FALL 2016 Official Newsletter of the National Masters Racquetball Association (NMRA) INSIDE NMRA Board Excited to Descend on Atlanta This Issue: By Cindy Tilbury, NMRA President | Doubles Only Entry .... 3 Chris Poucher, Jason Chan and I have been person, after all of his help getting this event set up, | NMRA Hall of Fame.... 7 working hard to get everything ready for our first including the lunches and hospitality. | Nat’l Champs Entry ...11 NMRA tournament at the Recreation ATL club Our host hotel will be the Sonesta Gwinnett Place. | Results..................... 16 in Atlanta (the suburb of Lilburn, actually). Our It is only about four miles from the club, with no | Election Ballot .......... 23 whole board is very excited to host an NMRA need to get onto a freeway. The special website to | Tournament Trail ...... 24 event in a city brand new to us! help us register is https://gc.synxis.com/rez.aspx?Hote | NMRA Board ............ 24 I have had so many players tell me they are l=58939&Chain=5157&arrive=12/6/2016&depart=12/11/ definitely playing our Atlanta event and that gets me 2016&adult=1&child=0&group=1208RAQUET excited and a little nervous. We are worried that we — — * — — If you know our group, you probably know that we The NMRA might have TOO many players for the amount of usually have our Friday night banquet and short courts available, but we have a plan in case of that. program at the host hotel. In this case, we saved Future Fund We hope that it is a problem we have to deal with. By Mike Griz, NMRA some budget dollars by holding our banquet at Remember that it is a round-robin doubles-only the PVC Event Center directly across the street Co-Treasurer and Future tournament (men’s, women’s and mixed in five-year Fund Executive Director from the racquetball club. Make a note on your age increments starting at 40) and we can help calendar to attend—you don’t want to miss this. The NMRA serves its find doubles partners. There is a two-division limit, Slide/video shows and awards are customary. membership by hosting and you don’t have to have mixed as one of your three tournaments divisions. We may have to combine some divisions, Some other special treats we have in store per year in alternative but please sign up for what you want and we’ll notify for you include racquet stringers, massage locations. The NMRA you if we have to make adjustments. therapists and a certified Kinesio tapers. Rest assured, we will treat you right. Board wants to promote Jason Chan, owner of the Recreation ATL club, has racquetball for its been very busy this fall. In addition to his regular Make your hotel reservations by Tuesday, members and to expand local tournaments, he has hosted a Ladies Pro November 15, and enter the tournament before the our membership and Racquetball Tour stop and a World Racquetball November 21 deadline. See you in Atlanta! increase participation in Tour event. We are excited to work with him in www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=17447 our tournaments. We had members give Big Change in March Venue/Dates us contributions over By Patrick Gibson the years and have established the NMRA The NMRA Board had made big plans to put on an extra-special event in March 2017 in Southern California. Plans were almost final, but top management of the Bay Club squelched the deal and we Future Fund. I am now in had to scramble. We will do our best to get back to sunny Canoga Park as soon as they are able to the role of managing the commit courts to us. assets of the fund and working with a Future Fortunately, we were able to convince the owner of the Maverick Athletic Club in Arlington, Texas, to Fund Committee and the host our devoted group of round-robin enthusiasts and we were able to work around the Texas State Board to use these funds Singles tourney to finalize the details. We are going back to Dallas! in the best interests of Please update your calendars to reserve March 22 through 25, 2017 for our Spring tournament. our membership. Given One very small concession we had to make at this club was to hold the banquet (BBQ, actually) on that our priorities are to Thursday evening. Note that on your calendar, as well. We love being able to be in the middle of the increase membership United States and hope to pick up a few East Coasters who might not have come out to California. Tell continued on Page 2... all of your racquetball friends to sign up today! www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=18874 NationalMastersRacquetball.org | 1 NMRA Future Fund President’s Corner - 2024 Olympics continued from page 1 By Cindy Tilbury, NMRA President and to provide world-class tournaments, the Future I will admit that I watched a LOT of hours of golf. That would make room for a few more sports Fund is meant to ensure Olympic coverage this August. I was so proud and let a few other countries share the glory. the long-term success of of Team USA and teared up hearing the National During these Games, it may have been a the NMRA. Anthem so many times. It was also wonderful coincidence that the US Junior Racquetball to see that Paola Longoria was being a sports We aim to increase the Team players and other invited rising stars were anchorwoman for Team Mexico, since her sport training very hard at the US Olympic Training size of the fund to use it of racquetball was not on the list of medal events. as an endowment for the Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The advancement of our sport The IRF Racquetball World Championships had tweets and posts were great to see—our young and our organization. We just been contested in Cali, Colombia, and the USA athletes don’t get to train as a team very often. need all of our members’ Racquetball team took the silver medal. Many of This made me think about the 2024 Olympics help in this regard. We those matches were streamed live and I watched and the actual participants who will represent the appreciate any donations a lot of that too. A surprise second place finish in USA. It is eight years from now. Will the team which are, of course, tax the Women’s Singles was Gabby Martinez from consist of the young kids training at the Olympic deductible. Guatemala. Only a win would be better to amp Training Center now, or will it be kids who have up the excitement for racquetball in that country. My expertise in not even picked up a racquet yet? Perhaps investment planning led During that two-week tournament, IRF Kane Waselenchuk will continue to dominate and me to volunteer to be the President, Osvaldo Maggi from Argentina, was stay healthy for another eight years and add an executive director of the interviewed about the sport of racquetball being Olympic Gold for Canada to fill the hole in his Future Fund and I have added as an Olympic medal sport. You can see trophy room. The 20-year-olds of today may be been recently approved the full interview here, but a quick summary is the stars then…28/30 isn’t old in our sport, but by the Board. Until now, that he feels very confident that Racquetball will the winners be closer to 18? the fund has been in cash. WILL be in the 2024 Olympics IF Los Angeles Eight years will fly by--will the USA be ready? We now plan to invest is awarded the bid to host the games. Just Will Guatemala dominate? Mexico? Will there the Fund in a longer-term hearing that is so exciting to me (and perhaps be enough coaches for the countries and will that strategy that will hopefully all of the other 45+ players around the globe) be a real career as we get closer to the big day? have opportunities for because we have been waiting so long. As far What can the rest of us do to help our countries both growth and income. back as the late 1980s, there had been serious compete at the highest level? IRF spokesperson (Note, neither I nor my hope that the sport would be included in the Tim Baghurst suggests donating dollars to the firm will receive any 1996 games in Atlanta, but NO. compensation.) IRF to allow it to get more countries (continents And for me, the most heartbreaking part of this too?) on board with courts and equipment for The NMRA will need all of long wait has been the really lame activities and their players. And of course, you can approach our support to continue to skills (I cannot call them sports) that are already a kid at the club and teach him/her to play the exist. Please consider a Olympic sports—summer and winter!!! I won’t sport. How proud would you be if YOU taught tax-deductible contribution pick on them by name, but I do cry as I watch the first Olympic Gold Medal racquetball player to the Fund in your estate them. Even pure Olympic sports like running and how to play the sport?!? or direct donation. I am swimming, in my humble opinion, should cut out committed to helping about half of the distances and relays and diving Contact the USA Racquetball office sczarnecki@ the organization and the and synchronizing and hurdling and hand out one usra.org or the IRF [email protected] Future Fund.