One of the issues that can get in the way of a 100% fabulous time at any event is the occurrence of either real or suspected “sandbagging.” This is a complicated issue, but it becomes pretty basic onsite when players feel someone has entered the wrong division. Truly, on a national level especially, it’s an emotional issue when people take off work, spend their hard-earned cash to pay for travel, accommodations, meals, entry fees, etc. and then get knocked out first round by someone who might have belonged in a higher division. The complicated part is determining who should be playing in what division. Questions that come to mind are: Should a state division be considered the same as a national division? Are all tournaments created equal, state to state, e.g. is a Texas A player to be considered technically the same level as an A player from Wyoming (answer: maybe)? What’s the process by which a player who has won a national event division could enter that same division again? How do we adequately track all of this? Is the ranking system doing the trick? What ranking numbers define A, B, C, etc.? What other seeding considerations should be taken into account?
There are no easy answers for some of these questions, but I can tell you that Jim Hiser, who has the honor of putting together the draws for National Singles, National Doubles, the US Open, and many others, puts a lot of time and energy into looking at last year’s tournament results, rankings, match histories, and so on. He also receives the brunt of the complaints. Jim (who is in fact a scientist by education) would be the first one to tell you tournament seeding is not an exact science. And, he’ll also confirm that he’s not perfect. Jim does, however, take this responsibility very seriously.
There’s another aspect to consider – the responsibility of the state presidents/boards and USAR partner/affiliate organizations to weigh in on division entries, and the responsibility of the players themselves. I hope that, as a sport, we never get to the point where players’ primary, self-focused motivations are to win a medal at all costs, in essence to intentionally walk all over the other entrants who held high hopes when they made the decision to participate. So…the call to action is one for fairness for everyone who chooses to play, not for just one player or one state’s medal count. After all, is it really a source of pride when a state level Open player, for example, brings home a medal for winning Men’s C in Houston?
The following may be helpful in making future decisions. On the State Directors’ November call, this information was covered (not to be considered all-inclusive):
1. If you win a division, you must move up.
2. If ranking points are “out of order,” your profile will be evaluated and you may be moved.
3. You cannot play Men’s B and Men’s C, or 45B and 45C.
4. You can play Men’s C and Men’s 45B if you are ranked as a C player.
5. Winners in divisions of 6 or less are not required to move up but will be evaluated and may be moved.
6. Winners of divisions must move up for a period of at least 12 months. Then, under special conditions (e.g. injury), players may request permission in writing to move back down.
7. In doubles, the team must play in the division of the highest-ranked player.
8. Once you’ve won an age/skill division, you may not play that division again. But…for example, if you can’t play 50A again, you may move to a lower age (say, 40A), unless you also won A’s and have to move to Elite or Open. (The definition of Elite is “state level Open.”)
Note: Jim Hiser describes methods by which players are seeded at national events in this issue; see page ____.
By the way, USA Racquetball hosts State calls every month, with the target audience being the State Directors (aka Presidents) and Board members. Many states attend, quite a few don’t. Feel free to ask your state folks if they take advantage of staying current via these calls – perhaps a New Year’s Resolution is in order?
To everyone, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, and may every one of your shots in the New Year be a splat-pinch-rollout!