So Where Did You Last Play Racquetball?

“Beware Jet Blast”

Racquetball Pros Join the Fleet onboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6)
[see MilitaryRacquetball.com for more photos and videos]

(Dec 5, 2008) For the first time in history, a portable outdoor racquetball court was placed on the flight deck of a naval vessel to showcase the benefits of racquetball as it relates to fitness for Sailors. The USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6) welcomed the top professional racquetball players from the International Racquetball Tour, Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization, World Outdoor Racquetball and Classic Professional Racquetball Tour. “We’re making history onboard this vessel, as we promote health and fitness for our Sailors through the sport of racquetball,” said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Harper of Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Five and event organizer. “This is an opportunity to show Sailors how to play the game and promote the sport in the military,” said Alvaro Beltran, the number four ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour.

The idea of merging Navy fitness with the game of Racquetball began two years ago, while Lt. Cmdr Harper was deployed to the Gulf onboard a Norfolk based Cruiser. “Initially I was only thinking of how cool it would be to bring some type of court onto my ship while underway.” says Lt. Cmdr Harper.” But then I learned about the possibilities of portable outdoor racquetball courts, and I thought it would be more exciting to bring the game of Racquetball directly to Sailors who have never been exposed to it and who know nothing about the physical and mental challenges of the game”.

He put his idea into action while attending the 41st USA Racquetball Association National Singles Championship, where he met Hank Marcus with World Outdoor Racquetball and Peggine Tellez with the California State Racquetball Association. Together, this dynamic team orchestrated the two day demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, November 12-13, then seamlessly launched the All Military National Championship at Naval Base San Diego, November 14-16.

The planning of such a huge undertaking took massive coordination between organizers, sponsors and the ship’s staff. In fact, timing was critical as the BONHOMME RICHARD had just returned to port (San Diego) from for a four month exercise – conducting maritime exercise missions with coalition forces, and it was scheduled to fulfill additional operational mission requirements. Yet, even with such a tight schedule, the ship’s Commanding Officer, CAPT N. Parrott and CMDCM T. Verschueren thought this would be a unique way to introduce the sport and feature a new option for physical fitness to Sailors.

The day before the event kickoff Chuck West, of GIMEL Properties, and his crew transported and built the portable outdoor court on the flight deck of the ship. Working from sunup to sunset, they meticulously erected the court that would be used to make naval history. Then it was time to play.

The clinic began with exhibition matches between the professional players. Sailors were also given the opportunity to test their racquetball skills against the pros so see if they could score a few points. The professional players in attendance were IRT Professionals Rocky Carson, Jason Mannino, Alvaro Beltran and Chris Crowther; WPRO Professionals Rhonda Rajsich and Angela Grisar; CPRT Professionals Bret Harnett and Jimmy Lowe; and WOR Professionals Greg Solis and Craig Lane.

Between games, the sponsors, players, and guests were given the opportunity to tour the ship and have lunch with the crew. Professional players Rhonda Rajsich and Rocky Carson, agreed that this event was unique, as it was the first time either player had an opportunity to experience life on a warship. “We are pro’s in the sport of racquetball, but these Sailors are dedicated and committed to keeping this country free and democracy strong.” said Rhonda. “We are the ones who are honored, just to be able to promote the sport to these Sailors.” she continued. Rocky added, “We see the camaraderie amongst these Sailors, and pride they take in serving this country.”

The Sailors expressed gratitude and admiration for the Pros as they, in most cases, received their first introduction to the game of Racquetball. “It’s a very challenging sport and it’s an awesome way to keep in shape,” said Seaman Darren Larsen. “This was a successful event overall, both in terms of a morale boost for the crew and in promoting the ships continuing commitment to a culture of fitness,” said Anne Bolton, BONHOMME RICHARD’s Afloat Recreation Specialist. “We support a variety of fitness programs on BONHOMME RICHARD, and this racquetball clinic introduced the crew to an alternate method of staying in shape. It was a great event and it’s awesome that we [BONHOMME RICHARD] were the first to host such an event.”

As the clinics and demonstrations on the USS BONHOMME RICHARD; aimed at promoting racquetball to a new military audience, came to a close, the All Military National Championship, hosted by the Southwestern Region MWR, was just getting started, thanks to the generous support of Romano’s Macaroni Grill, E-Force, Ektelon, GearBox Racquetball, Head, ProKennex, Wilson, NMRA, & CPRT.

