This month Luke St. Onge also issued a policy statement regarding the rule change to increase racquet length to 22", effective September 1, 1997.

CHANGING TIMES
by Luke St. Onge

Board Report – A three-day meeting of the USRA Board of Directors was held in Houston during Nation Singles, where newly-elected board members Otto Dietrich - Ga. (elected with 48% of the votes); Annie Muniz - Tx. (36%); and Carlton Vass - S.C. (38%) were welcomed. Other highlights of that meeting follow.

Financial • Approved, in concept, an action plan which stipulates that the USRA maintain a 10% financial reserve, based upon budget, to be in place within three years. • Voted unanimously to discontinue the practice of offering any/all complimentary entries into national events, effective June 1, 1997. • Approved the 1997-1998 USRA budget with noted revisions.

Competitions & Programs • U.S. Open – Approved a resolution stating that amateur events will remain a part of the U.S. Open; Approved a resolution that, for the men and women pros, all non-prize-money benefits will be distributed equally; Approved an additional $2,500 toward the women's prize purse and approved the concept that, in future U.S. Open's, the women's prize money will not be allocated at less than 50% of the men's. • Approved support and sanction for the Tournament of the Americas to be held Easter Week in Houston 1999. • Approved the following locations for selected national events: High Schools – 1998-St. Louis; 1999-Oregon; 2000-St. Louis; Intercollegiates – 1998-Phoenix; Singles – 1998-Houston, Texas.

Intercollegiate Nationals — A thorough review of the intercollegiate program was undertaken, with the following recommendations accepted: 1) Regional qualifiers will remain mandatory for 1998, with the added possibility of conducting them in conjunction with established, existing tournaments; 2) Charged the national staff with revamping the current program to make it viable, enabling the sport and the USRA to access the college market. The first phase will concentrate on the competitive program plan to be implemented within the current USRA fiscal year (May 97 - June 98). • Adapted unanimously the USRA/Ektelon Boys and Girls Club program of recirculating used racquetball racquets to a one-wall developmental program to promote racquetball to disadvantaged and inter-city children. • Approved April as Racquetball Month.

Another Viewpoint
We appreciate that you have taken the time to voice your concerns regarding the rule change which — effective September 1, 1997 — will increase legal racquet length from 21 to 22 inches. As you may know, there are many issues involved in instituting rule changes. However, it is important to fully understand the process before making assumptions about how and why such decisions are made.

First, please realize that "voting" on rule changes is an opportunity by the membership to share their views with the Board of Directors. In turn, the Board makes its final decisions based on the recommendation of the Rules Committee — which uses the poll results as a guide. But constitutionally, the Board of Directors is charged with the sole responsibility for instituting rule changes. The Board has not been neglectful in that duty and if you review the changes over the past 10 years, you will note that most have been more procedural than rule-specific.

However, in regard to the change in racquet length, the Board faced a dilemma. Last fall, the majority of racquet manufacturers informed the USRA that they were introducing longer racquets in the Fall of 97, regardless of the current 21" rule. You may question those marketing decisions, but the fact remains that those particular choices are not the USRA's to make.

With this industry development, the USRA was placed in a no-win situation. The frames were going to be marketed, with or without USRA approval. Compounding the situation was the USRA's constitutional restriction regarding rules enforcement. Due to the "state's rights" issue (another discussion in itself), the USRA would have found itself in a position to enforce the 21" rule only at regional and national events. Imagine the potential reaction of regional or national entrants when told that the oversized frames they invested hundreds of dollars in, and played all season with, could not be used in making their bids for championship titles.

And here are some other facts that were considered in the deliberations. Some of the longer racquet frames had already been "field tested" on the pro tour for a year, where the IRT enforces no length rule at all. All state presidents were polled on the rule change and not one objection was noted. The rules committee voted 10 to 1 in favor of the change. Then, in an attempt to keep the playing field as level as possible, the USRA was able to negotiate with all of the manufacturers to limit the increase to no more than one inch, rather than adopt the pro's unrestricted "no length" rule.

It remains to be seen what the real outcome of all this will be. However, the USRA Board, with very little resources and manpower, elected to strike a compromise with the manufacturers — and not expend time and energy in opposition and continued enforcement of the 21" rule — IF playing consumers were indeed going to choose the larger frames to compete in qualified sanctioned events. It was decided that the USRA's time would be better spent in continuing to focus on the development and promotion of the sport as a whole.

And those very development and promotion efforts are beginning to show results. According to recently released figures from the Sporting Goods Manufacturer's Association [SGMA], racquetball participation jumped one-half million in 1996, increasing from 6.3 million players to 6.8 million. A separate study by the National Sporting Goods Association [NSGA] also confirmed an 11% increase in their participation numbers. This could be the beginning of the type of growth we've been waiting over a decade for ... and we think the USRA, its' membership and the playing population worldwide is ready.

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