The first thought that has entered the m inds of many racquetball enthusiasts since the announcement of Bob Kendler ‘ s pro-am organization is not , ” Why pro -am racquetball? ” but , ” Why is Bob Kendler behind it? ” The fact that professionalism is coming into the racquetball world is no surprise, it had to happen sooner m or later . But the big surprise has t been Kendler’s zest and f enthusiasm for it, as he has long b been a staunchly anti-professional , t pro-amateur leader. Why then, the switch? n “Many things have happened in p the past several years to change i my opinion ,” said Kendler . “A very a large part of ft was the fact that we knew it had to happen . In fact we c even had signals that preparations s were being made by other parties . s And we simply felt that the racquett ball community would be more t receptive to pro-am racquetball s sponsored by well known racquetb

ball people like ourselves, rather than unknowns from outside the game. ” Another reason, Kend ler related , was the diff iculty in attaining Olympic status for handball or racquetball. Long one of his fondest hopes, the Olympics now seem farther away than ever for the court sports. ” It’s just too difficult to get 40 countries involved in the sport , ” he said . “That’s the Olympic rule, 40 countries necessary before it can become a full-fledged event .” Wi th the United States and Canada the only countries currently playing the games on the standard 20×40 courts, and Ireland using huge 30×60 ‘s, the education, cost and time involved seems to make an Olympic endeavor v i rtuall impossible for many years. “For a time we were willing to settle for an Olympic demonstratio n, ” said Kendler, “a nd we thought we had it in Denver for 1976 . In fact , we even aided the people there in preparing the plans for building the courts to be used for that demonstration. However , even with success in Denver , which is now impossible since the Olymp ics were voted down by Colorado ‘s voters , we still would have been eight or 12 years away from Olympic competition . The comb ina tion of creating the interest, building the courts, investing the capital and teaching the players amounted to a truly monumental task. ” Another reason for opening the sport up to professionalism was the trem endous pressure of professional success of other sports , notably tenn is, golf and to some extent , track. ” We feel there is money to be ade ,” said Kendler . “Not only for he players , who will surely benefit, irst and foremost , but also for the ackers and sponsors . We are cerain that television will be a big part of pro -am racquetball in the very ear future and that is one of our rimary goals , to bring this game nto the living rooms of people cross North America . ” The game ‘s universal appeal erta inly makes the chances outtanding. The rules are basic , the trategy sound and the skills easy o learn on a beginning basis . All he ingredients for a rapid-success port are built into racquetball . And y going pro , by offer ing prize

mone y, by reaching television , and by national exposure, we will make racquetball’s current success look like the Depression .” Another fear being rumored around racquetball circles is that Kendler, Leve and the N.R.C. are out to destroy the I.R.A. Nothing could be further from the truth . The N.R .C . recognizes the I.R.A.’s right to exist and it’s place in amateur racquetball. But the N .R.C . also feels that pro-am racquetba ll is a must for the enhancemen t of the entire game . “Look what professionalism did for tennis ,” said Leve. ”Television and prize money made people like Smith, Laver , Ashe and Rosewall instant sports idols, people to be looked up to and admired . We feel the same can be true with the Brumfield’s, Keeley ‘s and Serot ‘s. “And that’s what we ‘re going after . We are not looking to tear anything down, just to build up the N.R.C . and pro-am racquetball . We are looking for positive recognition , to give the nation’s racqu _etball fans an image to look up to, that of the professional racquetball heroes. ” The main thrust of the N.R.C. will be toward prize money and travel expenses for the touring pros , the theory being that the best players will make the most money . With 13 players under contract now, the N.R.C . plans to add two or three more as the season progresses. After the initia l year, the records of To page 13

the players will be looked at and the deserving non-pros who have done well during the course of the sea son will be added . ” No ne of the players will be bumped along the way during the first year ,” said Leve , “unless he commits a gross misconduct action covered in his contract. We want the guys to go along with us for a year , and then we ‘II re -evaluate the entire situation of each player. We’re new and young and both the players and the N.R .C. have to be flexible .” “The only thing we will not tolerate is misco nduct,” sa id Kendler . “Our pros will be hig h class, discreet players and gentleme n at all times . We want our publir;ity to be good, our fans to be satisfied and our players to be happy . The N.R .C. is going to be a first cla s s organization .” The players won ‘t do much complain ing. The standard N. R.C. con – tract calls for air travel to and from each N.R.C . tour tournament , plus up to $25 per day in room and foo d. All that in addition to being able to compete for prize money, some – thing never before provided in racquetball , should make the player more than happy to perform for the N.R .C . In retu m the player agrees to be available (in shape) for all N.R.C. tournaments , with injury , illnes s or severe personal problems being valid excuses to miss a tournament. ” Rememb er that the fans are going to expect the best players at each tournament ,” said Kendler . “After all, they will be paying to see the professionals . We cannot let the fans down , for they are the means of support for the local host .”

Originally published in National Racquetball, September 1973, pp. 9 and 13.