isra nl winter 2010 -...

www.illinoisracquetball.com 1

From the President 2

Letter to the Editor 3

The 18th AnnualTurkey Shoot& IRT Open 3

ProKennex Women’sOne Day 6

Rollout RacquetballTournament, Iraq 8

A Final Dialogue with TJFerro— December 2009 9

WS/MRA TournamentHeads East toMaryland 11

2010 IllinoisState DoublesChampionships 12

2010 USAR NationalDoubles Tournament 16

A Scene from theU.S. Open 17

Maximizing YourStrengths 18

Travel LeagueParty 2010 20

Notice of Election ofISRA Officers andBoard Members 21

2009 ISRA NewsletterAdvertising Rates 21

ISRA 2010TournamentCalendar 22

Lend Your Support 23

AttentionISRA Members 23

USA RacquetballMembershipApplication 23

RacquetballChallenge Courts 24

2 www.illinoisracquetball.com

ILLINOIS STATERACQUETBALLASSOCIATIONPRESIDENTLaurel Davis - Oak Brook

VICE PRESIDENTGeoff Peters - Chicago

SECRETARYMarla Cusano - Lombard

TREASURERMichelle Halverson - Lombard

ZONE VICE PRESIDENTSSteve Angelo - Alton (South)Pam Schubach - Peoria (Central)Kevin Brylski - Lake Villa (North)Doug Halverson - Lombard (West)

GOVERNING BOARDPatrice Calvi - New LenoxRich Clay - LibertyvilleMike Davern - NapervillePam Grace - WheatonCheryl Kirk - NapervilleJim Maroon - MortonRick Seaberg - North AuroraJoe Silius - MokenaTom Utterback - Orland ParkLynne Weisbart - Lake Forest

AUXILIARY BOARDLarry Boyer - Mt. ZionKeith Brown - West ChicagoDan Flood - Sugar GroveJeff Grace - WheatonPaul Jepsen - HinsdaleJoann Kempthorne - East PeoriaKit Lawson - NapervilleDave Milazzo - GurneeLiz Molitor - Glen EllynMike Vicary - MetamoraLynn Yeazell - Naperville

ISRA NEWSLETTER STAFFCheryl Kirk - EditorGeoff Peters - Associate EditorKevin Brylski - Associate EditorJoe Silius - Advertising EditorKit Lawson - Photo Editor

The ISRA Newsletter is publishedquarterly, and is the official publication ofthe Illinois State Racquetball Association(ISRA). All rights reserved. Copyright2010. Reproduction in whole or in partof any text, photograph or illustrationwithout written permission from theISRA is strictly prohibited. Letters to theEditor, photographs, and articles or editorialcontributions should be sent [email protected].

Typesetting by: TypaGraphics

From thePRESIDENT

On the Cover...

Juan Martinez III, Keith Minor,Andy Hawthorne, and EricBattaglia (airborne) compete inthe Men’s Open finals of theTurkey Shoot Open onNovember 22nd.

In December, we lost long-time ISRABoard Member, racquetball player andjunior advocate TJ Ferro to lung cancer.There is a very special article in thisnewsletter – an interview with TJ as toldto Cheryl Kirk and Tom Curran. Tom andTJ knew each other through the NMRAand national racquetball events. In thisinterview, TJ told us the things he wantsus to know about what racquetball meantto him.

One thing that TJ felt very strongly aboutwas fair play. Fair play means having theintegrity to call the carry or doublebounce on yourself and to treat a refereewith respect even if you don’t agree witha call.

There are times when I want to win amatch and end up getting upset with my-self for hitting the wrong shot or being inthe wrong position. I hope, however,that I never take a point that I don’t de-serve in order to win.

One of our members, Paul Jepsen, writesto say that he has watched matches attournaments, amazed by how manytimes he saw people not call things onthemselves when they should have.Paul’s letter follows on page 3.

I saw the same thing in a doubles matchin which I recently played. My partnerand I won the first game of the match.

We were be-hind in thesecondgame buteventu-ally cameback to tie the game at 14-14. We lostthe serve and the other team tookover. A ball was hit down the rightline. The opponent playing the rightside of the court hit the ball as if hewas playing jai alai, carrying the balland dumping it into the corner. Thenhe turned around and said “nicegame.” My partner and I just lookedat each other with amazement. Therewere no refs, so we didn’t try to arguethe point. I had called a carry on my-self only 3 or 4 points before this, so Ihad an idea that the player knew whata carry was.

This game is supposed to befun…and it is when you feel like youhave participated in a fair match, re-gardless of whether you win or lose.When you think of the way you playthe game, do you emulate TJ or doyou emulate the “jai alai player”?

— Laurel

Thanks to the sponsorship of Hootersof Orland Park, the women of theISRA Travel League will be enjoyingappetizers from Hooters at their an-nual end-of-season party. Hootershas provided a cash sponsorship forseveral seasons. This year’s donationwill be used to purchase prizes for thewinning team and food for the party.Thanks, Hooters!


The EditorLetter to

I have played competitiveracquetball for over 30 years. As agolf professional, one of the bestthings about racquetball was therespect and honor of the game,similar to golf with respect tocalling infractions on ourselves. Iam so sad to say that this practicehas vanished.

Racquetball is a sport where oftenthe referee is not in a position tosee what is happening on thecourt. Couple that with the fact it isa very fast game and you canreally never blame the referee fornot seeing a double hit, twobounces, etc.

In years past everyone called theseinfractions on themselves but I will sayto you today that just doesn’t happenmuch anymore. I had the opportunity towatch many matches at the TurkeyShoot and State Doubles and theproblem runs from the “C” division upthrough Open divisions. Players will notcall anything on themselves. Whenquestioned, they don’t even have thefortitude to look the other player in theeye. They just look at the referee whodid not see the infraction and can’toverrule the call.

Is that how we want to win inracquetball? I hope that everyone who

reads this letter to the editor looksat themselves in the mirror anddoes their part to bring honorback to this game we love somuch. We are a small group. Weplay against each other manytimes and should have morerespect for the game and eachother than to have any matchdecided by less than honorablecircumstances.

Respectfully,

Paul C [email protected]

Turkey Shoot& IRT Open

The Glass Court Swim & FitnessLombardNovember 19-22, 2009Tournament Director –Doug Halverson

The 18th Annual Turkey Shoot drewnearly 200 participants. Coupledwith an IRT Pro Stop Satellite event,

it was a weekend of exciting racquetballpunctuated by a packed full house con-stituted of those who participated aswell as those who came out to lendmoral support.

