The USA Racquetball Hall of Fame recognizes and honors those athletes and contributors who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in competition or in the development, leadership, and advancement of the sport. The award is based upon an extended period of consistent excellence in one or more of the following areas:

COMPETITOR - Nominee, as an amateur or professional player, must have impacted the sport through: competitive excellence, sportsmanship and fair play.

CONTRIBUTOR - Nominee must have made significant and noteworthy contributions, producing positive and lasting effects that have helped advance the sport on a National Level.

Nominations for the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame are due no later than September 15th of each year, and may be made by a USAR member in good standing. Nominees are not required to be USAR members or citizens of the United States. Candidates may be nominated for up to three times in a five-year period, but then must wait at least five years from the last nomination before being nominated for the same category.

Before submitting a nomination, please review the following detailed guidelines and criteria, and then submit the Nominee’s resume with a single page summary cover letter that accurately summarizes the resume. 

If documentation is available in a digital format, you may deliver by email to both: communications@usaracquetball.com

Alternatively, you can deliver hardcopy documents by US Mail to:

Racquetball Hall of Fame
ATTN: USA Racquetball
1661 Mesa Ave.
Colorado Springs, CO 80906

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION CRITERIA ACHIEVEMENT DOES NOT GUARANTEE HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

Nominees must be forty years old as of May 1st of the year following their nomination. Any age requirement, or waiting period, may be removed by approval of the Hall of Fame Committee and the USA Racquetball Board of Directors. USA Racquetball Board and Staff members are not eligible for nomination until three (3) years after their term has expired or three (3) years following last employment respectively. After leaving Board service, Athlete Representatives are eligible without a waiting period if nominated in the Competitor categories.

Induction into USA Racquetball’s Hall of Fame is based on an individual meeting the criteria outlined below for the category under consideration, however, once the criteria are met in any category, the nominee’s entire racquetball-related resume/career will be reviewed.

Nomination & Recognition Timeline

HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CATEGORIES

1. CONTRIBUTOR (Nomination Form)

A Nominee must have been involved in racquetball for a minimum of ten (10) years and must have made significant and noteworthy contributions, producing a positive and lasting impact that advanced the sport on a National Level.

In addition to the above requirements, it is noted that a local monetary contribution is not a path for induction into the HOF contribution category.  However, where a person makes a monetary contribution that affects racquetball on a nationwide basis may be considered for induction.  An example of a positive contribution would be the development and donation of the portable racquetball court that brings the entire community together for the advancement of the sport.  Local donations to an event, that may be great for a single event even for years, are not considered to affect the sport on a national level.

2. PROFESSIONAL PLAYER (Nomination Form)

A competitor may be nominated after being retired from professional tour play for three (3) years. Retirement is defined as having competed in no more than four professional tour events per year for the three (3) years prior to the nomination deadline.

Nominee must have achieved at least two (2) of the following:

• Won US Open Championships
• Won at least seven (7) top-level Professional Tour Tournament Titles
• Attained the Number One Season-Ending Pro Tour Ranking
• Attained a Top Four (4) Season-Ending Pro Tour Ranking for a minimum of five (5) years
• Attained a Top Ten (10) Season-Ending Pro Tour Ranking for a minimum of ten (10) years

A Player who competed in Amateur events may also be considered as a Professional Player; however, his Professional competitive resume will take precedence over Amateur event results.

3. AMATEUR OPEN PLAYER (Nomination Form)

Nominees must have exhibited outstanding performance at National Level Tournaments, in either singles or doubles, over an extended period of time.

Nominee must have won at least five (5) Open Singles or Doubles Division Titles or a combination of seven (7) Singles and Doubles Titles at a National or International Level Tournaments considered will include but not limited to:

• US Open Championships
• USA Racquetball National Singles Championships
• USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
• IRF World Championships
• Pan Am Racquetball Championships (PARC)
• Pan Am Games
• Consideration will be given to the number of entrants, and the quality of the competition in assessing performance

A player who competed in amateur events may also be considered as a Professional Player; however, their Professional competitive resume will take precedence over amateur event results.

4. AMATEUR AGE PLAYER (Nomination Form)

Nominees must have exhibited outstanding performance at National Level Tournaments, in either singles or doubles, over an extended time period, in age groups 40s and older

Nominees must have won at least ten (10) age group Open Division Titles in singles OR ten (10) age group Open Division titles in doubles or sixteen (16) Age Group Open Division titles in both singles and doubles.

• Tournaments considered will include but not limited to:
  • US Open Championships
  • USA Racquetball National Singles Championships
  • USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships
  • Consideration will be given to the number of entrants, and the quality of the competition in assessing performance
  • A player who competed in Professional Tour events may also be considered as an Amateur Player, however, their Amateur competitive resume will take precedence over professional event results.

5. OUTDOOR PLAYER

Nominee must have exhibited outstanding performance at the National Level in either singles or doubles over an extended period of time.

Nominee must have achieved at least two (2) of the following:

• Won at least seven (7) Open-level Tournaments
• Attained Top Four (4) Pro Ranking at the end of the calendar year for a minimum of five (5) years
• Won at least three (3) different age group National Titles (40s and over) for a minimum of three (3) years
• Tournaments considered will include, but not be limited to:
  • The WOR World Outdoor Championships
  • USAR/WOR-designated “National Level Championships”
  • Consideration will be given to the number of entrants, and the quality of the competition in assessing performance

6. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Racquetball Lifetime Award recognizes an individual who, over a career of many years has demonstrated exemplary achievement in areas of contribution to the sport of Racquetball.  This passion can extend to various areas that include, service work, teaching, coaching, education, writing, development work, referring, tournaments directors and state directors among others. 

