Dr. H. & the Women

Interview with Dr. Jim Hiser

Dr. Jim Hiser does have a Ph.D — in microbiology — but his vitae as a pro tour promoter is just as hard-earned. He headed the Men’s Professional tour at the height of of the sport’s popularity in the 80s, and developed a long-running “super series” of events in Michigan before moving to Colorado Springs to work at the national office over a decade ago. So did the idea of re-vitalizing the struggling women’s pro tour present enough of a challenge to the USRA administrator? 
You bet. 

Why did the USRA decide to take on the management of the women’s professional tour? The USRA recognizes that women’s racquetball has been in decline across the board – and that from a U.S. Team perspective, we need to aid in the development of team prospects from up-and-coming juniors all the way up the ranks, including the pro tour. Women are integral to the strength of the team and they need more opportunities to keep their games in top form. Last year there were only two stops — other than the premiere U.S. OPEN and the Pro National events — for women.

Beyond that, I believe that a strong, stabilized pro tour is needed to re-establish interest in women’s racquetball on the whole. If you look at tennis and golf, their recent growth has been a direct result of a revitalized professional tour — plus dynamic young stars like the Williams sisters and Tiger Woods who add personality and star appeal. To get the women’s tour on a fast track, there needed to be an immediate investment of personnel and finances, and the USRA was the only entity able to make that commitment at this time.

What is the long-range goal of the USRA for women’s professional racquetball? Ideally, the USRA would like to build the tour to a 10-14 stop circuit, with the hope of attracting a national sponsor within the next three years. Establishing the tour will not be a problem, since we have nine events contracted for this season already. I am confident that, by the end of this season (June), we will be able to announce a solid tour of 12 events for the year 2001-2002 (four events are already confirmed). After three years, if the tour is stabilized, we would like an independent promoter, like Ed Willis, to acquire the tour and continue its growth.

The tour will be implementing a new ranking and scoring system – why? I look at women’s racquetball as a bankrupt organization. I believe that throwing money at the problem — with everything else remaining the same – won’t help. There needs to be something different about the game so fans will want to see women’s racquetball. Call it a gimmick or whatever you want, but we need to get people into the club to see the women compete. Women’s racquetball can be very exciting but, to be honest, at this point in time there is a tremendous gap in skill level between the top four or five women and the remaining 25-30 players. The new scoring system will allow each player to have equal serving opportunities which, hopefully, will improve their serving chances. I believe the new format will improve the quality of play by forcing the players to develop better all-around games. Of course, this won’t happen overnight, but if young girls feel they have a chance, for whatever reason, maybe they will give the game a chance as they move into adulthood.

What else will you do to make the women’s game exciting? I have numerous ideas, but to begin with the women will be treated as professionals. They will be given professional introductions at events, be guaranteed prize money and tournament benefits and be showcased in print as professional athletes. The magazine will be very important in developing the new image of the female athlete. We will be developing a women’s poster, having clinics at each event, speaking to schools and community service groups and basically exposing the women as real professional athletes.

Each event will be a total interaction between the women and the spectators. The women have to work hard to attract new players and recruit former players back to the game.

Seated, front (l-r): Jim Hiser & Ed Willis
Standing (l-r): Lisa Hjelm, Kersten Hallander, Maria Silva, 
Rhonda Rajsich, Michelle Lucas, Laura Fenton, Janet Myers, 
Jackie Paraiso, Ramona Vonondarza.