Over 100 military players from across the country and abroad (Germany and Italy) came to compete in this tournament; the first of it’s kind in over 15 years. In a celebration of military service, active duty and veteran service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard convened on Naval Base San Diego over Veteran’s Day weekend in Round-Robin competitions to determine who would rein as the military Champion. “It’s a passion and the Inter-Service competition keeps me coming back,” Lt. Cmdr Chhem Young-Pen, from SPAWAR System Center Pacific “I mean, this tournament brought out the best players.” Ron Dorst of Saratoga, N.Y. at 74, Dorst was the oldest player in the competition. The retired Vietnam-era veteran, who served in four branches of the military, has been playing racquetball for more than 25 years, said"It's fun coming together to have fun and see my friends."

“This week was a success for the sport of racquetball as we were extremely well received, not only by the tournament players, but also by those Sailors who had never heard of the game.”, said Lt Cmdr Steven Harper. “Getting the Military Racquetball-family back together again was just Great”, said Jeff Elder, (Air Force MSgt, ret.), former Presidential aircrew member of AIR FORCE ONE. “After 15+ years, it’s been a long time coming, and a dream of many to put on this type of event. We have to keep this program alive in the military”. And that is exactly what the supporters of this event intend to do!

To view photos, to read more about the demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, or for a complete list of winners from the All Military Racquetball Championship visit www.militaryracquetball.com.

State Doubles Results

Los Caballeros in Fountain Valley was the site of the 2008 State Doubles Championships. Pool Play and Round Robin formats insured that there was no shortage of matches to play. You may view the winners and finalist on the CSRA below. Also check out photos from the event in the photo gallery. Thank you’s all around to the CSRA Board of Directors and Don DiPalma and Los Caballeros. And a special thank you to Terri Ann Rogers, she just knows how to make a tournament flow smoothly!!!

Division	Winners	Finalists
Men’s Elite	John Wong/Scott Davis	Keith Fisher/Kevin Watson
Men’s A	Alberto Gutierrez/Michael Myers	Mark Root/Warren Pettit
Men’s B	Joshua Buras/Larry Stephens	Steve Levine/Scott Mortensen
Men’s C	Joe Rosales/Pedro Jimenez	Alex Fischler/John Fischler
Men’s 25/30+	A/B Mark Root/Warren Pettit	Steve Levine/Scott Mortensen
Men’s 35+A	Bryan Handlen/Ruben Lopez	Brad Levine/Joe Hayward
Men’s 35+/40+	Keith Fisher/Kevin Watson	Gabe Medina/John Wong
Men’s 45+ A/B	Hatch Saakian/Tom Keefe	David Horton/Steve Amezaga
Men’s 55+	Pete Chmielewski/Steve Cohen	Bill George/Mike Lippitt
Men’s 50/60+	Steve Cohen/Pete Chmielewski	Dennis Riggs/Mike Alderson
Men’s 65+	Hal Price/Luis Guerrero	Frederick Roe/Howard Nellor
Mixed Elite	Kris Kaskawal/Scott Davis	Debra Nathan/Randy Long
Mixed Age	Solanna Taragan/Grant Beatsen	Margie Der/David Aguirre
Mixed A	Vivian Schneider/Ernie Dominguez	Nico Richardson/Juan Diaz
Mixed B/C	Julia Mouser/Vic Martinez	Mickey Bellah/Dionne Reid

California State Racquetball Association (CSRA) Chooses Ektelon as Official Ball

(Oct 1, 2008) Ektelon is proud to announce that the California State Racquetball Association (CSRA) has chosen Ektelon to be the official ball of the CSRA effective immediately and continuing through August 31, 2012. CSRA has chosen the Ektelon Classic (black) as its ball of choice for most tournament play. However, all 3 Ektelon balls will be used throughout the term of this agreement – including Premium Select and Fireball which will be used at selected events.

Over the past three years Ektelon has taken an extremely proactive role in developing the best quality racquetballs in the sport. This development of three different yet consistent types of racquetballs is reflected in Ektelon’s partnerships as the “Official Ball” of the Women’s Professional Racquetball Organization (Fireball), World Outdoor Racquetball (Fireball), Classic Professional Racquetball Tour (Classic Ball), National Masters Racquetball Association (Classic Ball), Commonwealth of Virginia Racquetball Association (Fireball) North Carolina Racquetball Association (Fireball) and now the CSRA.

“We are proud and excited to become a partner with the CSRA. California is the most active state in the sport, consistently boasting the largest number of indoor and outdoor events in the country,” said Scott Winters, General Manager at Ektelon. “We look forward to working closely with the CSRA Board and members in developing new and exciting events for all types of players and working together with them to grow the sport.”

In addition to providing top-quality balls to the various CSRA tournaments, as part of the agreement, talented California-based Team Ektelon players such as Rocky Carson, Rhonda Rajsich, John Ellis, Jose Rojas, Greg Solis and Craig Lane, will hold ongoing CSRA junior camps and complimentary clinics throughout the state to help grow the sport among younger players. Players and fans will be able to find these events and clinics by visiting the CSRA website: www.californiaracquetball.org.

