USRA RACQUETBALL “SUMMIT IN THE ROCKIES”

Cheyenne Mountain Resort

Colorado Springs, CO

Friday, Sept. 5th

Founding Members

• Doug Ganim - HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports

• Ron Grimes - E-Force

• Terri Graham - Wilson Racquet Sports

• Mike Martinez - Pro Kennex

• Scott Winters - Ektelon

Evolution of the RMC

• During the mid to late 1990’s SGMA funded and managed a Racquet Sports Committee made up of members from the racquet sports industry

• Funding was derived from SuperShow and distributed from grants received for Racquetball, Squash, Badminton and Table Tennis.

•Our SGMA funding was terminated at the U.S. OPEN in 1998.

Evolution of the RMC(cont.)

• Founding members met at the U.S. OPEN in 2000 to form the RMA. A completely independent group of concerned members of the racquetball industry.• The RMA was formed as a non-profit organization, by the major racquetball companies with an interest in growing the sport of racquetball.• We assessed ourselves an annual membership fee which would allow us to realize an amount of funding similar or greater than what we had received from the SGMA.• Assessments were made based on estimated market shares for each company.

Mission Statement“Dedicated to growing the sport of racquetball”

Re-Organization

• After one year of operation as the RMA, we realized that

the SGMA could provide valuable resources to our group.

• In January 2001, we re-organized under the SGMA umbrella.

• We re-named ourselves the Racquetball Manufacturers Council

and officially became a Committee of SGMA International.

• Our finances are administered by the SGMA, American Sports

Education Institute (ASEI), with funds designated to the

“Grow Racquetball Fund”

• The RMC operates under the By-Laws of SGMA International.

Membership Structure

Executive Committee (voting) - Consists of original founding members carrying one vote each. Criteria includes -•Current member of SGMA International.• Required to pay an minimum annual assessment fee of $6,000.• Must develop and market racquetball racquets, bags and gloves.• Annual sales of racquetball products must exceed $1,000,000.• Must be in business a minimum of 3 years.

Patron Member (non-voting)- Includes any company or organization receiving revenues from the sport of racquetball. An assessment fee determined by the Executive Committee, notto exceed $5,000. Contributor (non-voting) - Shall include any individual or organization that makes a contribution, minimum of $100 to the Grow Racquetball Fund.

Membership Campaign• The RMC will be mounting an extensive campaign to

solicit fees and contributions to the Grow Racquetball Fund

from prospective companies, organizations and individuals

especially including:

• All manufacturers

• Retailers

• Vendors

• All RMC members will be asked to join for a minimum

of two years.

What has been done so far?

• International Racquetball Federation (IRF) $10,000 -Funds were used to assist several countries to attend and upgrade the tournament venue to attract and impress IOC officials.

•AMPRO/IPRO $4,000 - Administrative cost funding.2002 Courses Held - 302002 Students - 1602002 USRA Memberships - 600

• IHRSA $3,500+ - Used to pay for booth space at the 2003 IHRSA Convention so racquetball would have a presence in front of club owners.

What has been done so far?

• Product support for 2003 St. Louis Juniors Program Grant

•2003 grant awarded to the the USRA to financially assist withthe hiring of a full time Director of Marketing -$10,000

•Approval of $1,250 grant to support the USRA Racquetball“Summit in the Rockies”.

•Formal industry grant program was established for the futureSupport of quality “grow the game” initiatives.

•STAY TUNED!!

What has been done so far?

• RMC met for a strategic planning meeting in January of 2003to develop future RMC driven initiatives to help grow the game.

•Dozens of potential projects were discussed at length with thelist narrowed to six programs. The RMC is currently conducting feasibility studies on these programs to determine funding needs and likely benefits. Programs will then be rankedin terms of a cost/benefit analysis and feasibility index.

•The RMC will begin implementing the highest rated programsin January, 2004.

Project List

• List of projects currently being considered for execution are:

-development of www.playracquetball.org website featuring complete database of all clubs in the U.S., opportunities for new players to receive free trial memberships, free racquetball lessons, and free electronic membership in the USRA. All other RMC initiatives will be promoted on this site as well.

Project List-Re-development of the Racquetball Programmer’s manual. Digital version (CD) will be distributed free of charge to all clubs in the U.S. Further, a website based version of the manual will be created so new programs can be added on a regular basis. Further, a live forum will be built in to the site for club owners to share ideas with each other on successful racquetball programs.

-Commission a high level profitability study on the sportof racquetball at the club level. Aggressively promote the positive results to club owners throughout the U.S.

Project List-Conduct a test program with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Colorado with a goal of introducing a minimum of 500 new kids to the sport of racquetball, as well as their mentors.

-Execute a major media event in two different marketscentered on the theme of PLAY RACQUETBALL AMERICA! Radio, TV, and newspaper advertising as well as a major PR campaign would be utilized to tout the benefits of playing racquetball. Free lessons, freeloaner equipment, and free trial memberships at area clubs would be given away with a goal of bringing in aminimum of 1,000 new players in each market.

Project List

-Form a partnership with a national television networkwith the goal of bringing an entire season of weeklyracquetball shows (pro level competition) to the U.Sgeneral population. In addition, develop a correspondingTV ad campaign touting all the benefits of playingthe sport of racquetball (easy to learn, great exercise, inexpensive, and TONS OF FUN!)

What has been done so far?RMC PROJECT COORDINATOR Position

The decision was made to fund a part-time RMCProject Coordinator position to assist the RMC with the development and implementation of all programs

A national search was conducted by the RMC ExecutiveCommittee to identify the best potential candidates.

In June of 2003 the RMC hired Dave George, fromDaly City, CA, to fill the position of Project Coordinator.

In recent months it became quite clear that our aggressiveplans for the sport of racquetball would require someextensive administrative efforts from the RMC.

What has been done so far?

Meet Dave George•Earned a B.A. Physical Education from Cal. State Univ.,1977•Over 20 years as a Club Manager and Racquetball Director•Former President of the California Racquetball Association•Former top ranked age division player (1992 IRF 40+ champ)•AmPRO Certified National Clinician•Returned to racquetball full time two years ago after

four years of teaching experience as a USPTA certified tennis instructor.

•Currently the Director of Operations and Racquetball Director at What a Racquet Athletic Club in Daly City, CA.

What has been done so far?

Dave George will serve as the primary liaison between theRMC and the rest of industry.

•Contact Information:

Dave George, RMC Project Coordinator2526 Sherwood DriveSan Bruno, CA 940661-888-559-0099

Meet Dave George

RMC Industry Grant Program

Outside Grant Requests -

• Grant proposals will be considered from individuals and

organizations seeking funds to support programs to grow

the sport of racquetball.

• Grant requests must be received by May 15th of each year, for

funding for the following season. All grants will be evaluated

at the RMC’s annual meeting in Houston (Nationals).

• Total annual grant funding shall not exceed $10,000 or 20%

of the total annual RMC budget, whichever is higher.