Wilson Racquet Sports recently announced the promotion of Terri Graham to Business Director of the Racquetball and Squash division. Graham, who had been the Marketing Manager for racquetball and squash since 1998, has been working in the industry for 11 years. She began her career with Ektelon in 1989 as Player Promotions Manager where she quickly gained the trust and respect of both the amateur and pro players. In 1994, when Graham left Ektelon to spearhead the new racquetball and squash program at Wilson, many influential players followed.
“Terri has earned this promotion through her years of experience, her invaluable relationships with the key influential people in both sports and her driving desire to always make things better. This is not just Terri’s promotion, it is her reward and well-deserved recognition,” said Graham’s predecessor, Tom Odishoo, Business Director for Pre-Strung rackets.
Graham, an accomplished player in both sports, will now oversee all operations for Wilson Racquetball and Squash. A player since 1980, Graham earned five State Singles titles in her home state of Maine and was then inducted into the Maine Racquetball Hall of Fame in 1997. She was named Illinois Player of the Year this past March, and holds five national doubles titles in racquetball, along with being a three-time squash national skill-level champion.
Ben Simons Tapped
HEAD/Penn Racquet Sports announced its appointment of Ben Simons to the position of Indoor Court Sports Product Manager in November. Simons will be responsible for managing the HEAD Racquetball and Squash Racquet businesses.
A graduate of Ohio State University, Simons joins the company with an extensive background in the racquetball industry. Prior to joining HEAD, Ben was a 10-year open level player, the owner/promoter of a series of racquetball tournaments, Director of Racquetball at the Arizona Athletic Club, and an integral part of the HEAD product play test team.
After a series of interviews in early fall, Simons was tapped for the job and began on November 6, then went directly to Austria for a plant visit and meeting with worldwide sales reps, then flew straight into Memphis to run the Hilton U.S. OPEN event scoreboard. There he was assisted by his new wife of only three weeks, Rocky Rodriguez Simons. In all the rush of the new hire, the couple hadn’t formally honeymooned — so Rocky flew in to assist with the graphic projects.
Scott Winters Returns
Mid-September ended a two-year hiatus for Scott Winters, who returned to Prince as Senior Director of Indoor Court Sports (a position he had held with the company from 1994-1998). Winters will resume responsibilities for all product categories for Prince squash and Ektelon racquetball including grassroots marketing programs, developing all sales programs, orchestrating product introductions, overseeing all aspects of inventory management and identifying new market areas for growth.
Scott will also focus on increasing demo days, free clinics, and other game-growing initiatives. The professional transition will keep him in Phoenix for the time being (where his last position with Head Sports had been based). “We’re also fortunate to have Andy Roberts in a key role” said Winters “He’s going to be a big part of building our new team.”
by Maria Kirkpatrick
The development of internet services positions the USRA as the technological leader in the sport, and Active.com’s tools will help event directors manage events online and will enhance the visibility of racquetball nationwide. As the official provider of online registration, Active.com also promises to reduce the paper workload for racquetball coaches and league administrators. Plans are underway to unveil the full service suite to state directors and volunteers at the USRA’s annual Leadership Conference in January.
An online racquetball store will also allow players to shop as they read the latest racquetball news and find out where to compete. Official merchandise will include t-shirts, sweats, ball caps and other active wear for the player, who will be able to access the storefront direct from www.usra.org. The arrangement will offer enthusiasts the convenience of online shopping, along with the opportunity to support the national governing body of their sport with their purchases.
“We want to be the one-stop shop online for racquetball enthusiasts,” said Dave Alberga, president and chief executive officer, Active.com. “Our partnership with U.S. Racquetball will aid growth and public awareness of the sport.”
Benefits for players
In development and planned for release in 2001 will be sanctioned event listings and online membership signups, league and team administration, game and tournament scheduling and online results reporting. Also in the planning stages are “active trainers” that customize a training program to aid a participant in preparation of an upcoming event, community features that encourage players to create online clubs and participate in online chats, and message boards for players to post questions and interact with other online athletes.
Benefits for administrators
“The new technology we are bringing to the sport of racquetball will not only increase its visibility and popularity, it will decrease the amount of work required by instructors, coaches and event directors,” Alberga said.
Included in the tools for coaches will be: online league and team registration; practice, game and tournament scheduling; venue management; officials scheduling; broadcast e-mail tools, message boards for leagues and teams; online results reporting; team and individual statistics tracking.
For tournament directors, online sign-ups streamline the event registration process by reducing the amount of physical paperwork and providing a single, detailed report of entrants. Plus Active.com’s secure server processes credit card payments quickly and provides a printable confirmation report. Additional services will also include: Event management tools that generate detailed reports and statistics, plus download features for tracking results, event history and the ability to print or e-mail data.
Communication tools enhance contact between coaches and players while saving time. Message boards and e-mail enable directed correspondence with a single participant, group or entire database. Active.com’s wide distribution network means that events will be publicized to thousands of people. There are more than 300,000 members registered on the Active.com website, with an estimated 800,000 users each. An estimated 4 million page views per month also means increased sponsorship exposure.
How to use Active for Online Registrations
It’s easy to register for USRA events online and Active.com representatives are available to assist users with any aspect of the website and its services. National championships are linked direct from the “marquee event” section of www.usra.org or you can visit www.active.com, select racquetball from the “Sports You Do” listing and choose your event. Detailed information will be displayed and a register online link is located at the bottom of the page. Then follow the simple registration steps, and a registration confirmation is sent out immediately. For more information on Active.com, call 888.309.1322.
Top | Table of Contents | Racquetball Online | USRA
© United States Racquetball Association
All Rights Reserved