Racquetball: July-August 2001 RB:Global

	July - August 2001 Vol. 12, No. 4 \| Contents
	RB: Global IRF Revises Eligibility Rule; Canadian National Championships; World Senior donation; Interview with Keith Calkins.
IRF Revises Eligibility Rule	In executive session at the recent Tournament of the Americas in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the International Racquetball Federation [IRF] modified its policy governing athlete eligibility for international competition. In that meeting, the Executive Board voted to eliminate its former reporting procedure and set a $50,000 annual earnings limit for players worldwide. The new earnings cap will enable athletes with income from the pro circuit to compete for their respective national federations, without expense monitoring, as long as those tour earnings do not exceed the $50,000 level. Athletes exceeding the cap would be required to report those earnings to their national federations, and comply with each individual NGB’s policies and procedures governing travel and training expenses applied against income. The move is designed to align International Racquetball Federation policies more closely with other International Olympic Committee [IOC] sports that are already included in the Olympic Games. Should racquetball be accepted for a future Games, the very highest level of competition would be expected from athletes selected for all national teams fielded, and this action paves the way toward that end. The international field of competition has gained depth in recent years, and it had become increasingly difficult to monitor compliance with expense reporting outside the U.S. By creating an “open” field for the world’s best racquetball athletes, the IRF hopes to be totally prepared for the possibility of being granted the privilege of a spot on the 2008 Olympic Games programme.
One Quarter Million and Counting	At a recent meeting of the World Senior Racquetball Championships [WSRC] organizing committee, a symbolic “big check” in the amount of $250,000.00 was presented to the International Racquetball Federation. The total represents the 15-year collaborative fundraising effort of the group, which supports the inclusion of racquetball on an Olympic Games program. “Olympic Dream” fundraising at the event began in 1985 and remains a popular and successful program at the IRF World Championships held in Albuquerque each summer. IRF Director of Fundraising, Kevin Joyce, was on hand to accept the donation, along with WSRC committee members (l-r): Felicia Duran, Jane Bentley, Edwina Waddington, Damien Jelso, [Joyce], Joe Gellman, Carol Gellman, Linda Payne, Paula Sperling and Ralph Waddington.
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