ILLINOIS STATE RACQUETBALL ASSOCIATION
TOURNAMENT DIVISION ELIGIBILITY
Revised – April 14, 2021
- GENERAL
The rules in this policy affect division eligibility of individual players or doubles teams entered in tournament skill divisions (Open, Elite, A, B, C, D, and Novice) sanctioned by USA Racquetball and competed in Illinois.
- FULL DRAW DIVISIONS – DEFINED
In order for a division to affect the eligibility of an individual or doubles team, divisions must meet the “full draw” definition: there must be at least (12) entrants in Men’s Singles and Doubles divisions; at least (8) in Women’s Singles and Doubles divisions; and at least (8) in Mixed Doubles divisions. Combined divisions are not included in the above.
- DIVISION ELIGIBILITY:
For purposes of eligibility, the ISRA Tournament Season is defined as beginning June 1 of each calendar year and ending on May 31 of the following year.All players must compete in divisions at least as high as their eligibility reflects per ISRA records dated June 1, 1999, and forward.(a) Any player may play in the “Open” division. However, when Pro or Pro/Open divisions are offered, for instance as part of a professional tour stop, players ranked in the top 8 or 16 players are not eligible to compete in Open. The tours vary their rules, and these rules must be identified and adhered to on an event-by-event basis.
(b) Only players competing in their first sanctioned tournament are eligible for the Novice division.
(c) Regarding Elite, A,B,C,D divisions: These are referred to as “skill divisions.” Any player or doubles team who wins one of these divisions that contain the number of entrants as described in Paragraph 2 may continue to play in the same division until the following June 1 at which time they must move up to the next highest division for all future events. After winning a skill division containing any number of entrants, a player may not compete in a division lower than that which he or she has won.
(d) Any player or doubles team who wins the same division or a higher division in a second sanctioned tournament prior to the following June 1 is required to compete in the next highest division immediately. See EXCEPTIONS below*.
(e) Subject to “number of entrants” as set forth in Paragraph 2, any player or doubles team who wins an ISRA State Singles or ISRA State Doubles skill level title is required to compete in the next highest division immediately. See EXCEPTIONS below**.
EXCEPTIONS to (d) and (e)
* Pursuant to (d), the player or team may compete in their prior division in ISRA State Singles or ISRA State Doubles (as applicable) in order to have the opportunity to win a State title before moving up to the next highest skill division.
** Pursuant to (e), the player or team may compete in their prior division at USAR Regionals, USAR National Singles, and USAR National Doubles––assuming the timing of these events are subsequent to ISRA State Championships––in order to have the opportunity to win a Regional or National title before moving up in the next season.
- DOUBLES (including Mixed Doubles)
A player’s eligibility in singles determines where they must play in doubles competition. A team must compete in the division of play required of the higher-ranking singles player.
- AGE DIVISION
A player’s age division eligibility shall be determined as of the first day of the tournament except that a Junior player’s age division eligibility shall be determined as of January 1 of the tournament year.
- SPECIAL CONDITIONS
(a) Any player who demonstrates an ability level far superior to that of other players in the same skill division may be required to move to the higher level of play even if he or she is technically eligible to play in that division. This action may be taken by the ISRA Seeding Committee or the Tournament Director. This action may be appealed in writing to the ISRA Board of Directors.(b) If a player with no known prior eligibility chooses to compete in a skill division, the ISRA Seeding Committee or the Tournament Director may use their best judgment as to in which division the player is eligible to compete. This action may be appealed in writing to the ISRA Board of Directors.(c) Once a player or team officially moves to a higher skill division, he or she may not move down except by written petition to the ISRA Board of Directors. The player should have competed in at least four (4) tournaments in the higher division and show that he or she did not advance beyond the second round. The vote of the Board shall be binding for a period of one (1) year from the date of initial submission.
(d) A player who intentionally enters a skill or age division for which he or she is not eligible deprives others of the chance for an honest match. Any player, determined by the ISRA Board of Directors, to have committed such actions may lose the privilege of playing in sanctioned events in Illinois for up to one (1) calendar year dating from the tournament at issue. The player’s name will be made available to tournament directors. This decision may be appealed in writing to the ISRA Board of Directors. A second offense will result in permanent disqualification from all sanctioned events in Illinois. USA Racquetball will be made aware of player eligibility issues including but not limited to the above.
(e) Neither male nor female players are permitted to play in divisions of the opposite sex if there are appropriate divisions offered for their own sex. On a case-by-case basis, if a player determines, and if the tournament director confirms, that there are no appropriate divisions offered, the player and the tournament director will work together to determine the most fair and appropriate division in which to compete. This outcome of this collaboration may be appealed in writing to the ISRA Board of Directors.
(f) Transgender Policy: The ISRA complies with and is bound by the USA Racquetball Policy for Transgender Athletes.
April 14, 2021