“Ektelon has always been one of the premier names in racquetball and the CSRA Board of Directors is delighted to begin this new alliance” commented CSRA President Larry Steiner. “Aside from their providing elite quality product, we appreciate the partnership with Ektelon because they, like us have a sincere interest in growing racquetball in the state of California.”

Based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon is a division of Prince Sports, Inc. For more information they can be contacted at (800) 283-2635 or through their website at www.ektelon.com

Junior National Championships
come to Concord California…

(July 9, 2008) The Junior National Championships were hosted at the Big C in Concord this year. There was also additional play at the Renaissance Club Sport in Walnut Creek. Thanks to CSRA Board members Jack Hughes and Margaret Pederson for assistance there!...There were over 200 players from across the country (32 states) attending the event. For the third year in a row, California won the state competition over second place Oregon. The next three were Ohio, Colorado and Michigan.. Play began Wednesday morning and wrapped up Sunday afternoon. Part of the result of the Nationals is determining which players make the National team. Of the 30 players on the team, 9 are from California. This team will compete in the World Championships to be held in December at Arizona State University.

California players finishing in the top three in the Gold Division include (alphabetical order):

• Ismael Aldana—3rd 18 Doubles
• *Jose Diaz—2nd 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under Doubles
• Teresa Diaz—3rd 18 and under Singles
• Cameron Ghoddoucy—3rd 8 and under Multibounce
• David Horn—3rd 18 and under Doubles
• Dillon Huang —1st 6 and under Multibounce
• *Victoria Leon—2nd 8 and under singles; 2nd Multibounce; 3rd 10 and under
• *Sawyer Lloyd—2nd 12 and under singles; 1st 12 and under Doubles; 1st 12 and under Mixed doubles
• *Aubrey O’Brien—1st 16 and under; 2nd 16 and under doubles
• *Devon Pimentelli—1st 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under doubles; 2nd 14 and under mixed doubles
• Antonio Rojas—2nd 6 and under multibounce
• *Jose Rojas—1st 18 and under singles; 1st 18 and under doubles
• *Marco Rojas—1st 14 and under singles; 1st 14 and under doubles
• *Bobby Sehrgosha—3rd 12 and under singles; 1st 12 and under doubles; 3rd 12 and under mixed doubles
• *Sabrina Viscuso—1st 12 and under singles;1st 12 and under doubles; 3rd 12 and under mixed doubles..

Those marked with an * have made the National team. Others finishing in the top three of Non-Gold divisions included: Logan Nance, Luke Sewall, Zach Brancato, Cody Alsup, Mauro Rojas, Conor Pimentelli, Dima Gafarov, Tyler Lanman, David Horn, Cameron Ghoddoucy, Antonio Rojas, Andres, Barrera, and Michelle Hernoko.

Congratulations to all of the player who participated and good luck to the National team! Thank you to Jim Evans and his crew at the Big C for making this a great event. Thank You to John Ellis and Larry Steiner for some of the behind the scenes negotiations for this to take place

See the Juniors News page for coverage of the CSRA State Juniors Championships in May.

2008 WOR Ektelon Championships Huntington Beach ; July 10–13, 2008 World Outdoor Racquetball Championships at Marina Park in Huntington Beach, CA. Benefitting the Sheffield Family Memorial Fund. ( Entry Form | Tournament Flyer | Tournament website | WOR website )

Fresh as a can of unopened racquetballs

(May 20, 2008) Recent updates to the site and other points of interest.

• Photos - Photos from the California State Juniors (May 16-17th)
• State Rankings - State Rankings updated May 1, 2008
• National Rankings - National ranking database now shows all matches you have played in recorded competition—I'd encourage players to check this out.
  ( USAR Rankings: Women | Men )
• Photos - Photos from the Concord Classic (Apr 10-13th)
• Coach's Corner - April 8th article on "Drive Serve Visualization"

California State Singles Championships
Anastasia's Club Fit, Los Gatos ; March 28–30, 2008

(Apr 9, 2008) The California Singles championships were held March 28th-30th at Anastasia’s Club in Los Gatos. Players from throughout the state came to play all weekend. With all events either Pool Play or Round Robin all players got a lot of games in. (See the tournament results and the photo gallery.)

