State Association Website Review #6 – California Racquetball

On October 12th, 2017, I published a list of questions that I feel every racquetball association website should in some way attempt to answer if they want to be the destination website for their area. I’ll score each question up to a maximum of 8 points, and I’ll give a base score of 4 so that every association with a website will be able to get up to 100 points on the review.

The next website to go under the microscope is CaliforniaRacquetball.org AKA CaliforniaNevadaRacquetball.org. Note: This website serves California and Nevada.

TL:DR — 36 points out of a possible 100

1) Where can I play in/near city X?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org has this covered by a fairly long list of clubs presented alphabetically. Websites, phone numbers, street addresses, and program directors are listed. There is no information about number of courts, leagues, or recurring events on the Clubs page. There is no map, so if you are near a big city in California, you are extremely likely to miss the clubs in the suburbs that might be just a few miles away.

4 points.

2) What events are happening in/near city X?

There are 2 ways the site addresses this question. The first is their Tournaments page. This pages looks to be updated manually, and there is no link to the states’ pages on R2Sports that would allow additional research. For many of the tournaments, the R2 Sports registration link is listed. Tournament registration deadlines are also on the main page. The second type of event promoted by the site is Clinics. None were listed at the date of the review (11/12/2017).

4 points.

3) Are there players at college X?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org sort of addresses this with their Collegiate page. The Western Collegiate Racquetball Conference has a single graphic on that page with 2 events from 2016 and 2 events from 2017 listed (all in the past). The graphic includes logos of 22 schools, but there are no links and no actual information for contacting or supporting the players at those schools. The Collegiate Records page ends in 2009.

2 points.

4) What is the rule for this situation?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org has the rules linked on the Links page.

1 point.

5) How do I get better at X?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org does link the instructional videos produced by Racquetball Warehouse on their Links page. The Clinics page is empty. There is no list of certified instructors. The Juniors Progams does have a list of locations and programs, but 2 of the 3 websites linked on that page are defunct.

5 points.

6) Which racquet should I use?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org does not include any assistance in answering this question. There are no designations for pro shops on the Club list.

0 points.

7) How/where can I get a racquet restrung?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org does not address this at all.

0 points.

8) Can military members find a place to play?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org does not address this at all. This is a bit disappointing as one of the board members is also a board member for the Military Racquetball Federation.

0 points.

9) Are there places to play outdoors?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org does not address this at all. There are a huge number of outdoor venues in California, per the World Outdoor Racquetball Courts list, but outdoor racquetball is not discussed at all.

0 points.

10) How do I contact these people?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org has a Contact Us page in their Organization group of pages. It has a link to an email address and a physical mailing address. There is no discussion of social media, no Facebook groups, no Twitter accounts, etc.

3 points.

11) What is this organization about, who makes it up, what are their goals and processes?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org addresses this question with a Mission Statement page and a CNRA Board page. The goals and objectives of the group are listed. The members of the board are listed with their positions. It is not clear whether or not this list is up-to-date. There are no by-laws or other documents that explain how the organization will use the funds it collects.

6 points.

12) Is this organization still active?

CaliforniaRacquetball.org addresses this question with the front page blog and with the Tournaments page. Points were taken away here solely for the clear abandonment of some sections of the site and for the bad links to external sites on many pages.

6 points.

Bonus points opportunity: Are there ways listed to volunteer or for new players to get started?

There is a page that asks for volunteers, but provides no guidance on what type of help they feel would be appropriate. There is no link on this page to contact the board or the website maintainer.

1 point.

What are your opinions of the review and the site?
Drop me a line on my Contact page or via my Facebook Page Daily Racquetball.

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