CRA Rollout | Fall 2015

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

The Colorado Racquetball Association Quarterly ENews DOUBLES ... DOUBLED UP Dual Clubs to Host 2015 State Doubles, November 13-15 The CRA is mixing it up for the 42nd State Doubles, and will use split venues throughout the tournament - just as it did to host the National Singles back in May. Teams will be scheduled to compete at both Lifetime Fitness and the Littleton Family YMCA. Each club is situated on Dry Creek Road and will offer a total of eight courts for competition between the two sites.

With your online-only registration, you'll find a full complement of divisions: from Open and Elite, to A/B/C (one letter skill only!), and age divisions in 5-year increments from 25+. A 24-and-under division will also be offered, along with over-and-under options for juniors and the "Centurion" (combined team "age" = 100+) class.

Ahead of time, you can find an updated Tournament Player's Guide on the CRA's new website, which will give you all the ins-and-outs of how best to manage your State Championship experience in Colorado. This tipsheet offers hints on what to expect from the time you enter to when you pick up your medals, and everything in between. Follow the link above, or navigate to it from ColoradoRacquetball.com > Competition > Guidelines.

Last year's State Doubles drew 123 players who played off in 25 single elimination, pool play and round robin brackets for state titles, including firsttime Open champions Eric Waser/Sean Summers and Jessica Munoz/Michelle Sikorski. The other first-time state Mixed Open winner was the Father/Daughter team of Jessica Munoz/Alan Lawson, which will be coming off a repeat string of wins at the Rocky Mountain State Games. Look for strong bids by all of the champions and challengers alike!

Navigate to the 2015 registration page so you can be among the first to enter and claim your discount, then follow along to see which of last year's winners are planning to defend their titles!

FALL 2015 NEW WEBSITE

IN THIS ISSUE • FALL Preview • Pepsi Cup Close Out • Club & Tourney Updates • Junior Program Update • Upcoming Events • Instruction • Know your Rules • Board Update • From the Editor • National News • SUMMER Results • Rocky Mtn State Games • Rocky Mtn Senior Games • National Masters • 30th Pepsi Cup • IRF World Seniors • Fearless Opening Shots

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

Early Bird Deadline = Monday, November 2 ($AVE $10) Final Deadline = Saturday, November 7 | Register Today >>

Pepsi Cup Champions | Back row, L-R: Steve Cox, Kerry Rohweder, Bruce Peotter, William Adams, Captain Fearless Bill Fearing, Dan Pettingill, Paul Ashton. Front row, L-R: Lucy Jirik, Taryn Boomgaard, Diane Wilkinson, Amber Pettingill, Rick Lovejoy. Not pictured: Emily Stanton, Mary Stanton, Michael (Mic) Eitzel, Don Lundberg, Mike Shupe, Craig Fallenberg, Brad Baum.

END OF AN ERA | Pepsi Cup Close Out

by John Foust, Event Founder & Executive Director One unique-to-Colorado tradition has ended, with a new possibility on the forefront. After 30 years, the Pepsi Cup / Colorado Team Racquetball Championships came to an end. Au revoir, tschuss, shalom, arrivederci, adios, so long, goodbye. In closing it out, congratulations go to Bill Fearing and his merry band of players for piecing together a solid team effort to place Highlands Ranch on the trophy for their second, and its final time. And don’t be fooled by their 47 point margin ... it wasn’t easy.

Led by team captain Kathleen Erickson, second place Apex Racquet & Fitness pushed hard all weekend - but HRRC had too much balance, too big a roster, and too many players standing tall when push came to shove. Former champs Peterson Air Force base placed third, followed by Longmont Athletic Club and Goodson Recreation Center (another past team champion) in fourth and fifth place.

One of the lower turnouts, if not the lowest, in Pepsi Cup history was due to the event being forced to reschedule from June into August.

The Highlands Ranch venue had hosted the National Singles Championships in May, then shut down for much-needed court renovations. In 20/20 hindsight, we should have moved into the fall, since the August date interfered with a lot of vacation plans. But

The Pepsi Cup ended with the same class it started with, by

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even without some of their top players, all of the teams were competitive and HRRC’s victory was hard-fought.