Always an abundance of food and the host club was terrific…

Division	First	Runner-up
Women’s Open/Elite	Aubrey O’Brien	Margaret Demorest
Womens’ Skill	Patti Van Der Burg	Monica Yamaoka
Women’s Age	Patti Van Der Burg	Monica Yamaoka
Men’s Open	Gil Cepeda	Armando Villa
Men’s Elite	Ben Goldenberg	Mitch Derr
Men’s A	Joel Franklin	Kevin Barlia
Men’s B	Jim Russo	Hank Estrada
Men’s C	Noel Ranario	John Fischler
Men’s D	Kyle Vickroy	Paul Choi
Men’s 24A	Cody Alsup	Tyler Lanman
Men’s 24 B/C	Kevin Winn	Joe Lucchesi
Men’s 25	Brian Feng	Michael Leyva
Men’s 25	Kevin Kringle	Richard Aal
Men’s 25 B/C	Thomas Kozumi	Rhon Williford
Men’s 35	Armando Villa	Steve Wattz
Men’s 35 A	Alfonso Perez	Mario Estevez
Men’s 35 B	Dan Matthews	Mairo Moreira
Men’s 35 C	Philip Haseltine	John Fischler
Men’s 45	Gil Cepeda	Steve Wattz
Men’s 45 A	Rick Betts	Kevin Barlia
Men’s 45 B	Erick Razz	Greg Young
Men’s 45 C	Noel Ranario	James Dedauw
Men’s 55	Bert Castelanelli	Jack Mahrt
Men’s 55A	Hank Estrada	Ron Souza
Men’s 55B	Greg Young	Dennis Mattish
Men’s 55C	George Calizar	Gary Albright
Men’s 65	Gary McAuley	Ron Dorst

Coach's Corner: Early Racquet Preparation

“Early racquet preparation is important in all racquet sports. It is one of the leading, key aspects for success in racquetball. There are so many things one could think about, so I like to limit it to four general categories. Almost all the things to consider, when hitting the ball ... ” [read more]

This is the first installment of what we hope to be a regular offering of tips and advice columns from coaches and trainers. We hope that players will benefit from the advice directly and that it will encourage them to seek out opportunities to continually grow and enrich their racquetball game.

The Big C Doubles Shootout

(Dec 15, 2007)  The 5^th Juniors Only racquetball tournament held at ClubSport of Pleasanton on Saturday, December 8^th hosted junior players from Petaluma Valley Athletic Club, Auburn Racquet & Fitness Club, Meridian Sports Clubs in Novato, Fitness West Daly City, Solano Athletic Club, Supreme Court 1 in Sunnyvale, Cross Court Athletic Club, ClubSport San Ramon and ClubSport of Pleasanton. Seeing the improvement in these players, most of who are returning players in our junior events, should make the program directors and junior coaches from these clubs very proud. The participating juniors were examples of fine players showing great sportsmanship. Not only do they love to play, they love to referee! Running an event for junior players is such a rewarding experience, not to mention a “breeze” compared to hosting adults. Hopefully we will have more of these fun, one-day events for our very deserving junior players. They are our future league, tournament and possibly professional players, and also our future program directors, racquetball teachers and coaches.

(Read more for full results)…

Collegiate: SoCal Scrimmages

Collegiate: Fall WCRC Tournament at UC Berkeley

(Nov 13, 2007)  The 2007-2008 WCRC season is off to a HUGE start as we had 55 players from 9 different schools compete in the Fall WCRC tournament at Berkeley. Sacramento State edged Berkeley for the tournament win and the lead in the season standings. Danielle Evans (UC Santa Cruz) over Amy Benson (UC Davis) in the Women's I gold finals in a hard-fought tie-breaker. (We have a guess what Danielle wished for when she blew out her birthday candles that day!) Alejandro Ron (Sac State) over Carlos Penagos (SJSU) in the Men's I gold finals. Men's Division II: Jake Abernathy (UC Berkeley) over Stephen Hibbs (Stanford) in a tiebreaker. Men's Division III: Siva Gunda (UC Davis) over David Wong (UC Berkeley), also in a tie-breaker. Great matches!

(writeup and full results at the WCRC website)…

California Players at National Doubles

(Oct 12, 2007) Fall is in the air so it must be time for the National Doubles. We had 107 players in Tempe AZ representing California at the 2007 National Doubles with 416 players from across the country joining in to make their best showings. We wanted to take a minute to recognize the California Winners and Finalist for this tournament and add a “hearty congratulations” to everyone who participated. Since this tournament will take place again in February 2008 on its new date on the calendar, we wanted to give you some inspiration!!!

