CRA Rollout, Summer 2011

Read the CRA Rollout Online at ColoradoRacquetball.com

The Colorado Racquetball Association Quarterly ENews

Summer 2011

GOODSON WINS FIRST PEPSI CUP The CRA hosted the XXVI Pepsi Cup Team Championship in June, drawing 135 total players to Highlands Ranch for a full weekend of great competition. Fielding a solid roster of 19 players across a wide cross-section of divisions, team coach Bruce Burkland brought the Goodson Recreation Center team to its first Pepsi Cup victory, after multiple attempts that had brought them just shy of the mark.

In this issue: • Goodson Wins Pepsi Cup • Elite Camp Preview • Upcoming Events Proving that there’s still strength in numbers, congratulations to • Board News Goodson squad players: Craig Bullock, Darren Bishop, • Junior Corner Dennis Chandler, Craig Clayton, David Guentert , Gilbert Hernandez, Lucy Jirik, Zubair Khan, Linda Loughrey, Elena Malbacias, Michael Matheson, Jeff • Cindy Tilbury Farewell Mayorga, Deven Naik, Alyssa Orndorff , Simon Payne, Doug Picard, Dennise • Know your Rules • From the President Ramirez, Tamara Robertson and Craig Shaddy!

• From the Editor Castle Rock Recreation Center crept into the #2 spot with Open doubles wins by John Rhodes/ • National News Tyler Stone, and Linda Mojer/Sarah Warhaftig, along with a second place finish in Mixed Open

by Mojer & team captain Dave Stone. Remaining roster players added points with solid Past Event Results: finishes by John Kilman, Al Leatherman, Hermann Li, Eric John Nydam, Peter Manly and • Racquet for the Cure Elizabeth Jones Kirby.

• Icy Blast • Blizzard Bash Citing schedule conflicts this year, four-time Cup champion Flatirons Athletic Club was missing • CRA State Singles some of its regular players, plus team captain Rick Sorenson, but still came in third overall with a roster of nine who worked hard to rack up points by advancing through their draws.

Brian Hunter led the group with a Men’s A win, along with gold for Deanne Erskine/Jamey Wood in Mixed B doubles.

Placing fourth overall, but high in the big divisions, Denver Athletic Club filled a tough roster of eight and boasted champions in Men’s Open (Adam Manilla), Women’s Open (Deb Beldring) and Mixed Open (Manilla & Beldring).

For the second year, event founder John Foust was called away at the last minute, after being assigned to assist disaster recovery efforts in Joplin, Missouri – and was sorely missed.

However, Ben Kincses stepped up to run the event – with the able assistance of CRA board members and uber-volunteer April Settell who provide outstanding hospitality all weekend

long. We thank them all – along with our generous sponsors – for another great Pepsi Cup! 1. Goodson Recreation Center (350; 19 player roster) 2. Castle Rock Recreation Center (330; 11) 3. Flatirons Athletic Club (290; 9) 4. Denver Athletic Club (280; 8) 5. Peterson AFB (275; 10)

For more Pepsi Cup info, see: JWFoust.com Pepsi Cup Sponsors Full team results EVENT PREVIEW: 2011 ELITE CAMP LITE, July 21-25 Racquetball camping season is here! If you’re trying to improve your game in the off season, the 3rd Annual Elite Camp LITE is where you want to be July 21-25. This is the training camp that you’ve heard about … with plenty of low-impact, one-on-one work with pros, scientific training, private and semiprivate lessons, camp souvenir, instructional CD, video analysis and awards.

You’ll work with World Champion and #1 WPRO tour athlete Rhonda Rajsich and her coach, Jim Winterton (who also coaches the number one male pro, Kane Waselenchuk), plus local pro tour veteran Jo Shattuck, who will share her famous biofeedback lectures and exercises, along with the nuts and bolts of the serve and serve return. Registration includes two meals per day at the prestigious Denver Athletic Club (lodging is on your own), and your exclusive chance to work with a team committed to building champions, step by step!

CRA SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS ENTRY DOWNLOADS & REGISTRATION • Rocky Mountain State Games • World Seniors in Albuquerque • US OPEN in Minneapolis CRA on Facebook

THE BOARD REPORT | by Sarah Warhaftig The CRA Board of Directors gained a few new faces in the mix of current leaders who are planning through the summer months and expecting racquetball growth to continue in Colorado. Using online voting tools this year, current CRA members elected Woody Clouse, Art Prott, David Stone and Sarah Warhaftig to three-year board terms.

Current President Marcia Richards and Vice President Larry Haemmerle will continue to lead the group - many of whom have brought in new expertise and ideas for developing existing programs and instituting new plans.

As the summer months breeze by, the courts have a tendency to quiet down; however, the CRA will be busy preparing for another year of tournaments, promotions, expanding the junior and women’s games, as well as finding new avenues to promote the game at all levels.