A special thanks to TDs Deven Naik and Dennis Chandler, along with the master of hospitality, April Settell, who all stepped in early to help get things headed down the right road. Once we began, the tournament ran on time, or ahead, due to the hard work of Deven, Joe Encinias, Scott Winters, Wayne Wakeen, and numerous others.

It’s the essence of the Pepsi Cup that players contribute at every level, not only as competitors, but also offering to post scores, run errands, and just assist in general. It’s why the Pepsi Cup has been the “player’s tournament” since day one.

The Pepsi Cup is over, and I hope it holds fond memories for those who played in it over three decades. It’s time to move forward, so stay tuned for more about the new team concept that’s in the planning stages. New tradition, smaller teams, same battles, and a lot of fun ... the Colorado Cup / Team Racquetball Championships is headed your way.

2015 FINAL TEAM STANDINGS [ individual results ]

Highlands Ranch Recreation Center - 259

Apex Racquet and Fitness - 212

Peterson Air Force Base - 186

Longmont Athletic Club - 141

Goodson Athletic Club - 139

Pikes Peak YMCA - 101

Colorado Athletic Club / Monaco - 48

Castle Rock Recreation Center - 14

Denver Athletic Club - 13

Colorado State RB / Ft. Collins - 0

being well organized and player-focused, with a great tournament souvenir and generous hospitality.

That’s always been due to the support of loyal sponsors that have been on board for years, and we just couldn’t have pulled it off without American Motors (Victor Manilla), Clean Cut Contractors (Zach Casebolt), Old Chicago, Lindita’s Salsa (Linda Winters), Complete Builder Services (Mark Rems), Ektelon, RaQuelitas, Chambers Wine and Liquor (Lee Earnhart), Rock Star Boots (Pamela Orth), Award and Sign Connection (Sherry Armstrong), With Substance, Inc. (Linda Mojer), Pepsi, Bill Fearing, and the Highlands Ranch management and staff.

Special thanks to Lewis Hutchinson for believing, and stepping forward, to assist with the development of the Pepsi Cup. Without him, there’s a good chance that none of it would have happened at all.

FB Recordbook >>

MEMBER PROFILES | National Calibre Colorado Players AT US OPEN ... From a respectable 20-person roster of Colorado players, three captured a singles gold medal at the close of the 20th Annual US OPEN in Minneapolis, including Ray Cornell in Men's 45+C (pictured at right), Adam Manilla in Men's Open and Michelle Sikorski in Women's 30+. Mark Sikorski also reached the final of the Heroes division for a silver finish, and big bronze medals came home with Kevin Deyo, Michael Harter, Erika Manilla, and CJ Sanders.

A full complement of former administrators from Colorado Springs arranged to be on hand for the 20th Anniversary celebration of the US OPEN this year, including former USRA Executive Directors Luke St. Onge and Jim Hiser, along with Racquetball Magazine editor Linda Mojer. All three had been on

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hand to help the Grand Slam event get off the ground when it debuted in Memphis in 1996.

Current staffers and volunteers also included USAR Executive Director Steve Czarnecki, current USAR Board President Larry Haemmerle, court construction expert Eddie Meredith (shown first up in this short clip) and super-supporters Joe Williams and April Settell. Dozens of other staffers, fans and volunteers from Colorado were also on hand for this landmark event.

AT NMRA INTERNATIONAL ... As expected, local players were in the majority at the National Masters Racquetball Association International Championships, with 39 Colorado veterans capturing a total of 22 medals in round-robin playoffs at Highlands Ranch.

Nine top names captured a fistful of gold medals, with titles earned by Lee Beckwith (2), Woody Clouse, Earl Haskins, Brian Hunter, Mike Martin (2), Shirley Parsons, Mickey Richer, Ray Sanchez and Bob Sanders. Former Colorado resident Cindy Tilbury helped earn two of those wins, with Clouse in Mixed 45+ and Richer in Women's 50+. In addition, Colorado players earned another seven silver medals and 6 bronze.

RELATED / In the News ... The Durango Herald picked up on its own national-calibre resident, John McManamon, who competed at National Singles in May. The paper noted Racquetball, rodeo and wrestling - the new '3Rs' in Durango-area Athletics and shared that: A runner-up finish in a national tournament definitely is deserving, and that’s what John McManamon of Durango accomplished in the recent USA Racquetball U.S. National Singles Championship in Denver.

