The Plan for 2023

A Holiday Message from USA Racquetball

Greetings and Happy Holidays from USA Racquetball.

We continue to devote our time and energy to climbing out of our financial situation. We are making progress, but we haven’t achieved the goal of completely eliminating our accounts payable. We need $50,000 of additional support from the racquetball community. I personally put in $5,000, as promised, with the Angel Donor Program (still open).

Why should you contribute? At the end of this letter is our value infographic, which explains why in great detail. Do you think racquetball as a sport would be better off without USA Racquetball? Don’t we want a U.S. National Team – both adults and juniors – to compete at World Championships? Don’t we want national events, three of which focus on the next generation of players (high school, collegiates, and juniors)? Don’t we want an R2 Tournament Management System? I hear, “Let it go bankrupt and we can start over.” And do what, build the same type of organization?

Help us fix this one.

We hear that USA Racquetball needs “a plan.” In short, our plan is this:

1. Get on a solid financial footing. Everything grander and visionary is on hold until this is done. (BTW, I’m not a fan of the word “visionary.” In my opinion, being “visionary” means you have no concrete, actionable, real things to accomplish.) “The plan” is to be solvent by March 2023.
2. Host the first four National Events of 2023 – Singles/Doubles in February, High Schools and Collegiates in March, and Juniors in June – profitably and professionally. Advance planning and preparation are underway. Now we need YOU, the racquetball community, to support these tournaments. Come play, bring your friends, promote events in your area.
3. Work on the next US OPEN. There are timing issues with 3-Wall and the Pan American Games (Santiago 2023). We must also have sponsorship revenue to hold the event. We will not have a repeat of the financial performance of the 2022 US OPEN.
4. Reach out to our members and to the overall racquetball community. We are in the process of calling all members who have recently let their memberships lapse or who are soon to expire. We hope you notice the extent we are engaging with the racquetball community and listening to your opinions, suggestions, and yes, occasional criticisms.
5. Fix the Player’s Health/SafeSport integration. We are all exasperated here. This is being addressed as quickly as possible with multiple organizations and individuals involved.
6. Work with tournament directors to bring more events and more players. We’re working to improve the process. Let us know if you need advice or help.
7. Outdoor. I am extremely supportive of the Outdoor community. I play outdoor from April through October at courts two miles from my house. We need to integrate Outdoor racquetball better within USA Racquetball. The plan here is to devise a better plan. We need to help Mike Coulter, Michelle De La Rosa, Darold Key, and other leaders of Outdoor.

Okay, many of you want a grander plan. What I’ve given you is an action plan that can be achieved, measured, and verified. The Board of Directors went through a great strategic planning initiative last year, but execution of strategies requires financial health. There are no buzzwords, no pie-in-the-sky promises that sound great but can’t be attained until the above items are accomplished. You don’t want buzzwords; you want straight talk. So do I.

Call me at 972-849-0212 or email me at mgrisz@aol.com. I’ll listen, we’ll all listen. We want the organization and racquetball to grow. Ask how you can help. Join a committee. More than anything, get out and play, join a league (or start one), play in a tournament, locally and/or nationally.

Finally, again, Happy Holidays. I’m here because I love the sport. We, USA Racquetball, need your help. 

Mike Grisz
Executive Director