July 20, 2022 Board Update
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by USA Racquetball
Board of Directors Update -- Serving Up the News -- July 2022
THAT’S A WRAP!
For the USA Racquetball 2021-22 season indoor National Championships, that is. With National High School, Intercollegiate, Doubles & Singles, and Junior Championships complete, we turn our attention to the Grand Slam of the USA Racquetball Championship list, the 26th US OPEN in Minneapolis (September 28 – October 2).
And on either side of the US OPEN, more excitement can be found within the World Outdoor Racquetball events. First, the 2022 Team Root Outdoor Nationals presented by ProKennex in Huntington Beach, California (already completed at the time of publication) and then the KWM Gutterman 2022 3WallBall World Championships at The STRAT in Las Vegas (October 26 - 30).
Also at the time of printing, the racquetball portion of the 2022 World Games will have completed. From the World Games website (https://twg2022.com/thegames/). The World Games was an amazing opportunity to host it on our home soil and to be able to work with the organizing committee to have all Racquetball matches played on the stadium court we have all come to love at the US OPEN. The top 32 players from around the world (16 men and 16 women) qualified last December to compete in this event, with Rhonda Rajsich, Kelani Lawrence, Alex Landa and Jake Bredenbeck representing the United States. This event recap can be found in the July issue of Serving Up the News (https://go.teamusa.org/3v3tNgu).
After two years of perpetual delays and cancellations, this year it’s been a full championship slate for USA Racquetball: three international Adult competitions (one here in the U.S.), and one international Junior competition. The Board and staff have been working hard to keep up with the seemingly 0-60 acceleration we experienced. We hope you have felt the same acceleration on the local level as membership and local events are the engines that help drive USAR and the sport.
If you are interested in learning how to be a tournament director or a certified instructor (both of which help build the community), reach out to Executive Director Mike Wedel (mwedel@usaracquetball.com) or Board President Stewart Solomon (president@usaracquetball.com), and we’ll make sure to get you the information you need.
Has your membership expired or is it due to expire before the end of the year? Please don’t wait to renew. Go online any time this summer...avoid having to add a membership fee to your next tournament entry fee...and make this investment in the sport we all love!
MEETING HIGHLIGHTS -- USA Racquetball Board of Directors – June 27, 2022
All twelve Board members were in attendance via Zoom for the first meeting of the newly seated team.
Following are some points of interest:
Executive Director Update (Mike Wedel)
- The USOPC approved USA Racquetball’s certification and we remain an NGB in good standing. (Note: The June 2022 BOD Update in Serving Up the News described the direct financial support as well as value-in-kind provisions for athletes and the association that are received by being an NGB).
- Membership numbers remain flat -- Mike asked for a call to action since expired membership renewals as well as gaining new members could have a significant positive financial impact for USA Racquetball and consequently the services we provide.
- A review of the National Events calendar including the 2022 Team Root Outdoor Nationals presented by Pro Kennex; the US OPEN; and the KWM Gutterman 2022 3WallBall World Championships. (Dates and locations above.)
- Referee and Instructor Program Testing Upgrade: A new stand-alone platform website continues under construction.
A large portion of the Executive Director update involved detailed discussion around the US OPEN – actions to be completed and the need for volunteers to assist with those actions. Regularly scheduled meetings are taking place to tackle the tasks at hand.
BUDGET/FINANCE COMMITTEE UPDATE (Steve Czarnecki)
Profit and loss during the month of May was generally as expected. Cash on hand at the end of May remained more than $100,000 less than budgeted following lower than expected membership, sanction fee, and championship revenue through the first five months of the year. May membership revenue was on budget. Going forward the focus remains on driving sponsorship, membership, and donation revenues.
COMMITTEE UPDATES (Terry Rogers)
Terry presented the listing of committees and their member rosters. Committees are where a lot of the work for USA Racquetball is performed. The committees make recommendations to the Board of Directors for review and approval, and they are sometimes charged by the Board to work on specific tasks. In this meeting, Board members Charlie Pratt and Todd Boss volunteered to join the Membership Committee.
Updated committee listings for 2022-23 will soon be posted to the USA Racquetball website.
Next Meeting: Monday, July 25, 2022
--ADJOURNED--
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We hope you are finding this newsletter feature informative, and we always welcome suggestions and/or questions to include in future updates. Please contact Stewart Solomon (President) at president@usaracquetball.com.
If you have questions about the Staff’s activities, please contact Mike Wedel at mwedel@usaracquetball.com.
Stay safe and healthy, everyone!