The board meetings have opened up interesting discussions and plans that will not only affect current CRA players, but also expand the game overall. One of the immediate initiatives is a quarterly Rollout enewsletter that will provide up to date news, instructional articles and information. Board member Linda Mojer will design and create the email-only publication, so look for them in your inboxes going forward!

Food for Thought? How you can help the Board: • Feedback – Let us know what is going well, and what may need improvement. New tournaments, new places and new faces, everyone is allowed an opinion and we would greatly appreciate the feedback.

• New Player Initiative – As we continue to try to grow the sport as a whole, how can you help bring in a new player, a new junior player, a new woman player?

• Marketing and Promotions – Help get the word out! Colorado Racquetball is growing, let everyone know, let’s convert our once a year tournament players into full-fledged racquetball junkies!

Over the upcoming season, new marketing and promotional plans will be put into place as we look to revitalize our junior program and bring the new young blood into the game.

Referee and instructional days are in the near future, as well as developing our competitive collegiate squads. The board is always looking for volunteers to dedicate time to these efforts, so you’ll want to stay tuned as we prepare for a promising and exciting season … right around the corner!

CRA JUNIOR FOCUS | The Manilla All-Stars lead Junior Team Colorado Congrats to all of the CO Juniors who played in Oregon at this year's Junior Nationals, but the Manilla all-stars were the main headliners once again. Adam Manilla brought home three gold medals in 16U Singles, 16U Boys Doubles with Nick Riffel, and 18U mixed. Erika Manilla also scored gold in Girls and Mixed doubles, and a silver in 12U singles. Zach Pellowski and Daniel Ullrich were also in the hunt, and CSU-Pueblo sophomore Nick Montalbano captured the 18U boys singles and doubles titles.

The wins have qualified Adam to represent the US at the World Junior Championships in Santo Domingo, July 24-30, and the family has been on a fundraising tour of the state since their return from the Nationals. Each of the US Team members must come up with their own travel and lodging expenses for the event, so donations are welcome! Contact Victor (303-667-1269) to arrange a mini-event or simply to hand off your gift - every little bit helps!

We must find a way to get a younger generation of players on the courts with us. The CRA will work diligently to get a High School program up and running this Fall and Winter. As kids continue to get bombarded with other activities it is imperative that we find a way to move them in our direction. The generations of juniors from CAC-Aurora (like the Manilla all-stars!) are now self motivated and successful players, so we need to keep the momentum going!

CINDY TILBURY FAREWELL | Cindy.tilbury@att.net 303.888.4461 Hi CRA Members! You may already know that I have officially moved to the Los Angeles area of California, but I wanted to say a few words to everyone because you have all meant so much to me in the 12 years I lived in Denver. One of the biggest reasons I chose to move to Colorado from Minneapolis was the racquetball atmosphere. I found the competition and camaraderie to be so great that I didn’t want to move again. Over those 12 years, I worked in quite a few other parts of the country and got to experience “local” racquetball environments. Colorado is so much better and more alive than other places. The players like and respect each other; the leagues and tournaments are fun and well-attended. The ladies are especially wonderful and they don’t even realize it.

It has been a pleasure being the Rollout newsletter editor and coordinator of women’s events for the CRA. I am passing my newsletter torch onto Linda Mojer, who will be sending out enewsletters from now on, and my women’s event coordinator torch to Sarah Warhaftig. Please contact them, or any CRA board member, if you have contributions to make, or want to set up an event.

I will continue to play national events and I’ll come back to Denver as often as I can to play in CRA tournaments. I want to invite you all to come out to Los Angeles and play in big and small events here. I am in Malibu, and that is about an hour from Fullerton, where the next NMRA tournament will be held in July. And of course, USAR National Singles will be there for several years to come. In that tournament, there are divisions for everyone, so consider playing in it. If you would like to come out for vacation and play for fun, my regular club is the Canoga Park Spectrum club, with 20 courts, and lots of people to play. Contact me if you’re in the area and need a place/person to play. I’d love to be your host. You can reach me at my usual email address and phone number. See you again soon, I hope.

KNOW YOUR RULES ! by Dave Stone Without exception, the penalty hinder is the most debated call in racquetball. Perhaps this is the reason why most players and officials avoid the call and simply “do it over.” Players abide by other rules religiously, while dismissing the penalty hinder as a discretionary call that is only used in the most egregious situations, if at all.

The most common argument is “the infraction was not intentional.” Others will argue that “I gave him plenty of room to hit the ball.” This article will attempt to dismiss the myths associated with penalty hinders and endorse a position where players view this call as a means of ensuring safety and fair play. [ full article ]

FROM THE PRESIDENT | by Marcia Richards Club Closures don’t mean the death of racquetball … Regroup !

