OVERVIEW

We are ecstatic to hold our first ever election to add two members to our USA Roundnet (USAR) board of directors. Our board members are crucial to the operation of our organization, overseeing our committees and collaborating to ensure the best possible future for roundnet in the USA. As of December 23rd at 8pm EST, polls are now closed. Stay tuned as our team tabulates results.

Board Candidates

The following candidates and their platforms are detailed below. Candidates were also invited to submit a video elaborating on their platform. View the submitted video responses here.

AJ Hutchinson

What is your professional experience?
I am a truck driver about to buy my own truck and start a business. In the past I have been a coach for kids at an America Ninja Warrior gym. I have also interned at a Church for a summer.

What is your roundnet experience?
I started in 2018 along with people like Chase Meyer, Matt Cole, and Alli Jennerich. In the Summer of 2021 I became co leader of Dallas roundnet with Luis Orozco. We have now trained up 1 premier player and are working on developing the comp scene and women's scene.

Why do you want to serve as a USAR board member?
I have the perspective of having a lucrative and thriving club in Dallas which at its hight had 44 people at a pickup. I am constantly working with Tasr leaders to try and make Tasr a better place.

What is your platform?
I feel that there needs to be more support and emphasis not only on states but city hubs to really bring forth the sport. With some support there are plenty of city's that could become great hubs. This would build up the intermediate and advanced divisions which would ultimately make the sport as a whole thrive.
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Carlos Diaz

What is your professional experience?
My story began with 4 friends playing Roundnet at a park during covid, it was a safe and fun way to get outside and have a great time. My Friends and i would play every Sunday, I started posting stories on instagram of us playing, and a lot of friends kept asking me if they could come out. We would always play at Stanford & one weekend, and a bunch of Stanford kids were asking us if they could join. Before I knew it, a friend I met who just hopped into a game one day. Started a Stanford Roundnet club with me & now with the Spikeball app, and our GroupMe filled with 380 people, our little small community grew into something way bigger. I was recently awarded by Spikeball for having the most RSVP of the month. One of my high school friends and I started Palo Alto Roundnet Club in 2019 and have hosted tournaments, Pickups and events with people all around Northern California. I am also a volunteer Coach for the Stanford Roundnet club, which is a new and upcoming school team. We just hosted the Southwest Fall Sectional, one of the biggest sectional in the US. It was also the only sectional with a 5 team D1 squad (including Co-ed and women's). Which I'm glad was able to happen because i really think that going to help grow the sport but as well as women inclusion.

What is your roundnet experience?
My Roundnet Experience began my senior year of high school in 2019, when I was walking to the main quad to meet with some friends during my 7th prep/free period, when I noticed a bunch of nets on the ground and people playing games and having fun. Usually most people play Grass Volleyball or Frisbee on the main quad during 7th period. My friend had to show me how to play, and the rest was history. I remember racing to the quad, after going to town and country Shopping Center to get snacks before we started playing. I started playing 3 times a week, and couldn’t get enough. Roundnet meant a lot more than just a game that people play at the park. A bunch of friends and I started playing over the summer, we would bring a speaker and meet at the same park on Sundays, and before I knew it. “Spikeball Sunday” a tradition on Stanford Campus had begun. I’ve now been playing competitively for almost 2 years now, and have loved it ever since that first day. Pickup reminds me why I joined and fell in love with the sport so much.

Why do you want to serve as a USAR board member?
I want people to experience the love and amazing friends I’ve met through Roundnet while also helping to become better at the sport. I discovered Roundnet, in its all at a local California Roundnet tournament in 2020 and was amazed as to how much more this sport had to offer. As someone who’s in college, I wasn’t able to participate in the college sectional this weekend, along with many friends who aren’t in college or are also at a community college. Throughout all my childhood, I couldn’t remember not being part of a team, whether that is a club team or a school team. Being part of a team to me means bringing a group of people from different Backgrounds, Stories and Ethnicity, age or locations together to achieve one goal. I think everyone should be able to experience that feeling. To not only grow the sport of Roundnet in the US but also create a sense of community and youth competition around the world. I am currently working on creating a Palo Alto Roundnet Club Team, So we can compete, travel together too tournaments and to be a part of a sport we bond over.

