee, not to
exceed 5,000. Contributor (non-voting) - Shall
include any individual or organization that
makes a contribution, minimum of 100 to the
Grow Racquetball Fund.
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Membership Campaign

• The RMC will be mounting an extensive campaign
  to
• solicit fees and contributions to the Grow
  Racquetball Fund
• from prospective companies, organizations and
  individuals
• especially including
• All manufacturers
• Retailers
• Vendors
• All RMC members will be asked to join for a
  minimum
• of two years.

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What has been done so far?

• International Racquetball Federation (IRF)
  10,000 -Funds
• were used to assist several countries to attend
  and upgrade the
• tournament venue to attract and impress IOC
  officials.

• AMPRO/IPRO 4,000 - Administrative cost funding.
• 2002 Courses Held - 30
• 2002 Students - 160
• 2002 USRA Memberships - 600

• IHRSA 3,500 -
• Used to pay for booth space at the 2003 IHRSA
  Convention so
• racquetball would have a presence in front of
  club owners.

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What has been done so far?

• Product support for 2003 St. Louis Juniors
  Program Grant

• 2003 grant awarded to the the USRA to financially
  assist with
• the hiring of a full time Director of Marketing
  -10,000

• Approval of 1,250 grant to support the USRA
  Racquetball
• Summit in the Rockies.

• Formal industry grant program was established for
  the future
• Support of quality grow the game initiatives.

• STAY TUNED!!

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What has been done so far?

• RMC met for a strategic planning meeting in
  January of 2003
• to develop future RMC driven initiatives to help
  grow the game.

• Dozens of potential projects were discussed at
  length with the
• list narrowed to six programs. The RMC is
  currently
• conducting feasibility studies on these programs
  to determine funding needs and likely benefits.
  Programs will then be ranked
• in terms of a cost/benefit analysis and
  feasibility index.

• The RMC will begin implementing the highest rated
  programs
• in January, 2004.

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Project List

• List of projects currently being considered for
  execution are

-development of www.playracquetball.org website
featuring complete database of all clubs in the
U.S., opportunities for new players to receive
free trial memberships, free racquetball
lessons, and free electronic membership in the
USRA. All other RMC initiatives will be
promoted on this site as well.
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Project List
-Re-development of the Racquetball Programmers
manual. Digital version (CD) will be
distributed free of charge to all clubs in the
U.S. Further, a website based version of the
manual will be created so new programs can be
added on a regular basis. Further, a live forum
will be built in to the site for club owners to
share ideas with each other on successful
racquetball programs.
-Commission a high level profitability study on
the sport of racquetball at the club level.
Aggressively promote the positive results to
club owners throughout the U.S.
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Project List
-Conduct a test program with Big Brothers/Big
Sisters of Colorado with a goal of introducing
a minimum of 500 new kids to the sport of
racquetball, as well as their mentors.
-Execute a major media event in two different
markets centered on the theme of PLAY
RACQUETBALL AMERICA! Radio, TV, and newspaper
advertising as well as a major PR campaign
would be utilized to tout the benefits of
playing racquetball. Free lessons, free loaner
equipment, and free trial memberships at area
clubs would be given away with a goal of
bringing in a minimum of 1,000 new players in
each market.
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Project List
-Form a partnership with a national television
network with the goal of bringing an entire
season of weekly racquetball shows (pro level
competition) to the U.S general population. In
addition, develop a corresponding TV ad campaign
touting all the benefits of playing the sport of
racquetball (easy to learn, great exercise,
inexpensive, and TONS OF FUN!)
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What has been done so far?
RMC PROJECT COORDINATOR Position
In recent months it became quite clear that our
aggressive plans for the sport of racquetball
would require some extensive administrative
efforts from the RMC.
The decision was made to fund a part-time
RMC Project Coordinator position to assist the
RMC with the development and implementation of
all programs
A national search was conducted by the RMC
Executive Committee to identify the best
potential candidates.
In June of 2003 the RMC hired Dave George,
from Daly City, CA, to fill the position of
Project Coordinator.
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What has been done so far?
Meet Dave George

• Earned a B.A. Physical Education from Cal. State
  Univ.,1977
• Over 20 years as a Club Manager and Racquetball
  Director
• Former President of the California Racquetball
  Association
• Former top ranked age division player (1992 IRF
  40 champ)
• AmPRO Certified National Clinician
• Returned to racquetball full time two years ago
  after
• four years of teaching experience as a
  USPTA certified
• tennis instructor.
• Currently the Director of Operations and
  Racquetball
• Director at What a Racquet Athletic Club
  in Daly City, CA.

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What has been done so far?
Meet Dave George

• Dave George will serve as the primary liaison
  between the
• RMC and the rest of industry.
• Contact Information
• Dave George, RMC Project Coordinator
• 2526 Sherwood Drive
• San Bruno, CA 94066
• 1-888-559-0099

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RMC Industry Grant Program

• Outside Grant Requests -
• Grant proposals will be considered from
  individuals and
• organizations seeking funds to support programs
  to grow
• the sport of racquetball.
• Grant requests must be received by May 15th of
  each year, for
• funding for the following season. All grants
  will be evaluated
• at the RMCs annual meeting in Houston
  (Nationals).
• Total annual grant funding shall not exceed
  10,000 or 20
• of the total annual RMC budget, whichever is
  higher.