What's my Ranking?

One of the many benefits of competing in USRA sanctioned events is the potential for earning state and national ranking points that add up to give you good seeding position in future events, and identify you as being among the top players in your field. With a really good season, you might even find yourself listed in the “National Top Ten” published in RACQUETBALL Magazine.

Reaching the quarterfinal round, or higher, in a sanctioned event earns you points toward a season record that is maintained over a trailing twelve month period. Points accumulate for one year, and are automatically deleted in the thirteenth month. For example, points earned in February of one year will drop from your record in March of the following year.

If you compete in sanctioned events regularly, you can quickly accumulate points that will steadily move you up in the state and national rankings. On the other hand, you can compete less often but still earn big points by finishing well in higher level regional and national events. Refer to the table below to see the value of your wins at different event levels.

So you’ve done well — now what happens? It’s the responsibility of the tournament director to document your win before points can be credited to your season record. This is done when official results are received in the national office containing the full, correct name of each quarterfinalist. At the moment, no registered psychics are on staff in the national office, so only legible, official written results are accepted.

Mis-spelled or abbreviated names often end up splitting a season record instead of adding up to a high ranking position. For example, it’s possible to have 250 points divided into five open tournaments wins (at 50 points apiece) for Allan, Allen, Alan, Alain and A. Player!

If you think your season record is short some points, first check with the tournament director to confirm that the official results have been sent in to the national office. Then cross-check your own records, list your recent wins, and call the national office at 719/635-5396 to find out your position and point total.

What's My Seeding?

While ranking points and seeding positions are interrelated, they are not one and the same. Seeding is done using ranking information, and is meant to insure the best draw possible.

It’s just not fair to have the two best players in a division play each other in the first round. (In a round of 16, the first match should be #1 vs. #16, as shown at left). Once it is determined who the top two players are, they should be placed far enough apart in the draw (top & bottom) to guarantee that, barring any upsets, they will face each other in the finals, and not before. After all, the final is meant to be the most exciting match of the tournament ... between the best players.

In preparing a draw, it is important to consider as much background information about the players as possible. Most events are seeded according to a set of criteria that include a player’s results in the previous year’s event (if it is ongoing), any recent results, state and national ranking points and “common sense.”

Common sense includes — what to do when a player changes age brackets during the year; players who compete on the pro tour while maintaining their amateur status; former pros; personal knowledge of the players (do they play lots of tournaments to earn points, but rarely win?) — plus many other variables.

For example, the top ranked player in your area may not automatically retain the #1 seed position when you consider the last-minute entry of a four-time national champion from out of town. It’s all relative.

While tournament directors and seeding committees rarely manage to please all of the people all of the time, many use these standard guidelines to guarantee a fair draw.

What's my Rating?

Ratings reflect levels of ability, and differ from rankings and seedings. The following is a general guide for categorizing play. However, differentials by region (some areas have higher levels of competition than others) are taken into account when setting a field for national competition.

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