All matches played on the glass courtwere televised on a big screen televi-sion in the lounge all weekend long.

What’s better than that — your fa-vorite beverage, great hospitality in-cluding a full course turkey dinner,and live competitive racquetball atits best!

Hats off to Dan Jaskier and his stafffor once again setting the standardfor tournament hosting. Tourna-ment Director Doug Halverson andhis sidekick/lovely wife Michellehave tirelessly worked to keep thisevent one of the most anticipatedand enjoyable tournaments on theISRA schedule. Their sincere thanksgo out all of the hardworking volun-teers: Char Borre, Tristan Bush,Tamara Buss, Barb Curran, MarlaCusano, Mike Davern, Laurel Davis,Scott Fauque, Dan Flood, LoriGood, Jeff Grace, Pam Grace, JoyHerth, Ashley Hill, JoannKempthorne, Cheryl Kirk, DoloresLamberson, Jim Maroon, DaveMilazzo, Liz Molitor, Geoff Peters,

The 18th Annual

continued on next page


Kathy Ruzycki, Joyce Satorius,Pam Schubach, Joe Silius, ChuckSnyders, Pam Snyders, JohnThorson, Julianne Valentino, andMarcia Warren.

Back to racquetball, there were fulldraws in most divisions, Men’s Chaving 32; it was reminiscent ofprior years with large draws andmatches played till the wee hoursof the morning. Andy Hawthornedominated the Men’s Pro/Open di-vision with its 17 entrants, as wellas Men’s Open Doubles with hispartner Keith Minor. Check out theresults for all divisions. To view allmatch draws and scores, go towww.r2sports.com.

See you on the court,

Joe Silius

The 18th Annual TURKEY SHOOT & IRT Open continued from previous page

Paul Shafar & Co.: Douglas Stein (Men’s C) and Gary Stone (Men’s B)

Pam Forsberg (striped shirt) enjoys “girlfriend support”at her first tournament!

Joy Herth — On the Move!

Tournament Director Doug Halverson (right) congratulatesMen’s Pro Champ Andy Hawthorne


Division/# entered: First; Second;Semifinals

RESULTSMen’s Pro/Open (17): AndyHawthorne (OH); Brian Simpson (IN);Cary Slade, Zach ArcherMen’s Open (7): Tom Utterback; ClintHickman; Dave Milazzo, GeoffGoldblattMen’s A (15): Oscar Madrigal; RicardoFleury; Dave Coyner, Mario BecerraMen’s B (24): Eric Mathews; BenjaminTorres; Ray Meisner, Kevin RossMen’s C (32): Christopher Bucholtz;Stan Postupaka; Benjamin Torres, DanPacettiMen’s D (24): Tony Garcia; DavidWalker; Tim Herrmann, John KileyMen’s Novice (5): Roy Patrick; PhilipPeterson; Justin SmithMen’s 35+ Intermediate (3): BryanTubbs; Dave Wielgus; Dan Pacetti(3rd)Men’s 40/50+ (6): Lem Rowans; AlokMehta; Frank Bunker, John Moscato

Men’s 55/60+ (7): Dennis McKee; JoeDeArmas; Horace Miller, Bruce Nelson

Women’s A (7): Cari Mory; JulianneValentino; Carolyn Watkins-Vazquez, MaryCrambesWomen’s B (4): Joy Herth; Joyce Satorius;Kim Wainwright (3rd)Women’s C/D (5): Joyce Satorius; MelissaHayne; Anna Marek (3rd)Women’s 40+ (3): Kathy Ruzycki; JoanVande Kieft; Marcia Warren (3rd)

Men’s Open Doubles (10): Andy Hawthorne(OH)/Keith Minor; Eric Battaglia/JuanMartinez III; Jorge Ortiz/Brian Berkelhamer,Tony Gonzalez/Martin GonzalezMen’s A Doubles (7): Wayne Lorenz/JimZidek; Jeffrey Hill/Jake Ryan; JuanMartinez/Scott Fauque, Peter McCauley/Dave CoynerMen’s B Doubles (13): Paul Shafar/GaryStone; John Geatros/Frank Valentino; JimWehrli/James Camasto, Ranseri Salgado/Jose Alberto AcostaMen’s C Doubles (10): Jesse Ortiz/GlenBero; Paul Shafar/Douglas Stein; DavidWalker/Darren Halligan, Michael O’Dea/ArtDavis, Jr.

Men’s 40+ Doubles (11): Keith Minor/Martin Gonzalez; Bob Morrison/DaveBachar; Michael Burns/Joe Silius, EricJensen/Andy Pitock

Women’s Open Doubles (6): ReneeRoux/Ellen Somberg; Janet Eminger/Nancy Amaro; Joann Kempthorne/PamSchubach, Liz Molitor/Laurel DavisWomen’s A Doubles (3): Mary Crambes/Lynne Weisbart; Marian Bala/CherylKirk; Pam Grace/Barbara Vagedes (3rd)

Mixed Open Doubles (12): BrianBerkelhamer/Lori Good; Geoff Peters/Krystal Csuk; Pam Schubach/Brent Huff,Ellen Somberg/HillmanMixed A Doubles (10): Jill Grube/JamesBush; Chris Liljestrand/DoloresLamberson; Julianne Valentino/FrankValentinoWomen’s A Doubles (5): Dan Flood/Kathy RuzyckiMixed B/C Doubles (3): ThomasSchenone/Melissa Hayne; Mike Toland/Kim Wainwright; Michael O’Dea/LettyRivera (3rd)

The 18th Annual TURKEY SHOOT & IRT Open continued from previous page


ProKennex

Women’sOne Day

Racquetball in December — Dave Negrete and Scott Fauque organized a great women’s event!

