Do I need to wear protective eyewear to play racquetball?
The governing body of racquetball, the United States Racquetball Association (USRA), requires all players to wear protective eyewear for competition in USRA sanctioned events. Most racquetball clubs around the nation also require protective eyewear to be worn on the courts in their club. In the USRA's Official Rules of Racquetball, rule 2.5 states:
Rule 2.5 APPAREL
(a) All players must wear lensed eyewear that has been warranted by its manufacturer or distributor as 1) designed for use in racquetball and 2) meeting or exceeding either the full ASTM F803 standard or Canadian (CSA) impact standard. This rule applies to all persons, including those who wear corrective lenses. The eyewear must be unaltered and worn as designed at all times. A player who fails to wear proper eyewear will be assessed a technical foul and a timeout to obtain proper eyewear. A second infraction in the same match will result in immediate forfeiture of the match. [See Rule 3.17(a)9, specific excerpt shown below]
• Certifications & Compliance. The USRA maintains a reference list of eyewear so warranted by their manufacturers, and provides that list to each sanctioned event (an eyewear list dated more than 90 days prior to the first day of the tournament will be deemed invalid for the purpose of determining compliance with this eyewear rule). In addition, the list is available online at the USRA.org website (indexed under "eyeguards"), and individual copies may be requested by calling the USRA National Office at 719/635-5396.
• To be used in sanctioned competition, protective eyewear must:
— bear a permanent, physical stamp of the appropriate "ASTM-F803" citation on the frame itself, OR
— appear on the ASTM reference listing, OR
— bear the "Protective Eyewear Certification Council" [PECC] seal of approval for the ASTM standard, OR
— be certified in writing by the maker that it complies with the required ASTM standard (in this instance, the player must be able to provide written, adequate proof - on demand - at any sanctioned event, before such eyewear may be used).
PLEASE NOTE:
The ASTM standard cited in rule 2.5 addresses the impact resistance of the tested eyeguards AS A UNIT. This means that BOTH the lens and frame -- in combination -- meet the cited safety standard. For those who must wear corrective lenses, it is NOT acceptable to merely have impact resistant lens material placed in everyday, fashion eyeglass frames. Please use the preceding lists to select a suitable model for use in sanctioned competition.
Was this answer useful to you?
| Ask another question