The MSHA Board of Directors met to consider the options for the 2001 state tournaments. In 2000, the Board opted to combine all of the singles divisions into one tournament and all of the Doubles events into a second tournament as a means to conserve our volunteer efforts for the 2000 Nationals.

Traditionally, we have had four separate tournaments - two each for doubles and singles, each with a skill-level breakdown and age-level breakdown. With declining participation and an aging roster, we have been searching for the best combination. Discussions at the annual meeting in April highlighted interest in two-day tournaments, instead of the usual three-day events. To do this, and only require players to play at most twice on Saturday, we need to limit the entry in each division to eight. Given recent participation levels this is possible in almost all divisions.

We have "used up" the special arrangement we had for free use of the University of Minnesota Rec Center as a result of the 1994 Nationals. This means we need to pay for court use for subsequent tournaments. The old Minneapolis Athletic Club is now run by Lifetime Fitness and their remodeling has eliminated courts two and three so they are no longer adequately sized to host a state sized tournament. The Decathlon has plans to add a large hotel on one end and will loose a squash court and at least one handball court.

There have been some suggestions that the totally enclosed courts at the U detract from the fun by interfering with player-crowd interaction. With the thought of trying different venues, the board has decided return to the Highway 100 & France Club (NW Tennis & Racquet) in 2001 for two of our planned tournaments. With 14 courts, this is one of the few clubs now large enough to host a major event.

We will also look into holding the Awards banquet in conjunction with the last tournament of the spring. In order to achieve this, the Open Singles tournament will be the first of the three tournaments in 2001.

There were also concerns expressed about the cost of the entry. The MSHA has always had a policy of not eliminating anyone from competition due to cost. If an individual feels they cannot afford the entry fee, they can contact any board member to get the fee waived. The board noted that the elimination of the "deal" with the U of M will increase our outlay of cash and we are looking for more sponsorship to make up the difference. The Nationals had a net positive impact on our finances, but this is not a long-term solution.

We continue to support juniors and collegiate programs with cash reimbursement for tournament participation expenses.

Darryl Ekstrom, Steve Johnson and Bill DeVahl were re-elected to new three-year terms at the annual membership meeting in April. In a subsequent board meeting the 1999-2000 officers we re-elected to serve the same function for the 2000-2001 season.

We continue to look for ways of attracting new players to the game. The association exists to promote the game of handball in Minnesota. The MSHA can provide assistance for any program that might get more people involved. Let any board member know what we can do to help you bring new players to the game.