Forest View Racquet ClubDecember 5, 2009Tournament Director —Dave Negrete

Women’s Open (8): Ellen Somberg;Janet Eminger; Liz Molitor, NancyKronenfeldWomen’s A (6): Margaret Hoff;Rhonda Mundhenk; Lynne Weisbart,Julianne ValentinoWomen’s B (6): Karen Blair; DeannaMunro, Patti Moser, Pauline Kelly Call Kathy Ruzycki (630) 310-0970

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RESULTS


Rollout RacquetballJoint Base Balad, IraqIt started off as a small idea to co-ordinate an event that allowed fel-low racquetball players deployedat Joint Base Balad, Iraq to meetlikeminded individuals. This smallidea quickly grew as we recog-nized there was a great demandfor a tournament on Balad; and itgrew even quicker when westarted making contacts backstateside who were excited abouthelping us out. After many hoursof searching for email addressesand phone numbers, I ran acrossthe Military Racquetball Federa-tion. I want to give a special thanksto Steven Harper, Hank Marcus,and Kevin Brylski for forming thefoundation of what would turn outto be an amazing experience. Withtheir help we were able to hold thefirst MRF sanctioned racquetballtournament in Iraq! But we didn’tstop with only the MRF. We alsowant to say thank you to PatBernardo ofRacquetworld.com,Jonathan Clay ofRollout Racquetball,Jen Tranchilla andDan Whitley of VettaSports-Concord Fit-ness and Racquetballin St. Louis, Mo,Ektelon, and E-Forcefor providing a ton ofprizes and giveawaysto the players andwinners. Without thehelp from those backstateside, this tourna-ment would have notturned out nearly aswell as it did. The ser-vice and supportthese individuals andorganizations showedto the military menand women stationedin a war zone will al-ways be remembered.

The tournamentstarted on 12 Decem-

Tournamentber 2009 and concluded on 18 Decem-ber 2009. In total there were 36 hard-fought matches. We like to think theJoint Base Balad Rollout RacquetballTournament to be the largest and mostsuccessful racquetball tournament inIraqi history! Hopefully once our de-ployments are up and we all get to gohome, another racquetball enthusiaststeps up and continues to promote rac-quetball here in Iraq. Thanks again to allthose who helped us out in this en-deavor, and we hope to continue thisgreat partnership!

SPC Shaun Broeker90th Sustainment BrigadeJoint Base Balad, Iraq

P.S. from Kevin Brylski to Team Illinois:It began with a mere hope, athought...didn’t think anything wouldcome to fruition with such short no-tice. I should have known better. TeamIllinois supported me when I was in Af-

ghanistan, and they did it again forracquetballers in Balad, Iraq! Twohuge shipping boxes of racquet-ball gear was donated in supportof the first-ever Military Racquet-ball Federation tournament in theMiddle East. Bags, shoes, gloves,racquets...you name it, it was do-nated. The outpouring of gener-osity was like it always has beenfrom Team Illinois. Never beforehave I met a group of people thatcan come together so quickly, areso extremely generous, and careso much about the troops like theydo here in Illinois.

Editor’s Note: Players who do-nated included Pam and JeffGrace, Dolores and TomLamberson, Kathy and LenRuzycki, Paul Jepsen, Cheryl Kirk,Dan Jaskier and The Glass Court,Andy Pitock, Marla Cusano andKerry Spix.

At the MRF Mid-Atlantic Regional held September 11-13, 2009 at Ft. Meyer VA, MasterChief Kevin Brylski, LCDR (Ret) Steven Harper, and MSgt Tim Kirk participated in a wreath

laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.


TJ FerroA Final Dialogue with

December 14, 2009; 2:00 p.m.by Cheryl Kirk

TJ was diagnosed with Stage 4lung cancer in April 2009. Hepassed away on December 20,2009. His final year was one in-volving chemotherapy treatments;doctor appointments; attendanceat Junior Nationals in June; playingcompetitively (for the last time) atthe NMRA event in July with part-ner Jim Elliott; a Night of Apprecia-tion at Glass Court the followingweek; trips to visit family in Floridaand the Northeast U.S. in Augustand September; a hospital stayover Thanksgiving; and the joy ofshowing his grandkids Will andEllie how to hit the ball on Decem-ber 13th. Just two days before TJtook a decided turn for the worse,Tom Curran (friend, USAR Boardmember and NMRA President) andI had the joy of spending a pleasantand upbeat afternoon with him tohear his thoughts on racquetballand what the sport has meant inhis life. TJ’s partner Marty went onsome errands with Shadow thedog, and we sat together to re-flect…

How did you get interested in rac-quetball?I was working for a health club, theColiseum in Coral Gables, and ithad 24 courts. I got to see Hogan,Yellen and all those guys play. Iwould go to hit once in awhile,maybe every 2-3 weeks. That wasaround, maybe 1984.

I began playing competitively in1994 or so. I went to a tourna-ment. I attended a camp featuringRuben Gonzalez, Jack Newman,Lynn Adams, Andy Roberts, actu-ally I went to three of their camps.Jack Newman asked me to helpout at one of his camps – America’sMost Wanted.

What was your most memorablematch?The first time I ever beat Greg

Hasty in the 45+ State Singles in Ever-green Park. He had beaten me 6, 7times in a row and then I beat him thenext 5 times. Haven’t really played himsince the 90’s. He’s older than me, sohe jumps age groups. That’s wheremy game shot up, he was the only guyI couldn’t beat.

What was your memorable momentduring a match or tournament?Having my granddaughter see her firstracquetball match and I won. She wasabout three. We made an Ektelon t-shirt for her.

Was there one event that you playedin that you still remember as the ‘bestever’? What made it so special toyou?The first NMRA tournament I playedin. It was in Canton, OH. The mostamazing tournament I’ve ever been to.(I loved the) sportsmanship, from thenon, I was sold on the NMRA. Peoplewould ask, “Are you going to Nation-als?” I’d say, “No, I’m doing the seniortour!” I wanted to get to HuntsmanGames in St. George, UT and theWorld Seniors in Albuquerque, but Inever could because of work.

What do you think makes our sportgreat and what makes it a challenge?For me, getting more and more in-volved in the sport and teaching play-ers the right way to play the game.Great, to me, is the people I’ve met andthe friends I’ve kept over the years. It’sthe competitiveness of it all. And per-sonally having 3 or 4 people I trainedending up, or will end up, on the protour.