McManamon, 60, who plays and trains at the Durango Sports Club, was second in the 60B age division, losing only one match in the round-robin tournament - in a tiebreaker to the eventual champion. An accomplished veteran player, this was his first national singles tournament. The paper also ran a photo of McManamon, along with some quotes. Nice coverage!

MEMBER PROFILE | Linda "Lindita" Torres-Winters' Remarkable Journey Many CRA players know Linda Torres-Winters as one of the friendlier opponents they’ll face on court, or as the generous donor of “Lindita’s” snacks on the sidelines. Her long-time sponsorship of metro-Denver tournaments sets her apart as one of the most dedicated supporters of Colorado racquetball, and everyone is grateful for her generosity. She’s pictured here with No.1 women’s pro, Paola Longoria, at the 2015 Mile-High Pro Am, and we wanted to share a bit more of her interesting path to

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success.

Just this year, Lindita was honored as the 2015 Keynote Speaker for Vestido Rojo in conjunction with Go Red Por Tu Corazon, the American Heart Association’s program to harness the energy, passion, and power of Hispanic women to band together and wipe out heart disease. She is well-known among Denver’s top businesswomen for her success in creating her manufacturing company to produce Lindita’s Instant Salsa Mixes in 1994 and for launching the Lindita’s Kitchen Cooking Show with Aurora 8 and Lindita’s Kitchen YouTube channel in 2011. [ read the full story ]

JUNIOR NEWS | Jacquet & Manilla train with Junior National Team Briana Jacquet and Erika Manilla qualified for the US Junior National Team for their performances at Junior Olympics, where Briana won the Girls 14 and under singles and Erika took double-gold in Girls 16 and under singles and doubles. The two young ladies qualified to compete in the World Junior Championships in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in November, and you can support them with a donation to the Team USA Challenge to help cover expenses.

The full US Junior National Team trained at the USOTC in Colorado Springs

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

Erika Manilla (tallest, facing front) and Briana Jacquet (on her left, grey shoes) are positioned front row center for the team photo taken during the training camp this summer. Adam Manilla is also pictured second-from-left, back row. Photo by Jim Hiser, courtesy USA Racquetball.

CLUB NEWS | Reports & Previews Denver Athletic Club ... CRA Board member Ralph Graham reports that the September Souk Shootout was also a fundraiser to help Erika Manilla raise money for her trip to the World Junior Racquetball Championships in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. Erika raised $1070 thanks to everyone that came down to support her and play!

DAC Turkey Shootout ... This one-day shootout on Saturday, November 21, will offer singles and doubles divisions in a round-robin timed shuttle format, along with food and beverages all day. $10 per event for members $20 per event for non-members/guest.

Highlands Ranch ... The Fearless Opening Shots tournament drew 76 players into 18 divisions of play to kick-start the season, following a very busy summer for the renovated facility ... HRCA has opened up online member registration for its next round of league play and guests are welcome to call 1-303-4718950 to register for their leagues, or contact Bill Fearing with questions.

HRCA's MVP ... coming out of their repeat Pepsi Cup win, Emily Stanton was named the team's Most Valuable Player (pictured at left). She also won the "B" National Singles in May, the "C" National Singles (three years ago at 16), and also holds numerous State Singles titles. Congratulations!

Downtown Colorado Springs YMCA ... hosted the racquetball competition of the Rocky Mountain State Games, for 56 players in mid-summer. As expected, local residents made up the bulk of the entrants, with 31 from the Springs, and trios of players coming in from Denver, Pueblo and Castle Rock. Jordan Walters and Jessica Munoz took the Open singles titles.

CRA SPONSORS & SUPPORTERS ENTRIES & REGISTRATION • CRA State Doubles - Nov.13-15 • Colorado Madness - Dec. 4-6 • Blizzard Bash - January 9-10 • Racquet for the Cure - Jan. 29-31 • Apex Open - February 26-28 CRA on FACEBOOK

CERTIFIED INSTRUCTION | by Marcia Richards Doubles Play ... and Strategy To help get you ready for the upcoming State Doubles championships, I’d like to go over a couple of standard doubles strategies and lineups.