(read more)…

Aubrey O'Brien Appears in Sports Illustrated

CSRA Supports US Juniors Team

(Sep 13, 2007) The CSRA Board and its members are pleased to announce a $1000 donation to the support of the US Junior Racquetball Team, specifically for the players representing California. Thank you to all the players who have donated generously to this cause and to the coaches of our players.  These are the future greats of our sport!!
-Peggine

Collegiate: SoCal Scrimmages

(Nov 10, 2007)  Momentum in Southern California continues to grow for collegiate racquetball. On Saturday, November 11, the two leading schools with racquetball programs in the LA area, USC and CSUF, met for some head-to-head competition. Both teams fielded 9 players of varying skill levels. The format used was a round robin, where each player played all of the opposing team's players, 1 game to 11. The winner was determined by accumulation of points.

For many people this was their first time playing in a competitive setting, and they all played great and fought hard.  It was a long day of competition with everyone having to play 9 singles games.  For CalState Fullerton Jon Varona and Vito Caccuciolo dominated the event by winning all their matches, and Andre Mora scored 91 points for the team, but USC was a strong and steady, conistent team.  The two Trojans who led their team in points was Alan Zhang and Grant Stubbins, but all their players made contributions to the overall total which made the huge difference.  The final score was 644 to 524 points.  Congratulations USC!

Thanks to Grant Stubbins and Jon Varona for working together and setting this up.  Thanks to the teams at USC and CSUF for participating. 

After hearing about the great turnout CSU Long Beach decided that they want to get into the mix.  Next scrimmages are CSULB vs. CSUF and CSULB vs. USC, dates are TBD.  There are schools starting clubs on other campuses and their is a lot of interest for collegiate racquetball; if this momentum continues look out for a Southern California WCRC Tournament in the Spring!  If anyone has friends that play racquetball in any Southern California University please email the information to Jon Varona at jon.varona@gmail.com.  He has been working with schools in the area to help start up recognized campus racquetball clubs.

(See the WCRC website for more information on collegiate racquetball)

California Players at National Doubles

(Oct 12, 2007) Fall is in the air so it must be time for the National Doubles. We had 107 players in Tempe AZ representing California at the 2007 National Doubles with 416 players from across the country joining in to make their best showings. We wanted to take a minute to recognize the California Winners and Finalist for this tournament and add a “hearty congratulations” to everyone who participated. Since this tournament will take place again in February 2008 on its new date on the calendar, we wanted to give you some inspiration!!! You may notice that there are several multi-medal winners on this list – please forgive me if I left anyone off or goofed your name. Shoot me an email and I will make corrections.

Division	Players	Place
W US Team Qualifying	Jacqueline Paraiso and her partner Aimee Ruiz, of New Jersey	US Team
WB & W45B	Adrienne Velasquez/Nico Richardson	Gold in both divisions
WC	Julia Mouser/Pearl Torres	Silver
W25A	Nancy Large and her partner from FL	Silver
W35+	Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner from AZ	Silver
W40+	Roxanne Davis/Lori Soares	Gold
	Elaine Dexter/Jody Nance	Silver
W45+	Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner	Silver
W50+	Elaine Dexter and her partner	Gold
	Leslie Pawka and her partner	Silver
W55+	Merijean Kelley and her partner	Gold
	Terry Ann Rogers and her partner	Silver
W60+	Merijean Kelley/Nidia Funes	Gold
	Marquita Molina and her partner	Silver
MXO	Janel Tisinger/Jason Samora	Silver
MXA	Dennis French/Dorcy Norton	Silver
MXB	Juan Diaz/Nico Richardson	Silver
MXC	Pearl Torres/Ralph Torres	Gold
MX35+	Amy foster and her partner	Gold
	Rafeal Filippini and his partner	Silver
MX40+	Jody Nance/Mark Nomura	Gold
MX45+	Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her partner	Silver
MX50+	Elaine Dexter and her partner	Gold
MX55+	Steve Cohen/Terry Ann Rogers	Silver
MX60+	Merijean Kelley/Mike Pawka	Gold
	Luis Guerrero/Nidia Funes	Silver
MO	Brian Klee/Jason Samora	Gold
ME	Gil Cepeda/Danny Newman	Silver
MB	Jim Latter/Kevin Loop	Gold
M24A	Ro Blackwood/Thomas (Alex) Baker	Gold
M35B	Jim Latter/Kevin Loop	Gold
	Andrew Espinoza/David Aguirre	Silver
M45	Danny Newman/Gil Cepeda	Silver
M45B	John Dalisky/Vic Koliczew	Gold
M50	Gene Pare and his partner	Silver
M55	Bert Castelanelli/David Ortega	Gold
	Eric Barkey and his partner	Silver
M55A	Jon Christ/Steve Cohen	Gold
	Barry Clyde/Mike Lippitt	Silver
M60	Mike Pawka and his partner	Silver
M65	Luis Guerrero and his partner	Silver
M70	Ken Moore/Paul Banales	Silver

Rule for CSRA Skill Division State Champions

The winners of each CSRA State Singles or Doubles Championship Skill Division will be ineligible to play in that division for a minimum of one year or until after the CSRA State Championship Tournament the following year.

