Build a League to Last a Lifetime

2031-36

The 10-year operating plan represents the final phase of USQ’s transition from recovery to sustainability. While the three-year plan focused on stabilization and infrastructure, and the five-year plan focused on regional maturity and operational consistency, Years 6-10 focus on long-term durability, sustainable scaling, and realizing the league’s full vision.

Over the next five years, USQ will prioritize:

  • Sustainable growth supported by strong infrastructure

  • Self-sustaining regional ecosystems

  • Lifelong participation pathways from youth through alumni engagement

  • Revenue diversification and financial resilience

  • Consistent, high-quality participant and spectator experiences

  • Leadership development and organizational durability

  • Accessibility, inclusion, and community alongside competitiveness

By 2036, success will be measured not only by the number of players and teams, but by the strength of the systems that support them. USQ will be a stable, credible national league with sustainable teams, healthy regions, diversified revenue streams, and clear opportunities for people to participate, compete, lead, and remain connected throughout their lives.

The next decade is about building a durable, future-ready organization where quadball thrives in every region and at every stage of life.

EXPLORE THE PLAN

YEAR SIX

    • Total player members: 1,445

    • College players: 740

    • Club players: 655

    • Increase number of active college teams to 50+

    • Increase number of active club teams to 44+

    Key Actions

    • Expand sustainable regional ecosystems nationwide

    • Increase

      • Local playing opportunities

      • Regional tournaments and invitationals

      • Recreational and developmental participation pathways

    • Youth

      • Expand recurring youth programs into additional metropolitan areas

      • Increase transition pathways from youth participation into college recruitment systems

    • Club

      • Expand support systems for underserved and isolated regions

      • Continue strengthening college-to-club mentorship systems

    • Increase total revenue by 79% (over Year 1 revenue)

    • Increase non-dues share to 62%

    • Secure $8,325 in sponsorships and/or licensing deals

    • Scale youth program revenue to $56,887.50

    Key Actions

    • Expand sponsorship packaging around:

      • Youth initiatives

      • National events

      • Broadcast inventory

      • Accessibility initiatives

    • Expand:

      • Merchandise offerings

      • Vendor partnerships

      • Licensing opportunities

    • Improve consistency of:

      • Event profitability

      • Sponsor retention

      • Donation campaigns

    • College → club transition rate: 31%

    • Year-over-year team survival: 86%

    Key Actions

    • Expand leadership succession planning systems

    • Improve volunteer onboarding and training processes

    • Increase alumni engagement:

      • Coaching

      • Officiating

      • Recruitment

      • Fundraising

  • Event Quality

    • Increase consistency of tournament standards across all events

    • Expand spectator entertainment and fan engagement opportunities

    Officiating

    • Expand regional officiating leadership systems

    • Increase practical training and accountability systems

    Marketing

    • Improve year-round storytelling and social media consistency

    • Increase visibility in local sports and community media markets

    • Regional infrastructure supports sustainable year-over-year growth

    • USQ becomes less reliant on national intervention for local stability

    • Revenue and participation growth continue at a manageable pace

YEAR SEVEN

    • Total player members: 1,545 

    • College players: 795 

    • Club players: 690

    • Increase number of active college teams to 53+

    • Increase number of active club teams to 46+

    Key Actions

    • Increase geographic accessibility to local quadball opportunities

    • Expand

      • Developmental opportunities between college and club teams

      • Recreational tournaments

      • Adult low-commitment participation models

    • Youth

      • Increase school and recreation department partnerships

      • Launch recurring youth-focused regional events

    • Club

      • Strengthen support systems for emerging club regions

    • Increase total revenue by 93% (over Year 1 revenue)

