September -
October 1997
Vol. 8, No. 5

CHANGING TIMES
by Luke St. Onge

I am most pleased to inform you of the decision by Penn Racquet Sports and the USRA to extend their partnership into the next century. With the recent signing of a renewal contract, Penn will remain the "official ball of the USRA" through the year 2002.

It's eye-opening to realize that this contract will carry us into the new millenium — and just as interesting to note that Penn and the USRA have maintained an uninterrupted working relationship since the early 1980's, through good times and bad.

Under the direction of president Gregg Weida, Penn played a pivotal role in the development and implementation of the Racquetball Industry Initiative which stabilized our sport and produced substantial growth in 1996. Unlike other companies in their position — holding a major share of a given market, in both brand and private labels — Penn has not been content to pull back, collect their profits and simply ride out the market. Instead, Penn has continued to support grassroots development by underwriting hundreds of sanctioned events and special programs — year in and year out.

Now one of the major components of our agreement with Penn is to develop an on-going, joint promotional effort on behalf of RACQUETBALL which will introduce the magazine to millions of recreational players. We feel that our publication is ready for the mainstream, through sales promotions, online offers, packaging initiatives and the type of top-notch marketing Penn is known for.

The USRA and Penn have long been aware of the importance of establishing promotional opportunities which bring the industry, club owners and organizations closer together. It is in this spirit that we look forward to yet another opportunity to experience an exciting time for our sport with such a reliable partner.

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