It’s been awhile since the doors closed at Lakewood Athletic Club, CAC-Aurora and Family Fitness, so it’s safe to assume that they’re not going to re-open for racquetball. This year we add Carmody to that list, after learning that it will knock down the walls in August because the building’s maintenance costs are too high. Carmody’s long range plans have always included courts in the main facility, but in this economy, we don’t want to hold our breath. Many of these displaced players are familiar with that type of loss, so they know what they need to do.

Others may think that once their club closes, their game shuts down as well – but most of the faithful wander around, trying to find matches somewhere. This is because, once racquetball is in your blood, nothing else can take the place of a good hour or two of solid play with friends.

At a master’s event in Tucson not long ago, I was talking about injuries and recoveries when one gentleman explained, “we’re like roaches…you just can’t get rid of us!” We continue to play (some despite great pain), while others get fixed up with a knee replacement or rotator cuff surgery, then take a minimum of time off. But the large majority of us do come back.

So what happens when they take our courts, or close down clubs altogether? We continue to find a way to fill that void by going on the road. Many participate in travel leagues like the Littleton Family YMCA “Swingers” or head over to Highlands Ranch or Goodson for advanced leagues (whatever it takes to keep your game sharp). You go where the players are and where clubs open their doors to non-members with punch cards. Our neighbors on the western slope have been putting miles on their vehicles for years … in Denver, we’re just going across town!

So what’s the upside? We’re determined … we’re adaptable … we’re stubborn … and sometimes we’re lucky. After closing its doors on April 30, the Lynmar facility in Colorado Springs has announced new ownership (Big House Sports), and management seems to have every intention of re-opening all five courts to the public as soon as possible. We’ll follow up on that with more details in the next issue, so in the meantime… keep playing!

FROM THE EDITOR It’s a sign of the times … the CRA has adopted an online ROLLOUT, and while I’m happy to help transition to a greener delivery method, I’m a print gal at heart.

When I moved to Colorado in 1990, it was – specifically – to take on the role of editor-inchief of RACQUETBALL at the (then) AARA national office. It was a cross-country move from Florida for me, (where I’d already instituted the pasted-upby-hand, tabloid-sized FRA News), so I’ve come full circle in the work, but to an entirely different final product.

Moving forward with the ROLLOUT (with gratitude to Cindy Tilbury for her previous work!), you’ll see a new, interactive approach to get you the information you need to have a great racquetball experience – right on court.

News items will point you to more indepth material online, either on the CRA website, or from reputable industry sites.

You’ll use those tools to shape the type of fun that we know our sports offers!

We hope you enjoy the new format, and that you'll feel free to contact me with any ideas or suggestions! — Linda Mojer

NATIONAL NEWS | by Larry Haemmerle Wow ... the 2011 Ektelon National Singles Championships presented by ProPenn was as big as its name! Over 500 players descended upon the Meridian Club in Fullerton for an event that was truly unique. Colorado transplant and current local player Bill Fearing designed this massive and dedicated racquetball facility (where Woody Clouse once worked), which boasts 24 courts - 12 courts downstairs and 12 more upstairs (yes, upstairs). The facility has an attached multi-story parking structure where, in an amazing twist, the portable court was constructed on the top floor, which provided an outdoor-indoor court complete with grandstand viewing, VIP boxes, Pro player/VIP hospitality tent and manufacturers’ booths. All this was directly adjacent to the 57 Freeway, where hundreds of thousands of cars passed by daily. At night, the entire area was lit up providing a spectacular view for the drivers.

Eleven Colorado players brought home some notable finishes, including Tony Carson who once again made it to the quarterfinals in the IRT Pro division. Tony has been playing inspired racquetball since his appointment to the USA National Team to play in the Pan Am Games Qualifiers. Anthony Herrera made it to the semis in the Men’s Open/Team Qualifier. Erika Manilla finished in second place in the 24- Women’s B Singles (facing opponents twice her age) and took home the gold in the Women’s B Singles. Cliff Peterson was another champion, winning the Military B/C division. From western Colorado, Ed Roffey won the Bronze, finishing third in the Men’s 50+ A division. Avril and I were kept busy running from court to court and cheering for CRA players. As an added bonus, we were able to watch one of our outstanding junior players, Nick Riffel, play on the portable court in the Wounded Warrior Pro Am Charity event, thanks to a generous donation by one of the attendees.

Although I didn’t personally compete, watching the many matches coupled with attending a number of meetings with various representatives from other racquetball organizations and manufacturers left me fatigued but pleased with the enthusiasm throughout the event. Finally, at the Board Meeting, I was honored with an appointment for the remainder of my term as the Vice President of USA Racquetball, replacing Jack Huczek following his retirement from racquetball.

I highly recommend adding this event as well as the U.S. Open to your calendar for next year. Both provide outstanding and unique opportunities to experience racquetball at its finest. The airports, multiple host hotel options, event amenities, and ongoing onsite activities provide spectators and players plenty of variety and entertainment. The new location in California has been confirmed with a multi-year contract. Its close proximity to many of the Southern California tourist attractions is an added bonus. I hope to see you there next year!

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