    • Increase non-dues share to 63%

    • Secure $10,482.50 in sponsorships and/or licensing deals

    • Scale youth program revenue to $62,895.00

    Key Actions

    • Expand

      • Media partnerships

      • Sponsorship visibility opportunities

    • Strengthen

      • Broadcast quality

      • Merchandise tracking infrastructure

      • Vendor Village programming

      • Community partnerships

    • College → club transition rate: 32%

    • Year-over-year team survival: 87%

    Key Actions

    • Expand

      • Alumni leadership opportunities

      • Recreational retention pathways

      • Volunteer mentorship programs

    • Improve retention of tournament staff, regional leaderships, officials

  • Event Quality

    • Improve accessibility standards leaguewide

    • Increase consistency of fan-facing experiences

    Officiating

    • Standardize evaluation and development systems nationally

    • Expand advanced officials training opportunities

    Marketing

    • Increase local and regional media visibility

    • Improve onboarding content for spectators and new participants

    • USQ becomes more publicly visible and regionally accessible

    • Participation pathways exist in a majority of major regions

    • League operations continue becoming more professionalized

YEAR EIGHT

    • Total player members: 1,610 

    • College players: 825 

    • Club players: 720 

    • Increase number of active college teams to 55+

    • Increase number of active club teams to 48+

    Key Actions

    • Strengthen

      • Youth to college recruitment systems

      • Alumni retention pathways

      • Recreational participation infrastructure

    • Expand

      • Local conference systems

      • Summer quadball opportunities

    • Increase total revenue by 103% (over Year 1 revenue)

    • Maintain non-dues share at 63%

    • Secure $11,007.50 in sponsorships and/or licensing deals

    • Scale youth program revenue to $64,598.30

    Key Actions

    • Expand

      • International sponsorship inventory (through High Performance Program, hosting IQA events)

      • Licensing opportunities

      • Community fundraising initiatives

    • College → club transition rate: 33%

    • Volunteer retention: 89%

    • Year-over-year team survival: 88%

    Key Actions

    • Expand training resources for volunteers

    • Continue strengthening transition systems

    • Continue strengthening regional leadership pipelines

  • Event Quality

    • Expand fan engagement opportunities

    • Increase uniformity of event venue requirements

    Officiating

    • Improve national officiating accountability systems

    • Expand officials mentorship system

    Marketing

    • Improve leaguewide storytelling consistency

    • Increase public legitimacy and external credibility

    • Growth systems become increasingly self-sustaining

    • USQ operates with significantly improved stability and consistency

    • USQ becomes more resilient against leadership turnover and operation disruptions 

YEAR NINE

    • Total player members: 1,773

    • College players: 890

    • Club players: 790

    • Increase number of active college teams to 59+

    • Increase number of active club teams to 50+

    Key Actions

    • Continue reducing geographic barriers to participation

    • Expand

      • Youth accessibility initiatives

      • Recreational participation models

      • Local recruitment systems

    • Strengthen

      • Local leadership development programming

      • Alumni engagement systems

      • Regional operations support

    • Increase total revenue by 116% (over Year 1 revenue)

    • Increase non-dues share to 64%

    • Secure $13,400.00 in sponsorships and/or licensing deals

    • Scale youth program revenue to $72,360.00

    Key Actions

    • Expand

      • Long-term sponsorship agreements

      • Broadcast inventory

    • Continued reserve building

    • College → club transition rate: 34%

    • Year-over-year team survival: 89%

    Key Actions

    • Expand

      • Alumni mentorship systems

      • Volunteer retention initiatives

      • Leadership succession planning

    • Improve long-term retention pathways for recreational participants

  • Event Quality

    • Increase accessibility of national events

    • Expand fan-facing entertainment

    Officiating

    • Expand regional officiating leadership infrastructure

    • Improve retention and accountability systems nationally

    Marketing

    • Strengthen national visibility and public recognition

    • Increase local media integration

    • USQ transitions from recovery-era growth into long-term sustainability

    • National infrastructure supports consistent participation and retention

    • Revenue diversification creates greater organizational resilience

YEAR 10

    • Total player members: 2,120

    • College players: 1,010

    • Club players: 960

    • Increase number of active college teams to 62+

    • Increase number of active club teams to 54+

    Key Actions

    • Maintain and strengthen the full pipeline: youth → college → club → alumni

    • Expand

      • Recreational participation opportunities

      • Youth access initiatives

      • Community partnerships

    • Strengthen

      • Regional ecosystems

      • Leadership development

      • Operational consistency

    • Increase total revenue by 132% (over Year 1 revenue)

