Club Insider Articles – Third in a Series

Club Insider Articles – Third in a Series

Several years ago, a group called Future of Racquetball (the predecessor of the current Growing the Sport Advisory Group) created a series of six articles for publication in a long-standing newsletter produced by Justin Cates called Club Insider.

This series, written during the COVID time period, was a collaboration between the 20x40 Alliance entities (USA Racquetball and the U.S. Handball Association), two sport governing bodies with a common mission: to save courts. Club Insider content is positioned for facility owners and managers, so this was an approach to communicate with decision-makers who can keep courts intact for our sports as well as for perhaps other activities as well.

The 20x40 Alliance continues to partner to this very day. All six Club Insider articles can be found on usaracquetball.com under Save Courts.

Here’s the third one...for your reflection and action.

GRATITUDE...BELONGING...INSPIRATION
Our “Third Place”

When club leaders support organized court programming, they also seize the opportunity to use their courts as a competitive advantage in creating a “third place” culture* at their club, i.e., a place beyond home and work that feels like Cheers (where everybody knows your name!).

* Celebrating the Third Place - Inspiring Stories about the “Great Good Places” at the Heart of Our Communities, by Ray Oldenburg

This article seeks to remind club owners and managers how grateful we are that you make racquetball and handball (etc.) possible. Lives are enhanced at your club every day, year after year. 

Each of our organizations reached out to players to ask for their thoughts on their “third place,” the clubs where they have been members for many years. We received more responses than this article could accommodate, and we will be sure to include them all in their entirety on our websites!

RACQUETBALL

Kevin Sendrey, Texas

LA Fitness, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (16 years)

“I spend 5-6 days a week at LA Fitness where I enjoy hanging out with my second family: the racquetball crew! My son has also found the love of racquetball and plays up there with us every day.  I literally don’t know what I would do with my evenings without the courts!”

Barry Dixon

Glass Court, Lombard, IL (25 years)

“My time as a member at Glass Court has been filled with countless fond memories. I have created lasting friendships, I have caught up with old friends from my college days, and I continue to create new friendships each and every day. One of the best parts of my memories is that three generations of my family (including my dad, my son, and me) have played racquetball at Glass Court.”
Amy Pivovar

Genesis, Omaha, NE (6 years)

“There is really no end to friendship opportunities. When I returned to racquetball in 2015, I was re-introduced to many of the old players, and I soon weaseled my way into the group that I am in now. Racquetball is just one of those sports where it’s so inclusive of everyone. I can’t imagine not playing...ever!”

David Stob

Olympic Athletic Club, Seattle, WA (17 years)

“Racquetball is my ‘third place’ and has been since 1982. In my little two-court club, there are at least five distinct pods of players that treat the club as their ‘third place.’ I call them the Senior/Masters group, the Technology Workers, the Professional Women, the Young Families, and the Diehards. The reason these players choose one facility over another is because of social groups. Just like a Zumba® class creates relationships, so does racquetball.”

Doug Jenkins

Sportsclub, Greenville, SC (20 years)

“Racquetball has been in my life for over 40 years now, something I love to do as much today as back when I started. As long as the club has courts, you can count on me to be a member.”

HANDBALL

Thomas H. Byer

Los Caballeros Racquet and Sport, Fountain Valley, CA (13 years)

“I stopped playing handball in 1985 when courts were eliminated where I lived. Years later, I returned to handball and play 3-4 times a week. In those years away from handball, my health deteriorated with weight gain and more. I need this game in my life.”

Ashley Moler

Tucson Racquet Club, Tucson, AZ (12 years)

“The Tucson Racquet Club has really been an integral part of our family. I became a member in 2009 and have met some of my lifelong friends there who I now consider my family. We are very lucky to have the Tucson Racquet Club and look forward to many more years and memories made there.”

Gary Cruz

Los Caballeros, Fountain Valley, CA (35 years), and Los Angeles Athletic Club, Los Angeles, CA (14 years)

“Since handball is a lifetime sport, I gravitated to health clubs that had courts. With those courts came a connection to a community of similar people. I’ve maintained a health club membership all my life and it not surprising that as a result I maintained friendships with all the other players who have been members for just as long. We owe a debt of gratitude to the health clubs that have helped us sustain a healthy lifestyle and sense of community for so many years.”

CONCLUSION

How can we reach a place where clubs realize how much their members appreciate what they bring...where the members are inspired to devote some time to helping the clubs be more successful...where the “third place” that the clubs provide becomes something very special in the equation of profitability...and where retaining long-term members as well as gaining new members is achieved via the warm atmosphere of friendship and acceptance fostered by the clubs and sustained via the “third place” family?

These aren’t easy times, and we all need each other more than ever. Club owners/managers...players...members...please reach out to each other to see what assistance can be arranged. It will look a little different everywhere, and we would love to hear about your successes!

Returning Members + New Members = Increased Profit = Keeping Courts = Win/Win!

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Please visit https://www.usaracquetball.com/about/strategies-for-saving-courts/saving-courts-navigation/programming for court programming resources and materials.