Hello Racquetball Players/Fans

I hope that you enjoyed the holidays and celebrations at the end of calendar year 2011. Now that the new year has begun, I think that it is also the time for us the more advanced players in every community in Europe to begin conducting clinics or training sessions on a periodic basis. I say that because as I travel around to the different local and military communities here in Europe I see racquetball courts being closed or being used for other than their intended purpose. These closure/conversion actions are happening in almost every community in Europe that I visit. Folks the bottom-line to my observations are that we must begin to use the racquetball courts more frequently or else we will surely lose them for other activities.

I think that courts are being closed because the personnel with decision making authority are under the impression that our sport is dying because they don't see the courts being used regularly so their intent is to close all or most racquetball courts in our areas. This maybe happening due to the lack of use of the courts and that is also understandable because of the frequent and ongoing deployments of the military folks (yes, military player are the majority of our players in the military communities). They are scheduling the removal or converting our racquetball courts into what they think more usable space (space that will be used by more than one to four folks). Also to prove my point, new fitness centers are being constructed without racquetball courts or very limited number of courts. We must show them that our sport is not dying and that our sport is still very much alive by getting involved into racquetball events and or activities.

If your community has not hosted a tournament in a couple of years then you need to get busy attempting to engage them to conduct one soon or you may also experience the same court closures that many military communities have already experienced. Please when scheduling tournaments check the racquetball calendars so that your tournaments don't conflict with other communities events and or tournaments.

Ok so what's next? Christmas has come and gone, we have bid goodbye to 2011 and embraced the arrival of 2012.  With a little over 4 months remaining in the current season, there is still a lot of racquetball to be played.  Next up for the AERA is the Wiesbaden Valentine’s Tournament.  This is the first year for this event, and the second event overall in Wiesbaden. We are expecting big turnout for this tournament, with players coming all racquetball clubs and communities across central Europe.   Registration is open for the event, as normal we are using the R2Sports system for the event.  If you missed the Splat Attack Tournament, you will not want to miss this tournament.  If you have any questions reference this event, feel free to contact the tournament directors Bobby Breese and Sean Troyer to address any concerns you may have about this tournament.  We look forward to seeing you in Wiesbaden!

Several of the regular players from the Campbell Fitness Center in Heidelberg put their thoughts and resources together to host a one day shootout for for C level players and below on Saturday, 4 February 2012.  Bobby Roberson, Joey Gibbons, and Jean "Johnny" Lavigne came up with the idea to host the one day event to encourage new players to get into tournament play.  They made a few co-ordinations with the fitness center manager, delegated a few tasks among themselves, sent out invitations, then put the plan into action!  Players were invited to participate in the event for minimal fee and were given the stage to show their competitiveness!  Some of the more advanced players in the area stopped by to see the action and share pointers with the participants!  They played four divisions, C, D, Novice and Juniors in Round Robin format, giving each participant a chance to get some good games in with some not so familiar faces.

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 They began play around 9:00 AM, keeping the courts hot for the duration of the event.  Funds were pooled together from the entry fees and donations, making it possible for food and drinks to be provided for the participants.  The event coordinators contended with the bitter cold to provide hot food fresh from the grill for the participants.  There was continuous play from the start of the shootout up until the presentation of the awards.  Upon completion of the event, there was much conversation about organizing similar events at other communities throughout Germany.  We are anxious to see what the future will share with us with the thought of more one day shootouts on the horizon.  However, this was a small spontaneous event at which the intent was easily achieved.  This event also provided an opportunity for others who have been considering giving racquetball a shot.  Many questions were handled by the event coordinators and the advanced players who were on site.   This was an excellent demonstration that the sport of racquetball is still strong within the Heidelberg community!

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Congratulations to the Shootout participants and winners:

C Division

1st Place-  Tony Villamil

2nd Place-  Steven Duvall

3rd Place-  Bob Clark

D Division

1st Place-  Robert Wilson

2nd Place-  Anthony James

3rd Place-  DeAndre Favors

Novice Division

 1st Place-  Tim Delaney

2nd Place-  Chris Powell

3rd Place-  Jerry Faustermann

Juniors Division

1st Place-  Alexis Rippstine

2nd Place-  Maria Deleon