What is your platform?
My platform is always changing but I believe it to be the Co-Founder of Palo Alto Roundnet Club & The Stanford Roundnet Club Coach but most importantly the person that believes Roundnet is something everyone can be a part off, weather that is someone who is complete new to the sport, a pro, Parents, Student athletes or someone who just moved into town, There’s a spot for everyone to be a part of this sport and that has always been one of my big goals. Is to help people feel like they can be. I also want people to believe that if they put time and effort into Roundnet they can achieve their goals whatever that might be. I think that's important not just in sports but as well as in all aspect of life. I follow that so much so i have a playlist on youtube called "Spikeball" training, filled with HTR Video, Revised Roundnet videos, and games that i can't help but watch over and over again. To not only help myself be better but to help others that want to be as well.

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Ethan Datwyler

What is your professional experience?
I correctly work as an operations engineer making and developing processes / projects to improve the continuity within my company. Lead teams of people to a common goal by setting achievable milestones.
What is your roundnet experience?
Started in 2013, competitively in 2016-present. I play once a week or twice a week to keep the community growing and in tact in IL.

Why do you want to serve as a USAR board member?
I want to see the sport of Roundnet grow as much as possible while still keeping the community we have in tact. I believe my leadership and big picture planning / execution would be a valuable asset to the team.

What is your platform?
My platform would be to create events that connect smaller communities together in a way that motivate people to show up, grow, and learn from each other. This would look like organizing state vs state events that are focused around community. Similar to Birch Hill and the like.

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Ezra Dantowitz
What is your professional experience?
I have been working in Corporate America for about 7 years. I currently work at an automation software company (UiPath) as a developer/consultant. When clients buy licenses for our software I work with them to develop automations for different business processes they run. In my position I interact directly with many customers and see various challenges both related to technology and interpersonal skills. I see how a lot of teams interact and how painfully inefficient it can be. In my role I've learned to be good at understanding the root cause of a problem and working to identify how to fix it.

What is your roundnet experience?
I started playing roundnet in 2013 during my sophomore year of college at UMass Amherst. I played with the club for two years, but didn't know about the tournament scene. In 2015, just before I graduated I went to my first tournament and was almost immediately hooked. I brought a set home from college and taught my brother how to play. In short time I convinced him to travel to a few tournaments and within a few months he was also hooked. In my second real year of playing tournaments I started observing (officiating) some matches at tournaments and found this another neat way to participate in a growing sport. With few other people volunteering to observe, I quickly became known for observing and knowing the rules. In 2017 I was invited to join the advisory board for the Spikeball Roundnet Association (now basically Spikeball Tour Series). I helped fine tune rules and wording while on that board. In 2021 I joined the USA Roundnet Rules and Officiating Committees. With USAR I've been part of the team to help formalize observer guidelines and also played a large role in promoting these standards for the IRF at the World Championships.

Why do you want to serve as a USAR board member?
I have extensive background participating in various aspects of roundnet and I have work experience that has helped build skills I can now apply in roundnet. From seeing situations play out both in Corporate America and in roundnet cirlces I am comfortable stepping up when something is wrong and listening to new ideas. To date USA Roundnet has done a great job getting started as the National Governing Body, but I think we need to focus on a few key topics and start driving a clear message of our goals. With that said, I truly only want to serve on the USAR board if I am the best candidate available. If other candidates are stronger than me I will happily drop out of the election.

What is your platform?
We are still very much in the growth stage of roundnet. Our main goal should still be getting more people to play roundnet. One key way to do this is empowering local roundnet organizations so they can be hubs to grow their player base and promote the sport. Utah Roundnet has done this to great success as have many European communities. We should leverage the existing models for roundnet communities and help local organizers start and maintain their hubs. This will help expand the player base and hopefully can lead to new forms of competition between locales.
Second, where possible we should promote innovation in roundnet related products. To build the roundnet economy we need things that people can (and want to) buy. With more incentives to build roundnet products, we might see more money come into the sport which could eventually lead to sponsorships and larger purses for athletes.

MORE QUESTIONS?

Please feel free to reach out to our current board of directors via email. Voting is open through December 28.