Were there any life lessons that youfeel you gained directly from playingracquetball?There’s a lot to do with the sport. It’sreally an individual sport, but in manyways it’s not. I go on the court to becompetitive, but win or lose is not thebig thing. If you’re doing the rightthings, you’re gonna win. (The mostimportant thing is) to be a good sports-man on the court. Those are the thingsthat made me a better player. You

watch people who are competitivebut who are not good sportsmen.You see it or you hear about it. Itdoesn’t work…you know who theyare. Each one of us, Tom, youhelp me, I help Cheryl becausethen we’re all being good sports-men like it’s supposed to be.Ninety percent of our tournamentsare based in sportsmanship, likethe NMRA events. It’s people whocall a carry (on themselves), whoplay rallies over. You get a badcall, you get a bad call.

One time I heard that GaryMazaroff would announce at theplayer’s meeting at the World Se-niors event: “If you have a prob-lem, play it over. If you still have aproblem, play it over. If you stillcan’t accept it, go on home be-cause you don’t belong here.” Ifall tournaments were like theNMRA and other non-reffedevents, we’d be better off. I toldJim Elliott that it was interesting towatch a couple of NMRA playerswith a ref (at a non-NMRA eventawhile back). They did not playwith the same sportsmanship asthey would at an NMRA event.Having refs doesn’t necessarilymean a fairer game.

What would you change aboutour sport to make it better?Well, we’ve already talked about



referees. Also, (people being) a lot more aware of the rulesand how to interpret them.

We’ve talked about women’s racquetball, but never havedone anything (significant) to promote girls in racquetball.That could be an easy target. Juniors in general, 80% aremale. What if the NMRA would pay entry fees and help withthe expenses for any first-time female Junior Nationals at-tendees, to get girls to play tournaments? Especially juniorchampionships. The other thing is, we might say the first tennew annual junior girl members of USAR will be paid for bythe NMRA. Up to maybe $500 per year for first-year member-ships. Get women pros and leaders to work with young girls.

Getting the pros more involved in being what they’re sup-posed to be, not just about money. Pros should at least getout there and teach their expertise and do demos. Instead ofusing them, we tend to use the amateurs. Separate compa-nies (manufacturers) need to come in there and get their prosto do clinics and demos.

At this point, Marty returned and Shadow the black lab took afew laps around the living room…

What was your proudest moment in racquetball?The Summerfest Night of Appreciation. I can’t even put intowords, it was the most amazing thing that’s happened in my

life. My legs were shaking that night. Just to havemy family and friends who care for me come thereto support me. Totally phenomenal.

Marty added, “His family got to know how trulysuccessful and loved TJ is in the racquetball world.The racquetball family perhaps never realized TJhad a family, sons, grandchildren.”

Cheryl said, “It’s not easy to lose you, TJ. It’s noteasy for any of us. But having that time with you inJuly meant so much, not just to you, but to all ofus. It created memories we’ll have with us for-ever.”

Tom added, “What I took away from that night ishow wonderful that TJ has lived a life worthy ofsuch celebration. The way you live forever is in thememories of others — you never go away. It mademe proud of the sport. I was so proud to be a partof that group on that July evening.

What advice would you like to give to the nextgeneration of racquetball players?Keep it up – I hope that maybe all the racquetballplayers will try to get out there and get morepeople involved in the sport. I would like to seeour sport grow. If I were still going to be here, Iwould definitely try to make that happen. Promotethe game on any level.

Krystal is like my daughter. We’ve been through alot together. She’s done great, I’m so proud of her.I couldn’t be more proud of her and Trevor for whatthey have accomplished in education and racquet-ball.

Incredible kids. Just having 34 kids with JTI, that initself. Every one of them was dedicated 2-3 times aweek. They pushed me, I didn’t push them.

For many, life took over, something had to give.Now a lot of them are coming back. What wascool about that night in July, they said they werebeginning to play again. They realized that rac-quetball was not just a game, they could take morefrom it. Put in to get out. It helped in their educa-tion. None of them could be in JTI unless they hadat least a C+ average. Most were B+ and better.Education first, racquetball second.

What do you want to say to all of the people youhave come to know and love through racquetball?If it wasn’t for all of them, I wouldn’t still be in thegame. Teaching racquetball to kids has helped myown game because it reinforces the basics I wastrying to give them. It made me go over and overthe basics. At this point in my life, I want to thank

A Final Dialogue with TJ FERRO continued from previous page

December 13th: Papa TJ gave grandkids Ellieand Will a lesson at The Glass Court



everyone for their thoughts and prayers throughout thislast year with what I’m going through. I’d like to nameyou all by name, the Leon Berrymans and so many oth-ers, you’ve been with me since the early days. Geoff Pe-ters, the Milazzos…

Anything else would you like to say to your friends andfamily?My grandkids are my pride and joy. Anything in my life Icould have had, they are my pride and joy.Ellie, 7, has natural court sense. Her hand/eye coordina-tion is there, she had that to start. She moved to theplace where the ball was going.

Maybe we don’t fully understand and appreciate whatwe have in our racquetball family. We all have our sepa-rate lives but it’s so funny, we come together at a tour-nament and we’re all together. It’s like Thanksgiving din-ner all over again.

“Racquetball people are the best,” said Marty.

TJ’s eyes grew heavy and it was time for a nap. Onelast question:

TJ, how would you want to be remembered by oursport? As a competitor, a good sportsman, a dedicatedteacher and a good friend.

Our good friend, you achieved that and so much more.We love you and wish you Godspeed.

Post script: To demonstrate his love for Ektelon, TJ hadproudly sported for years an Ektelon flame tattoo on theoutside of each calf. When he was diagnosed with can-cer last spring, he expressed his desire to be buried inhis Ektelon clothing and cap (worn backwards, ofcourse). That did indeed take place. As TJ told EktelonVP Scott Winters on a phone call just a few days beforehe passed, “I can’t wait to get to heaven and start a jun-ior program up there!”

No doubt it’s in full swing.

A Final Dialogue with TJ FERRO continued from previous page

The Women’s Senior/Masters Rac-quetball Association (WS/MRA)kicked off its third decade of com-petition with the 21st AnnualWomen’s Senior/Masters Racquet-ball National Championships heldJanuary 15-17 at the Lake ForestSport and Health Club inGaithersburg, Maryland. Gracedwith much luck, the weekend fellin between the two major snow-storms that hit that area this year!