This rule applies to the winners of the Men's and Women's A, B, C and D divisions.

The winner of the Men's and Women's ELITE Division will not be eligible to ENTER an ELITE Division, but may enter an Open/ELITE Division and drop down if they lose in the first round and the man is not ranked in the top one third of the Open Division and the Woman is not ranked in the top 10 of the Open Division.

If the player accumulates no points in the higher division during that year, he/she may petition the CSRA Board of Directors to regain eligibility to play in the lower division.

Players on the Road to the Nationals

(Apr 3, 2007)  Are you looking for a roommate? Maybe we can help connect people heading to Houston to share some of the costs and maximize your experiences! Email us with your name/gender/phone contact/email contactÊand you can make the connections. Here is the first person asking about Houston:

Player	Contact	Share
Carlos Contreras	Ph: 707-585-7813 www.bearfinancialgroup.com

USAR/CSRA Membership Drive

There is currently a drive for new members of USAR/CSRA. For every new member you sponsor, your name gets thrown in the “hat”.

The USAR will have a drawing on May 1. The winner receives airfare and a free entry into the National singles.

CSRA will have a separate drawing at the same time. With an award of Free entry into the 2007 State Doubles and 2008 State Singles tournaments + 1 year Free USAR/CSRA membership going to the member that sponsors the most new members. Also, two names will be drawn out of our “hat”, with one receiving 2 years Free USAR/CSRA membership and the other receiving 1 year Free USAR/CSRA membership.

New members will get the benefits of receiving the USAR magazine which arrives every other month full of great information. The instructional tips alone are worth 3X+ the cost of membership. Members are also on the list to receive notices of upcoming events. Every member is also eligible for secondary medical coverage during a sanctioned event in case of injury and has the opportunity to compete for a place on the US team as well as attend performance and training camps.

Membership is NOT just for tournament players. Club players trying to improve their game can get tons of great advice from the magazine. Juniors can get inspired and will be informed of events they may not know of otherwise.

The membership form can be downloaded here: membership-drive-jan-2007.pdf

2007 State Championships

The Fitness West Club in Daly City played host to this years State Singles Championships. This was also the first year that a State Singles could be eligible as an alternate Qualifier for entry into the 2007 National Singles in Houston.

The R2Sports online entry system is gaining in popularity with the players across the country with the players about to gain access to their start times and division draws as well as entering the tournament. The players in the State Singles have also shown a partiality to the online system with over half of the 120 participants signing up on the web.

Jack Hughes was able to update the draws actively during the tournament utilizing a paperless system for the first time. For future events, this online system is available to all tournament directors for all sanctioned events and includes the assistance of our board members whom have experience with the R2Sports system.

This year the Board of Directors tried something a little different with prize money pools in every division. For straight draws, prize money was awarded though the Semi-finals and for Round Robin draws, prize money was awarded by points for 1st, 2nd & some 3rd places based on winning at least one match and the size of the draw.

Several players chose to donate their prize money back to the racquetball association for use in the Juniors and general development programs as well as a few folks making a donation on their entry form. Our sincere thanks to: Jack Easterday, Tony Jammal, Nidia Funes, Tori Davis, Jeff Marshall, Mark Nives, Alyse Cori & Margaret Pederson.

I would personally like to thank the participating Board of Directors for their efforts over the weekend to provide a quality event centered on the players satisfaction: Jack Hughes, Brian Dixon, Del Villanueva, Larry Steiner, Margaret Pederson and a super special THANX our perennial volunteer – Terri Ann Rogers.

Congratulaions to all players for participating in your State Singles Championships. The following is the Champion and Finalist results for the 2007 State Singles Championships. For complete results, please review the draws by going to the tournament website through the californiaracquetball.org/calendar link.