    • Secure $14,380.00 in sponsorships and/or licensing deals

    • Scale youth program revenue to $71,900.00 

    Key Actions

    • Secure sustainable long-term sponsorships

    • Expand

      • Broadcast quality

      • Licensing infrastructure

      • Merchandise opportunities

      • Community fundraising initiatives

    • Maintain strong reserve

    • College → club transition rate: 35%

    • Volunteer retention: 90%

    • Year-over-year team survival: 90%

    Key Actions

    • Continue improving

    • Ensure every region has the following:

      • Sustainable leadership

      • Officiating infrastructure

      • Consistent local competition opportunities

  • Event Quality

    • Deliver nationally recognizable marquee events

    • Maintain strong accessibility, communication, and operational standards

    Officiating

    • Sustain a nationally consistent officiating development and accountability system

    • Maintain strong retention and mentorship structures

    Marketing

    • Position USQ as a credible, sustainable national niche sports organization

    • Continue expanding visibility and accessibility without sacrificing league identity

    • USQ operates as a durable, nationally recognized league ecosystem

    • Participation, retention, and revenue systems are sustainable long-term

    • The league has achieved the operational consistency, infrastructure, and stability outlined in the 2036 vision

10-Year Financial Narrative

View the USQ Participation Revenue Baseline

The first three years of this plan focus on stabilizing the organization and rebuilding the foundation. The five-year check-in is about strengthening regions, improving retention, and putting systems in place that can support sustainable growth. The full 10-year plan is where those efforts start to pay off. The goal is not to become a major professional league. The goal is to become a stable, credible national governing body for a healthy niche sport that can continue serving players for decades to come.

Over the 10-year period, total player membership is projected to grow from roughly 1,050 to more than 2,100, while active teams increase from 58 to 116. Growth is spread across both the college and club divisions, but the bigger goal is creating a healthier ecosystem overall. Teams should be surviving longer, regions should be strong enough to support regular competition, and more players should remain involved after graduation as athletes, officials, coaches, volunteers, and leaders. Success is not just having more players; it is having a system that consistently keeps people engaged in the sport.

Financially, revenue grows from approximately $277,000 to about $719,000 annually. Memberships and team dues remain important, but they become a smaller percentage of the overall budget over time. Today, nearly half of USQ's revenue comes directly from players and teams. By Year 10, that number falls to roughly 38%, with more support coming from events, youth programming, merchandise, sponsorships, donations, and other revenue sources. The objective is to create a broader and more resilient financial model that is less dependent on participation levels alone.

The most significant organizational change is staffing. USQ currently operates with one full-time employee and relies heavily on volunteers and contractors. That model is not sustainable long-term. This projection gradually builds toward four full-time staff and three part-time staff, adding positions only as revenue supports them. The purpose is not to create unnecessary overhead, but to ensure that the organization has the capacity to consistently deliver programs, support members, run events, and maintain institutional knowledge without depending on a handful of overextended volunteers.

Throughout the projection, revenue remains slightly ahead of expenses, allowing the organization to steadily build reserves and strengthen its financial position. By the end of the 10-year period, USQ should have a larger and more stable membership base, stronger reserves, more diversified revenue, and the staffing and infrastructure necessary to support the sport well into the future.

Note: These projections are intended to serve as baseline financial models tied to USQ’s long-term strategic planning process. They are designed to show a realistic path through which the organization could potentially reach the participation, operational, and financial goals outlined in this plan. They are not formal operating budgets or exact predictions. More detailed annual budgets, benchmarks, and priorities will still need to be developed each year based on the organization’s actual financial position, participation levels, staffing, and event performance at that time.

Long-term strategic plans are meant to establish direction more than precision. The purpose of a 10-year plan is not to predict exactly where the organization will be in 2036, but to define what kind of organization USQ is trying to become and what a sustainable path toward that future could look like. These projections are therefore intentionally aspirational while still grounded in USQ’s recent financial history, current realities, and realistic assumptions about steady long-term growth.

OUR VISION: US Quadball is a league built for a lifetime.

From a child picking up a quadball for the first time to an alumnus coaching, officiating, volunteering, or donating decades later, every stage of participation is connected through a sustainable national ecosystem.