The tournament began with “fun”doubles on Thursday afternoon.Players got a chance to greet oldfriends and check out the courts ina relaxed atmosphere. Since the

WS/MRA TournamentHeads East to Maryland


Team Illinois — Thirteen Strong


WS/MRA TOURNAMENT Heads East continued from previous page

doubles is planned as a fundraiserfor Breast Cancer Research, theraffle featured “Hope” items do-nated by Wilson. Over $300 wasraised for Susan G. Komen for theCure. Later that evening at thetournament meeting, players re-ceived a great light blue longsleeved shirt featuring the famousMaryland crab, but WS/MRA chairKendra Tutsch reminded everyonethere would be “no crabbing” al-lowed throughout the tournament!Since it was a self-officiated tourna-ment, directors Brenda Loube andKaren Denu stressed the impor-tance of fair play.

On Friday morning the serioussingles round robin competitiongot under way. When entrantsweren’t on the court they couldscope out their competition, snack

on the great food, browse through theitems offered in the silent auction orwatch some of the awesome classesthat went on continuously at the Sport& Health Club (my personal favorite be-ing the ZUMBA). Jan Chayt, one of ourmembers from the past who can nolonger play racquetball, baked andbaked, making the most delicious treatsthat kept all of us from losing weighteven though we were playing 4-5matches a day! Aside from the courtaction, the Saturday night banquet wasa big hit with a local DJ putting on onegreat song after another so all of uswild and crazy women could dance upa storm.

Illinois had the largest amount of en-trants in the tourney numbering 13.Here’s how Team Illinois ended up:

Diane Bunker, 45+, quarterfinalist

Nancy Kronenfeld, 55+,quarterfinalistLynne Weisbart, 55+B/C, 3rd placePatti Moser, 55+B/C, 4th placeDonna Heinzl, 60+, 4th placeKathy Ruzycki, 60+, quarterfinalistMargaret Hoff, 65+, 1st placePauline Kelly, 65+, 4th placeLola Markus, 75+, 1st place

So when and where in the worldwill the WS/MRA be going nextyear for the National Champion-ships? We’re heading west toLittleton, Colorado from January14th through January 16th. Markyour calendar now to be at thebest tournament for women. Formore information on the WS/MRAcheck out our website:www.wsmra.com or click on thelink at the ISRA website.

— Nancy Kronenfeld

The Glass Court Swim & Fitness,LombardJanuary 22-24, 2010Tournament Director – Laurel Davis

From A to W, Addison toWoodstock, 158 players repre-sented 82 different Illinois towns,cities or villages at the Illinois StateDoubles Championships. The drawwas up by 11 players over lastyear, and there was plenty of ac-tion all weekend long.

Last year’s Men’s Open Champi-ons, Geoff Goldblatt and TrevorSnyders, got knocked off in theirfirst match by Cheryl Gudinas andKrystal Csuk but came back to winthe AA draw. They weren’t theonly guys to lose to the ladies.Brent Huff and Mark Calvin losttheir first match to Cheryl andKrystal in a tiebreaker. Cheryl and

Doubles Championships2010 Illinois State

Men’s 40/45 Gold and Silver MedalistsDan Curless, Jim Maroon, Wayne Lorenz and Jim Zidek

continued on page 14


2010 Illinois State DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS continued from page 12

Krystal in turn lost in the semifinalsto Brian Berkelhamer and JorgeOrtiz who then advanced to the fi-nals against the eventual Men’sOpen State Champions, Keith Minorand Jason Thoerner. The finalmatch was a tiebreaker with Minorand Thoerner losing the secondgame 15-12 before coming back totake the tiebreaker 11-8. This was agreat racquetball match played be-fore a full house.

On the Women’s side, Krystal Csukteamed with Patrice Calvi to unseatlast year’s champions, EllenSomberg and Renee Roux. Thedownstate team of Pam Schubachand Brenda White won theWomen’s AA division.

There was a lot of action in all of the di-visions. Check below for the results.

In addition to the great play, playerswere well fed, thanks to sponsorsKirsten’s Danish Bakery (Paul Jepsen),Gino’s East Pizza (Dave Milazzo), MiHacienda (Enrique Rodriguez),Anthony’s Pizzeria (Tony Cosmano)and KWM Gutterman (Keith Minor).This year’s souvenir, a long-sleeved dri-fit t-shirt, seemed a hit as well.

Additional thanks go to ISRA BoardMembers Joe Silius and Patrice Calvifor assembling a great volunteer staff tokeep the tournament running smoothlyand on time all weekend. And thanks

to all those great volunteers andespecially to Marian Bala whomanned the kitchen from start tofinish while also playing in thetournament.

Next year we are planning onheading south to Peoria for StateDoubles. The club, Landmark, of-fers a lounge, movie theater,bowling alley and health club allunder the same roof. In addition,Peoria features other attractionsincluding the Par-a-dice Casino.Make your plans now for a roadtrip next January!

— Laurel Davis

Men’s 50+ Medalists Dennis McKee and Dave Olsonwith ISRA President Laurel Davis

Melissa Hayne and Kelly Gremley took home Women’s B Gold!

Men’s 25/35+ Champs Tony Gonzalez and Larry Vena

Men’s Open Champs Keith Minor andJason Thoerner (in spirit)



RESULTSMen’s Open Doubles (14): JasonThoerner/Keith Minor; BrianBerkelhamer/Jorge Ortiz; KrystalCsuk/Cheryl Gudinas, Dave Bachar/Bob MorrisonMen’s AA Doubles (6): GeoffGoldblatt/Trevor Snyders; ClintHickman/Dean Hamiti; Dick Heithoff/Tom Lamberson, Eric Mathews/KennyBrownMen’s A Doubles (13): BrandonPevnick/Craig Geller; Dan Jaskier/Doug Halverson; Eric Mathews/KennyBrown, Peter Schmeichel/Paul NicotraMen’s B Doubles (23): BrandonPevnick/Craig Geller; Basilio Salazar/Jeffrey Hill; Robert Littledale/BrettCrawley, Paul Shafar/Platt HillMen’s C Doubles (12): DanielKennedy/Arturo Barranco; Larry Kane/Steve Hortega; Alcides Gutierrez/Hector Landeros, Paul Shafar/DouglasSteinMen’s 25/35+ (3): Larry Vena/TonyGonzalez; Alok Mehta/BrianBerkelhamer; Clint Hickman/DeanHamiti (3rd)Men’s 40/45+ (7): Keith Minor/LemRowans; Dave Bachar/Bob Morrison;Alok Mehta/George Pappas, AndyPitock/Eric JensenMen’s 50+ (10): Dave Milazzo/BillLyman; Dave Olson/Dennis McKee;Jerry Fronczak/Frank Bunker, JimHillman/Michael BurnsMen’s 55+ (2): Dave Olson/DennisMcKee; Jerry Fronczak/Robert