Division	Winner/Finalist
Men’s Open	Jason Samora / Herb Yamashiro
Men’s Elite	Matt Barserian / Gil Cepeda
Men’s A	Jeremy Mayer / Kevin Loop
Men’s B	Kyle Kazmierczak / Jim Latter
Men’s C	Zachary Brancato / Jack Easterday
Men’s D	Jesse Serna / Mitch Forrest Jr.
Men’s under 24	Matt Berserian / Kyle Severns
Men’s 25+	Brian Feng / Jason Samora
Men’s 35+	Armando Villa / Richardo Espinosa
Men’s 45+	Jim Durham / Steven Ducich
Men’s 55+	Jim Ferrell / John Lomonaco
Men’s 65+	Ron Dorst
Men’s 75+	Vinnie Caramagno / Jose Sanchez
Men’s Under 24 A	Carlos Penagos / Tony Jammal
Men’s 35+ A	Joel Schneider / Jeff Marshall
Men’s 45+ A	John Lomonaco / Richard Aal
Men’s 35+ B	Charlie Terrazas / Jose Castillo
Men’s 45+ B	Paul Flores / Clay Alexander
Men’s 55+ B	Hank Estrada / Carlos Contreras
Men’s 45+ C	Jack Easterday / Doug Litwin
Men’s 55+ C	Warren Hackbarth / Henry Taylor
Women’s Open	Mary Tessier / Aubrey O’Brien
Women’s Elite	Esther Lozano / Margaret Pederson
Women’s A	Alyse Cori / Devon Pimentelli
Women’s B	Haoning Yang
Women’s C	Jessica Winn / Irene Djohan
Women’s D	Linda Winn / Beverly Bachoo
Women’s 45+	Lee Hardiman
Women’s 25/35 B/C	Haoning Yang / Amy Palko
Women’s 25+ C	Irene Djohan / Angela Hahn

Collegiate: 2006 Tournament at Berkeley

The Aggies came hunting for Bear, and bagged one in the end. Their weapon of choice, a stellar women's team. That didn't stop the men's ballet squad from mugging for the trophy photo, though... Seriously, congratulations to the team— we're all looking forward to the next tournament.

[Read the full tournament recap at the WCRC website]

Rank Points Team 1 965 UC Davis 2 928 UC Berkeley 3 611 Stanford 4 488 CSU Sacramento 5 280 Butte College 6 202 San Jose State 7 140 UC Santa Cruz 8 132 Goldenwest

WCRC Commissioner John Bardos awarding the travelling trophy to the UC Davis Aggies.

2006 Juniors Nats - “Zach’s Nats”

“Last summer, a few of my racquetball buddies and I went to Lansing, MI for the Junior National Racquetball Tournament. This was the second time I went to the Nationals but it was my first time going with just my friends. …” [Read the rest in the Juniors News pages]

Zach

2006 State Doubles Sweatshirts

We have a limited number of Large sweatshirts from the 2006 State Doubles available for purchase - $15 includes shipping. Grey - No shrink.
—Peggine (

peggine (at) pacbell.net

)

Their Moment in the Sun

Congratulations to the California state players for an awesome showing in Tempe this past month at the USAR National Doubles. See anyone you know? Tell them “congrats,” and if you see yourself, give yourself a pat on the back. Hours of additional entertainment from this list:

1. Call up each of these heroes-in-our-midsts, find out what their favorite cookie is, and then send it to them!
2. If you didn't go, pencil your name in and daydream about the fun you would have had. (feel free to make up any placing you want—nobody's looking)
3. Print out the list and use it as a road-trip game for your kids: have them count how many state players had multiple placings!
4. Hunt for typos, and then send them to the ...

