Welcome to the United States Handball Association

Why join USHA?
That's as easy as a back-wall setup!

By Jerry Lee Hall

Do you or your friends wonder. Why should I join the USHA? Those of us who are members have been asked this question many times, usually when we are soliciting new members. I have been a member for more than 25 years and have been USHA treasurer for the last five. So I know the benefits of membership, and I know in detail how USHA dollars are spent.

Subscribing to a membership supports your chosen sport and its organizational structure. Your membership provides many benefits to members as well as perpetuation of the sport, including:

• Handball magazine, which provides instructional articles, tournament announcements and results, introduction to other people playing the sport, a forum for exchange of ideas for improvement of your game, rules interpretations and a means of showcasing the sport.
• Support of youth activities that promote development of athletic skills and physical conditioning along with sportsmanship and camaraderie. Membership dues have helped support many youth programs.
• Support for research on equipment used in playing the game. It provides a means to test and improve the ball, gloves, eyeguards, shoes and clothing. Your membership also provides a means to ensure that equipment and merchandise is made available to the membership at reasonable prices.
• An opportunity to play the game as safely as possible and to avoid injuries by sharing safety and sports medicine information, rules and a structure for play.
• Competitions regionally and nationally. Your dues help support the organization and implementation of tournaments.
• A forum for communication. Relationships established through handball are lifelong and often help in professional life to open doors and provide important leads.
• Recognition of those playing the sport through articles in Handball magazine and by election of the best to the Hall of Fame. Your membership helps showcase your sport by promoting the pro tour, which shows the level of handball that can be achieved.
• Development of junior handball. Without this support for our handball facilities, cities and schools, the game you learned to love may not be there for your kids and grandkids.

These are just a few of the benefits of becoming a USHA member. In addition, your membership is a bargain. A yearly membership costs $35 a year (or $90 for three years). This is about the cost of admission to one athletic event, such as a major-league baseball game, an NBA game, an NHL game or a college football game–or, for some automobiles, about the cost of a tank of gasoline.

So next time someone asks, "What’s in it for me?" you can tell them that being a USHA member is an opportunity to be a part of something morally good, physically challenging and mentally healthy. It’s an opportunity for a lifetime.