JimenezMen’s 40-50+A (5): Jim Maroon/DanCurless; Wayne Lorenz/James Zidek;Jeff Holmgaard/Jeff Miller (3rd)Men’s 25-45+ Int (5): Michael Ryan/CarlSick; Douglas Stein/Gary Dyrek; JamesYork/Larry Kane (3rd)

Women’s Open (7): Krystal Csuk/PatriceCalvi; Renee Roux/Ellen Somberg;Nancy Amaro/Lynn Yeazell, LaurelDavis/Liz MolitorWomen’s AA (3): Pam Schubach/Brenda White ; Marcia Warren/JudySands; Martha Huske/Pam GraceWomen’s A (6): Cheryl Kirk/Marian Bala;Julianne Valentino/Dolores Lamberson;Lynne Weisbart/Mary Crambes, BarbaraVagedes/Marla CusanoWomen’s B Doubles (3): Melissa Hayne/Kelly Gremley; Anna Marek/TamaraBuss; Marlin Ortiz/Maritza Ortega (3rd)

Mixed Open (11): Trevor Snyders/Nancy Amaro; Geoff Goldblatt/ReneeRoux; Keith Minor/Patrice Calvi, JuanMartinez III/Krystal CsukMixed AA (3): Jorge Ortiz/Lori Good;Laurel Davis/Mark Calvin; PamSchubach/Brent HuffMixed A Doubles (9): Doug Halverson/Barbara Vagedes; Dolores Lamberson/Chris Liljestrand; Marla Cusano/KerrySpix, Julianne Valentino/Frank ValentinoMixed B Doubles (6): Kelly Gremley/Thomas Bassett; Melissa Hayne/Thomas Schenone; Michael Dale/Tamara Buss, Kim Wainright/MikeTolandMixed 40-50+ (8): Pam Schubach/DanCurless; Diane Bunker/Frank Bunker; LizMolitor/Dave Milazzo, Ellen Somberg/Jim Hillman

2010 Illinois State DOUBLES CHAMPIONSHIPS continued from page 14

Joe Silius (temporarily) silences Lori Good

SponsorsMen’s C Winners Daniel Kennedy and Arturo Barranco

Anthony’s Pizzeria(Tony Cosmano)

C. Kirk Consulting(Cheryl Kirk)

Gino’s East (Dave Milazzo)

The Glass CourtSwim & Fitness

(Dan Jaskier& Joe DeArmas)

Head/Penn

I’m Embroiderlynn(Lynn Yeazell)

Kirsten’s Danish Bakery(Paul and Kirsten Jepsen)

KWM Gutterman(Keith Minor)

Mi Hacienda(Enrique Rodriguez)

PNC / National City Bank(Laurel Davis)


ASU Recreation Center, Tempe, AZFebruary 10-14, 2010Tournament Director – Jim Hiser

It’s a tough job, but someone hadto do it – get on a plane in Chicagoin 20-degree February weather andget off the plane, 70 degrees inPhoenix. Yes, admittedly it’s ahappy thing while you’re there, butreturning is cold. Do I hear theworld’s smallest violin playing inthe background?

Fifteen Team Illinois players madethe sacrifice for the rest of you anddid pretty darned well, bringinghome 15 medals to their (perhapsmarginally impressed) sweetheartson Valentine’s Day. Gold went toBen Croft and Mitch Williams, earn-ing them a spot on the U.S. Teamfor the trip to the IRF Worlds in Ko-rea in August. Chris Evon and TimSweeney each earned gold medalsas well with their respective partners.

There were plenty of Top Finishers

2010 USAR National

(quarterfinals and better) to demon-strate Team Illinois’ efforts. Results arebelow, and the individual draws can beviewed at www.r2sports.com.

— Cheryl Kirk

Team Illinois Medal CountGold (3) — Ben Croft, Chris Evon, TimSweeneySilver (2) — Terri Graham, Keith MinorBronze (7) — Brian Berkelhamer, JorgeOrtiz, Chris Evon, Terri Graham, CherylKirk, Keith Minor, Jason ThoernerPewter (3) — Lynne Weisbart, KrystalCsuk, Cheryl Gudinas

Team Illinois ResultsPlayer/Division/ Partner/Results** denotes Top Finisher (QF and above)

Brian Berkelhamer – Men’s Team Quali-fying, Jorge Ortiz; Men’s Open, JorgeOrtiz**; Men’s 25+, Jorge Ortiz, 3rd**Mark Calvin – Men’s Elite, Brent Huff**;Men’s A, Brian Andresen (IA)**Ben Croft – Men’s Team Qualifying,Mitch Williams (NM), 1st**

Krystal Csuk – Women’s TeamQualifying, Cheryl Gudinas, 4th**;

Mixed Open, Anthony Herrera(CO)**; Mixed 25+, BrianFredenberg (TX), 2nd**Chris Evon – Women’s 45+, TerriGraham, 3rd**; Mixed 45+, ScottCullins (GA), 1st**

Terri Graham – Women’s 45+,Chris Evon, 3rd**; Mixed 45+,Jimmy Lowe (HI), 2nd**Cheryl Gudinas – Women’s TeamQualifying, Krystal Csuk, 4th**;

Mixed Open. Zach Apperson (OH)Brent Huff – Men’s Elite, MarkCalvin**; Men’s 30+, BrianAndresen (IA)**; Mixed 25+, Car-rie Hoeft (VA)**Cheryl Kirk – Women’s A, LynneWeisbart, 3rd pool play; Women’s50+A, Ann Draudt (TX), 3rd**;Mixed A, Geoff PetersKeith Minor – Men’s 35+, JasonThoerner, 3rd**; Men’s 45+, ScottCullins (GA), 2nd**

Doubles Tournament

This time, Jason shows up for the picture... Brian Andresen (IA), Mark Calvin, and Brent Huff made itthrough a snowstorm to compete in Tempe!