State Player(s)	Division	Placing
Rocky Carson	MO	1st
Jason Samora	MO	3rd
Marc Pollack,Ricardo Soto	ME	2nd
Dave Peckinpaugh/Mike Peckinpaugh	MB	1st
Richard Aal/Tom Lonardo	MB	2nd
Raphael Carrillo/Robert Balsimo	MC	1st
Jason Geis/Rafael Filipini	M24/25	4th
Ro Blackwood/Thomas Baker	M24/25A	2nd
Bill George/Bronc Hughes	M24/25A	4th
Raphael Carrillo/Robert Balsimo	M25C	3rd
Gregg Solis/Jon Dunn	M30	2nd
Mark Nomura/Tim Annear	M30	3rd
Randy Long/Ron Miremontes	M35A	3rd
Jon Christ/Steve Cohen	M45/55B	1st
Ruben Baraja/Bud Bristol	M45/55B	2nd
Hank Estrada/Dave Peckinpaugh	M45/55B	3rd
Gregg Imuta/Roy San Miguel	M45/55B	4th
Bert Castelanelli/Dave Ortega	M50	4th
Gene Pare	M50	2nd
Bert Castelanelli/Dave Ortega	M55	3rd
Eric Barkey	M55	1st
Mike Pawka	M60	1st
Robert Lattanzio/Scott Rudoni	M60	4th
Janel Tisinger	WO	2nd
Lori Soares/Roxanne Davis	WE	3rd
Sue Goodwin	WE	1st
Paula Likens	WA RED	2nd
Carla Francis	WA Blue	2nd
Esther Lozano/Louis Doran	WB	1st
Arleen Jimenez/Carolina Cruz	WC	1st
Janel Tisinger	W24/25	1st
Elaine Dexter/Jody Nance	W30/40	1st
Debra Tisinger/Solanna Taragan	W30/40	2nd
Arleen Jimenez/Carolina Cruz	W35 RED	3rd
Debra Tisinger	W45	1st
Brenda lee/Cindy Gilbert	W45 BLUE	1st
Marni Wagner/Paule Likens	W45 BLUE	3rd
Leslie Pawka	W50	2nd
Sue Goodwin	W50	3rd
Elaine Dexter	W50	1st
Kathy Trotter/Nancy Large	W50 RED	3rd
Terry Rogers/Carla Francis	W55	2nd
Nidia Funes	W60	2nd
Jason Geis/Lori Soares	MXE	1st
Roxanne Davis/Marc Pollack	MXE	3rd
Cindy Gilbert/Gil Cepeda	MXE	2nd
Lori Soares/Dan Malsack	MXA	1st
Pearl Torres/Ralph Torres	MXDC	3rd
Colleen Keating/Jeff Sligar	MXDC	4th
Debra Nathan/Rudy Chavez	MXD24/25	3rd
Kari Gardner/James Swift	MXD24/25	1st
Amy Foster	MXD30	1st
Jody Nance/Brian Klee	MXD30	3rd
Brenda Lee/Tim Annear	MXD30	4th
Lisa Hjelm/Mark Nomura	MXD35	4th
Cilia Vigil/Tom Lonardo	MXD40	3rd
Ken Stone	MXD45	2nd
Debbie Tisinger	MXD45	3rd
Elaine Dexter	MXD50	1st
Kim Cameron/Rick Ramirez	MXD50	3rd
Russ Mannino	MXD55	2nd
Terry Rogers/Mike Pawka	MXD55	3rd
Nidia Funes	MXD60	1st
Fred Roe	MXD60	2nd
Marquita Molina	MXD65	1st
William Baker	MXD65	2nd

2006 State Doubles

Photos from the recent State Doubles tournament have been posted in the Photo Gallery.

Website Renovations

(Sep 25) I've been making some changes to the website, and appreciate your feedback and help in getting it updated. If you have revised club information, or if you see a problem on one of the site's pages, please email your

error-prone webmaster at (hills_csra (at) tina.stanford.edu).

As part of the website's design, I wanted to have an image of a player as a graphical framing element on the page. John Ellis was kind enough to provide a good-quality image that I used. Several of the board members as well as several state members suggested that I should take care to avoid the appearance of favoritism for a single manufacturer (and I think John's wife, Jen, was concerned about the rumors of all of the teenage girls printing out the page and pasting it on the covers of their school books).

For the time being, I'd like you to say "hi" to Zippy, our bouncy blue friend. Zippy's blue color was carefully selected to be a tint that would show no favoritism to any single ball manufacturer. Long-term, I'd like to explore displaying images from our state players on a rotating basis. I'd encourage folks to send me good-quality pictures that will fit the design. (Images should show a single subject, should have a simple uniform background, and be related to racquetball–I'll be happy to discuss the possibilities of a photo further with anyone who sends email.) Please send submissions to the error-prone webmaster mentioned above...

—your error-prone (but well-intentioned!) webmaster

CSRA Election Results

The Board of Directors of the CSRA is pleased to announce the results of our recent vote for the Board of Directors. Jack Hughes and Michael Martinez have been re-elected, and we're delighted to be joined by Larry Steiner as our newest board member.

Friends of the CSRA

We are setting up a Friends of the CSRA web page to acknowledge the financial contributions of individuals and organizations who are making a special effort to support our state racquetball program.

At this point, we'd like to recognize the following contributors at the Gold level: Mike Lippitt, Rick Betts of Spartan Supply, Brian Dixon of First Security Loan, and Peggine Tellez of Edward Jones; the following contributor at the Silver level: David van Deren of Comfort Air HVAC and Jack Easterday; and the following contributors at the Bronze level: Allan Nuttall, Bill Goddard, Gary Kahler, Barry Lynes, Jim Railey, Joe Greenleaf of Greenleaf Printing, and “Bozo” (the state’s most anonymous supporter).

—We thank you.

Beyond the Short Line
September 2006 CSRA Newsletter

In this issue:

• Juniors coverage: State Championships and US National Junior Olympics
• Recap: Elana Aalways Smiles Charity Fundraiser
• Recap: Spring Sprung at the Sierra Spring Splat
• Recap: Fundraiser Tournament for Contra Costa County Homeless Shelter
• Upcoming Events, and notes on upcoming 2006/07 Season

Read it all by downloading the Sep 2006 CSRA Newsletter