Since singles is preferred by many, a lot of the

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

players just don’t have enough opportunities to practice doubles strategies.

If you wait until State Doubles to get onto the court with your partner, it may take a few matches to really start to develop good teamwork. So if you’d like to study up a bit in advance, here are some court positions and standard ways to cover the court as a team.

First, here are some tips: 1. Decide which person will play the forehand and backhand sides. A ball coming down the middle (with two right-handed players) normally goes to the player who can hit the forehand.

Positioning will be the key to success.

2. When receiving serve, both players should shift toward the middle of back court to allow ample room to return serves. We usually have plenty of room in singles, but feel crowded in doubles, so moving more to the middle can create a better opportunity to return jam serves. [Figure 1] 3. Once the serve is in play, the partner who is not returning it should start moving into center court, taking position between the two opponents to create a triangle. This also gives your teammate the crosscourt shot (a clear alley to shoot).

4. When your opponents are hitting the ball, your court position is pretty straightforward but still needs practice. The player opposite the ball covers the pinch while the player on the ball side will cover the down the line pass, the wide-angle pass, and will call for the ball. The person deepest in the court has the best view and becomes the voice in calling shots for the team. [Figure 2] 5. Many players will want to reach up and take a ball out of the air, or cut off a ball that will hit a side wall, which only stops it from traveling into your teammate’s hitting zone. Resist that urge, communicate, and allow the high wide-angles to wrap around to your partner.

6. It’s crowded in there, so not giving up front court sometimes creates hinders that frustrate opponents and your referee.

Players should rotate in and out of front court much like an eggbeater. When it is about to be your team’s turn to hit the ball your position is in front of the opponent.

Figure 1. Player A serves and drops back to cover the pass, ceiling ball and wide-angle pass. Player B drops to cover the pinch shot. One player will be slightly deeper in the court.

Receiving team squeezes into the middle to return serve.

Player D starts moving into a position to form a triangle with the opponents, allowing C to shoot cross-court.

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

7. A good rule of thumb is to be ready-but-stationary when the opponent is getting ready to hit. Charging the front court anticipating a certain shot before it’s hit is not the best strategy. Move while watching the opponent set up, stop when they take the shot, and then head in the direction needed to retrieve it. This will give you more and better opportunities to hit on-balance shots.

8. There are a few variations and once you and your partner have defined your roles you can start adding things into this basic formation. Most up-and-back “I” formations (as a singular approach) may work at the lower levels, but can be picked apart by using simple down the line and cross-court passes.

Figure 2. Player C picks their return based on where player B takes position. Player D moves into center creating the triangle and clearing the opposite wall for a possible cross-court shot.

9. The more you communicate and call the ball early, the better your opportunities will be for taking a clear shot at the ball.

Best practice: Calling “you” or “me” / “yours” or “mine” are accepted ways to call shots in doubles. More detailed "instructions" or talking between partners may cause added confusion, disrupt play and can be ruled as a hinder.

Top-ranked pro on the International Racquetball Tour (and former CRA player) Ben Croft offers a short video on why good positioning is key to success, at: https://youtu.be/XC8eieiTkHQ Ben qualified for the US National Team in Doubles with Tom Fuhrmann and also paired with Kane Waselenchuk to capture the first US OPEN Doubles crown in 2014, then defended that title again this year in Minneapolis.

Check out those tips and we'll see you in a few weeks at Doubles!

Figure 3. Return of serve shots could be a ceiling ball to either side, which A or B would take. The cross-court B takes; A should call and take the wide-angle. Player B

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should be ready to cover the pinch.

KNOW YOUR RULES ! Equipment Safety | by Dave Stone USA Racquetball recently published an article entitled Why Rules Matter, which was emailed to all members and released on USARacquetball.com. It discusses the marketing of racquets that do not meet the specifications detailed in the Official Rules and I encourage everyone to read it. Adding to this important discussion, I will explore more rules related to standard racquets, eyewear and balls - as published in full on pages 3-5 of the Official Rules.