A Scene from theU.S. Open

Jorge Ortiz – Men’sTeam Qualifying,Brian Berkelhamer;Men’s Open, BrianBerkelhamer**,Men’s 25+, BrianBerkelhamer, 3rd**Geoff Peters – Men’s45+A, Joe Williams(NE); Mixed A,Cheryl KirkTim Sweeney –Men’s 40+, DougGanim (OH), 1st**Jason Thoerner –Men’s Team Qualify-ing, ShaneVanderson (FL), semi-finals**; Men’s 35+,Keith Minor, 3rd**Lynne Weisbart –Women’s A, CherylKirk, 3rd pool play;Women’s 50+A,Nancy Green (AZ),4th**; Mixed 55+,Jim Elliott (UT), 5th**

2010 USAR National DOUBLES TOURNMENT cont. from previous page

Cheryl Gudinas and Krystal Csuk compete on the Stadium Court in Memphis

Ladies’ Night Out in Tempe — Cheryl Kirk, Ann Draudt (TX), Lani Weisbart, Lynne Weisbart, and Cheryl Bird (TX)


by Andy Pitock

Racquetball progression comes inspurts, often we plateau, and attimes players shoot through divi-sions like Jorge Ortiz shoots fore-hand splats, fast and precisely.While moving through Novice, Ds,Cs, and Bs, generally racquetballplayers focus on their strongpoints instead of practicing toeliminate their weaknesses. Bythe time players move into As andeventually Open, they need to bebetter-rounded and strategicallyastute. Part of the progression islearning the different styles ofplayers — how to exploit their op-ponents’ weaknesses and take ad-vantage of their own strengths.

Ever play that person where nomatter the shot you hit, it wasback against the front wall beforebouncing twice? Yeah, that playeris the “Getter.” Getters are thepeople who run around the courtvery quickly and can retrieve yourshots but don’t necessarily kill theball and put it away. Their mainconcern is to keep the ball in play,but they have a difficult time killingthe ball with a set-up. They antici-pate well, react quickly, and frustratetheir opponents all match long.

Usually getters haven’t played thatlong and haven’t figured out howto run to the ball and prepare totake the offensive shot. They aredriven by athletic ability, stamina,and the intrinsic drive to win. Al-though “getters” often do not havethe ability to put the ball away con-sistently, they may still win most oftheir matches by wearing downtheir opponents and causing themto make unforced errors. So, howcould you prepare to play a getter?

Racquetball is a very strategicgame. If you have a getter on thedraw sheet in your next tourna-ment, here are a few things youmay want to incorporate into yourgame. Keep your opponent in theback court; most shots you hitneed to be deep in the court. Do

not try and kill the ball from the backcourt very often; unless it’s a rollout,the getter may be able to easily dinkand dump into the corners all day. Waitfor the set-up that’s in the front court,dotted line or forward, then you can hita winner. When you’re in the frontcourt, you can be more aggressive withyour shot selection. Instead of hittinglow — pass, pass, pass. Normally forc-ing the getter to “get” from the backcourt will reward you with a front courtshot…then roll it out! It is importantnot to get frustrated by them gettingthe ball…be patient. Getters win byforcing you to think that you have to hitincreasingly better and lower shots. Un-fortunately, you’ll end up taking divotsout of the front court as you try to hityour shots lower and harder than nec-essary. Stay in your comfort zone. Ac-cept the game of “cat and mouse” andrun your opponent all over the placewith a smile on your face. While theyare running, keep your court positiontight and save your energy…you’llprobably be there for awhile! Makethem run as much as possible – keepthem going front to back and left toright. Once the getter starts to gettired, those accurate ceiling ball gets orperiodic kill shots will be less accurateand more beneficial for you.

Decrease your margin for error: aimtwo feet high and hit passing shots, notsix inches and rollout. Another tacticon a getter is to hit the ball directly atthem. They want you to make them run,that’s their comfort zone. Get the ball intight on them; their racquet speed andability to adjust their body position willproduce a weaker return and allow you tohit that accurate passing shot.

It is usually easy to spot the getters.They are the ones warming up forawhile before the match. They aresweating before they start the match,they’re ready to run and will certainlytry their hardest to get you into thatgame. The getter has to be more intothe match than the “shooter.” Theyhave to be mentally prepared to run theball down in their attempt to frustratetheir opponent.

Playing the role as the “getter” is a

good strategy in the less experiencedbrackets, and at times more frustratingin the higher skill divisions. Eventuallythat style of play has to be coupled withthe ability to hit offensive shots with ac-curacy. With more experience, regularplay, and practice the ability to put theset up away and hit the running killshot, the getter may just turn into the“shooter”…

“Shooters” win by shooting the ball,hitting winners all day long. Not onlycan they hit winners while their feet areset, they hit them on the run, too.Shooters are typically in the more elitedivisions, developing their skills in theB’s and A’s and honing them in theOpen division. The shooter is verygood at going bottom board and know-ing angles. They are good at hitting theangles to keep the ball away from you,keeping you off balance and forcingyou to hit set-up shots.

Shooters have quick hands – when theball comes right at them, they reactquickly and hit good shots. As with

Maximizing Your Strengths...while capitalizing on your opponent’s weaknesses!



most racquetballers in the elite di-visions, shooters have great hand/eye coordination, making themgreat to have as your doubles part-ner. They don’t waste time in arally; the first chance they get, it’sfor a winner. Sounds like a daunt-ing task to play a shooter, right?The ball is low, fast, and preciselyplaced throughout the court…hereare a few tips to help ease the pain.

Shooters normally have very poorwarm-up habits because they don’tplan on running. If you’re playing ashooter, you can normally get anearly lead if you keep them movingfront to back and left to right beforethey’re fully warmed up, i.e., get-ting them out of their comfort zoneearly. Shooters want a 3-5 shotrally; they don’t want to run aroundin a long rally. They love the game,but they love the short rally evenmore! Shooters rely on the earlylead and accurate shots. Theywant to demoralize their oppo-nents, causing frustration to setin…that’s when the aforemen-tioned divots start coming out ofthe front court again.

Although they can hit the runners,too, if they are on the move, theiraccuracy will decrease as well asthe percentage of their winning killshots. Every shot you hit whenplaying the shooter is important,and if the ball comes off the backwall…good night! Ceiling shotsmust be very good; otherwisethey’ll be waiting for it. Sinceshooters are often in short rallies,they may at times be a little less fitthan their opponents. Start off thegame strong. If you give them theopportunity to shoot the ball, theyusually start the game off ex-tremely well and fade as the matchprogresses. Typically, shooters willtire and their fluid swing is com-promised — the accuracy of theirshots decreases when they get fa-tigued. Getting a lead may makethe difference between an early outand a semi-final.