This award may include individuals that have been employed within the Racquetball industry or in a combination within the sport and/or volunteering. This achievement must be outstanding in nature and have had a profound effect on fellow racquetball players.  These works can be on a local level, regional, national or a combination of all levels. 

These rare individuals, who have contributed and demonstrated for a minimum of 35 years, bring a special achievement to the sport of racquetball.We would like to honor these individuals with the Racquetball Lifetime Achievement award.The sport of racquetball is fortunate to have such outstanding people among our ranks. 

Nomination Criteria:

The nominee must have been involved with the sport of Racquetball for a minimum of 35 years. 

Hall of Fame members are not eligible to be nominated for this award. 

An individual who has received a Lifetime Achievement Award may be nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame.

The Lifetime Achievement Award will only be presented to one individual each year.  It is possible the award may not be presented each year, depending on the nominations.

HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE

The Hall of Fame (HOF) Committee is comprised of current USAR members selected by the USAR Board of Directors in collaboration with the HOF Committee Chairman, who is in turn appointed by the USAR Board. To prevent tie votes, an odd number of total reviewers, seven or more including Chair, are selected. The Committee shall oversee preliminary nominations, and compilation of support documentation for each qualified candidate. After nominations have been submitted, the Chairperson will contact each nominee, or person who made nomination, to request additional information necessary to verify individual achievements.  The Chairperson will provide materials to the HOF Committee for review. Completed selection materials, along with HOF Committee recommendation, are then referred to Voting Group. No more than three candidates will be forwarded annually to Voting Group. For extremely rare situations and circumstances, the HOF Committee reserves the right to make an exception to any policy in these Nomination Procedures.

A Twenty-Three Member Voting Group is appointed, and approved by USAR Board of Directors for three-year terms. Members must be at least thirty years old, and have extensive knowledge of the sport and its history. Both geographic and gender diversity are respected when selecting these voting members. The HOF Committee Chair shares responsibility with USAR Board for ensuring positions are filled, and that Voting Group receives all information necessary to conduct a fair and equitable review and vote. A HOF Voting Group Member, who is on HOF Ballot, is NOT ELIGIBLE to vote that year.

FORMS FOR DOWNLOAD

• Nomination Form Professional Category (PDF)
• Nomination Form Amateur Open Category (PDF)
• Nomination Form Amateur Age Category (PDF)
• Nomination Form for Contributor Category (PDF)
• Seniors HOF Committee Information (Word)
• Seniors HOF Committee Information (PDF)

BALLOTS & VOTING

Official ballots and Nominee resumes will be distributed to Voting Group. All voting will be conducted by secret ballot. The status of all nominees will be kept confidential.

As directed by the HOF Committee Chairman, a deadline will be established and ballots, returned by mail or email, tallied. A minimum 80% ballot return (19 of 23) will constitute a valid vote. Abstention does not contribute to a valid vote. Nominee induction requires 75% of a valid vote.

Once Nominees are determined, they will be presented to the USAR Board for ratification. A quorum of the USAR Board is required to approve a nomination. Induction requires a simple majority of quorum vote. Denial requires 75% of quorum vote.

NOTIFICATIONS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Once official results are tallied, the HOF Committee Chairperson will contact all nominees with results of committee deliberations. Congratulatory letters will be sent to all approved inductees, followed by official announcements in RACQUETBALL.

INDUCTION CEREMONY & RECOGNITION

Elected Hall of Fame members will be inducted at a time and place chosen by the USAR Board. This event is typically held at the U.S. National Singles Championship in May of each year, but the USAR Board, at its discretion, may choose to present Inductees at another appropriate time and place.

Each inductee may select an individual to present a three-minute introduction. Each honoree will then have a reasonable amount of time, generally limited to seven-minutes, for acceptance remarks. Based on number of honorees and event agenda, USAR will provide specific timeframes and guidelines. USAR will present an engraved plaque or other suitable recognition of Inductee accomplishments.

USA Racquetball shall provide for permanent recognition of all Hall of Fame Members at its National Headquarters. Brass plates, or individual plaques, will be mounted and engraved with the names of the individuals, and the year in which they were inducted. A permanent written record of the Hall of Fame Members shall be maintained in archival collections of USA Racquetball.

OTHER INDUCTEE POLICIES & PROCEDURES

• Inductees will email a high resolution, digital, color image of themselves to the National Office
• Image may be used for magazine, website, or other publicity
• Inductees are expected to dress appropriately for the Induction Ceremony
• A table will be reserved for Inductee and guests at the Induction Ceremony
• Inductee will receive five free Induction Ceremony tickets for guests
• Inductee will receive eight Credentials for guests to access the National Singles Tournament
• Inductees are responsible for arranging their own travel accommodations (flight, hotel, car rental, food). USAR will reimburse Inductee for one room, for one night, at an official host hotel
• All Hall of Fame Inductees become Lifetime USA Racquetball Members

A National Racquetball Hall of Fame Ring/Pendant (see below) is available to all Hall of Fame members. Individuals can order theirs at their own expense. 

For more details, contact the Hall of Fame Chairperson: Jim Easterling at (517) 449-8942 or rbjim887@comcast.net