The rules have been subject to modifications over the past quarter century. An explanation of the amendment process is found in Section E of the official rules (pg.38), and I also urge you to read Amending the Rules, archived under the rules section on ColoradoRacquetball.com. The CRA expects all players to know the rules - since they will be enforced at all sanctioned events.

Read my latest column, which fully reviews excerpts from Rules 2.4 Racquet Specification, 2.5 Apparel specific to Eyewear and 2.2 Ball Specifications. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at Dave@coloradoracquetball.com.

BOARD REPORT | In Transition Reach the CRA Board at "firstname @ColoradoRacquetball.com" Leaving behind some huge shoes to fill, several CRA Board Members moved on to other pursuits between issues. Dennis Chandler was the first to be called away, and relocated to accept a job nearer to his mother’s home in Iowa. But he’s keeping his home and residency, so we’ll still see him on the courts from time to time.

Back in April, Dennis posted on his Facebook page: There are times in life when you have to do what's right, even though you are giving up some things that you love. My mom has been struggling since putting my step-dad in a long-term care facility. I just received an offer to teach in Des Moines, Iowa, and will be moving there ... and will miss Colorado dearly. I will also dearly miss playing racquetball here, and volunteering at the tournaments. Dennis is pictured below left, on the far right, with Avril & Larry Haemmerle.

After many years of high-energy service, the power-couple of Avril & Larry Haemmerle have decided to step back from a very hectic

FROM THE EDITOR

Research and fact-checking takes a lot of time in my line of work. I look up records, verify titles, tally up strings of wins and sort through vintage photo collections. Any time spent in the archives always pays off with a snicker (look at that hairdo ... those guns!), while reinforcing the fact that change is inevitable.

The CRA hosted its first State Doubles 42 years ago, the Pepsi Cup just retired its format at 30, the US OPEN reached 20 this year - and I'm pretty sure I still have a pair of those striped tube socks tucked away somewhere that are older than Erika

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schedule of supporting Colorado events. They’ve been fixtures at CRA tournament desks (as well as doing much more behind the scenes!) for almost ten years between them, and they now plan to enjoy some well-deserved leisure from the sidelines.

Deven Naik and Art Prott have also transitioned from board positions back to player status, and we hope that lower stress levels will manifest in lots of wins for them both this coming season. In 2013, the pair were on hand at the Mile High Pro-Am, and were flanked by Kane Waselenchuk and Daniel De La Rosa for a great memento, shown below right.

All of these special volunteers will be very sorely missed as Board Members – as well as for their outstanding support for Colorado tournaments. Each in their own way have been instrumental to the success of numerous events, large and small. We thank them again, and wish them all the best!

Manilla. Sigh.

Change? Inevitable? You bet.

Players burn out, come back, and burn out again.

If it's happening to you, pull out the scrapbook and recall how it felt to win your first tournament match. Tally up your string of wins and chuckle through old photos of yourself in tube socks.

It'll set you free ...!

- Linda Mojer

Involved since 1980

If you’re interested in either stepping up to Board service or volunteering, please contact Marcia Richards, or reach out to any of the current members with questions. They’ll be happy to provide details or get you some answers!

L-R: Avril & Larry Haemmerle with Dennis Chandler. Photo: John Foust

L-R: An all ProKennex lineup of Kane Waselenchuk, Art Prott, Deven Naik and Daniel De La Rosa at a DAC pro stop.

Photo courtesy Donna Prott, via Facebook.

NATIONAL NEWS The USA Racquetball Board of Directors Election is underway, with a November 17 deadline for expressing your interest. The USAR Board intends to reflect the diversity of its members, incorporating life and business experience, geographic, gender, age and ethnic representation. Potential candidates should possess a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills, passion for the sport, and the time to be involved well beyond two annual meetings, regularly scheduled conference calls and committee work.

See more qualifications and details online, then submit your completed indication of candidacy per those instructions. Good luck!

USA Racquetball is in the process of trying to organize, update and compile a national club directory, in

CRA Rollout, Fall 2015

order to make it easier for prospective and traveling players to learn about good facilities. CRA will be trying to assist in that effort by asking local players to share firsthand knowledge about court club changes in your area, including ownership/name changes and court re-use or renovations.

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CRA Rollout, Fall 2015