If you fall into the shooter category,work on your fitness. Becoming amore complete player and athlete

will certainly show on and off the court.Fitness will allow that fluid, controlledswing to still be effective in the tie-breaker of the finals.Before there is the rally, there is theserve. An accurate serve is just as im-portant as the kill shot or a well-placedcross court pass.

“Servers” are normally good shooters.They immediately start with an ex-tremely accurate serve, following theserve with shots to control the tempoof the game. Forcing weak returns tohopefully grab quick opportunities to hitoffensive shots is their “modus oper-andi.” They have complete controlover the ball when they serve andthey’re very good at deception. A goodserver can hit different serves from thesame place in the serving box using thesame motion. At any level, the serve isan important aspect of your game —practice it! Good players have a mixedbag of effective serves and they canplace them with the accuracy of asniper from 200 yards.

The server’s weakness starts with rely-ing on the serving aspect of his game.If the serve isn’t in there during a par-ticular match or if the opponent figuresout early how to return the serve, theserver is in big trouble. Confidencewanes and as a result, he won’t get asmany opportunities to serve.

In advance, the server should work onways to quickly adjust the serve for theopponent’s weakness. Is she left orright-handed; does she have a quickfirst step; and what worked when youscouted her earlier match?

To be effective against the server, comeup with a strategy to return the serveand create a weakness for your oppo-nent. Before the match, make sure youare completely warmed up for a quickfirst step. If you don’t, you may getserved off of the court!

Going into a match with a server? Tryand anticipate the serve, but don’t giveaway your movements before heswings. Look at the servers’ body mo-tion, arm swing, foot position, etc. Ex-pect the unexpected, but react initiallyto the one that gives you the most

problems. If there is a serve youjust can’t seem to get, expectit…but don’t lean and let on to yourmovements. He’ll change it up forsure.

When your opponent is servingwell, you’re in trouble. Try some-thing different – move up, left,right, something to get her out ofher rhythm. If the serve cracks outcontinually at the short line, moveup and deal with that one. Makeher hit another great serve that shehasn’t shown you yet. If it’s thehard Z, practice cutting it off. Ifsomeone does this to you consis-tently, come up with a strategy toreturn it.

If you’re a server, practice, practice,practice. Be able to hit a multitudeof serves from the same swing atdifferent spots in the box withoutdetectable changes. Hitting servesat different speeds and angles is aneffective tool to keep your oppo-nent off balance. Sometimes theserver’s mentality is, “Wow, that’sa good serve,” and he gets caughtadmiring it. Don’t fall into that trap.Expect a return and be ready.

To be a well-rounded and re-spected player, you must add all ofthese tools to your game. Every-one has a racquetball identity, but ifyou can camouflage your weak-nesses and continue to improveupon them, the rise to the top willhappen more rapidly than youcould imagine.

Andy Pitock, a well-known instruc-tor in the Chicagoland area, is Rac-quetball Director at The GlassCourt Swim & Fitness in Lombard,IL. He serves as an assistant coachfor the US Junior National Teamwho recently won their secondstraight World Championship atthe IRF Junior Worlds in the Do-minican Republic. Want to workon your game with Andy? Contacthim at 630-631-2129 or at TheGlass Court, 630-629-3390.

Editor’s Note: Andy thanks KevinBrylski for his collaboration on thisarticle.

MAXIMIZING YOUR STRENGTHS continued from previous page


Travel League Party 2010Friday, April 9, 2010

All skill levels invited!

Finish this travel team season with an evening of greatracquetball competition, food, fun and prizes. USRA rules apply.

¨ Round Robin Play¨ 6:30pm – 8:30pm Check in by 6:15pm

¨ Banquet starts at 8:45pm¨ Awards and Raffle 9:30pm

¨ $20.00 per person¨ Banquet/Raffle/Awards Only: $10.00 per person

Fill out the entry below and mail with payment to:Glass Court Swim & Fitness Club

830 E. Roosevelt Road, Lombard, IL 60148You may phone in your registration with Credit Card: (630) 629-3390

$2.00 phone registration fee applies. Registration is required. Sign up early for round robin play,

as space is limited. Please sign up with your doubles partner.

AVEL TEAMS

Name _______________________________________________________________________________________

Phone H_______________________________________ W __________________________________________

Partner’s Name ______________________________________________________________________

Travel Team Skill Level (Circle One)

Men’s Open /A B/C

Round Robin including awards banquet ($20.00) $ ______________

Partner’s fee round robin including awards banquet ($20.00) $ ______________

Awards Banquet Only/Guest ($10.00) (Total # for dinner ______) $ ______________

Phone in charge ($2) $ ______________

$ ______________

Total $ ______________

Payment: Check or Credit Card # ________________________________ Exp. Date __________________


2009 ISRA Newsletter Advertising RatesGUIDELINES:• The ISRA Board of Directors has established a formal policy of not allowing advertise-

ments to include product pricing.• All ads are assumed to be camera ready. They can be accepted electronically in .tif, .jpg

or .pdf formats.• These rates are in effect until December 31, 2010.• Deadlines are as follows:

• Issue Publication Date: 5/7/10• Articles/Releases/Ads Due: 4/16/10

• Ad Rates:Full page: $150/issueHalf page: $75/issueQuarter page: $50/issueOther sizes quoted on a case-by-case basis.

• For any questions or submission:

Send articles/releases to Cheryl Kirk at [email protected] ads to Joe Silius at [email protected]

The ISRA Board will hold its AnnualMeeting on Wednesday, June 9,2010. As with all ISRA meetings,this meeting is open to the mem-bership. The Annual Meeting isparticularly important since allmembers attending have a vote inthe election of the ISRA Board ofDirectors. If you plan to attend,please contact Marla Cusano [email protected] for timeand location.

Officer and Board positions are stag-gered two-year terms. This year, theopen positions include Vice Presi-dent, Treasurer, two of the four ZoneVice Presidents and four GoverningBoard member positions.

The Officer slate is:

Geoff Peters for Vice PresidentMichelle Halverson for TreasurerDoug Halverson for West Zone VPSteve Angelo for South Zone VP

The following three individuals are be-ing re-nominated to the GoverningBoard:

Patrice Calvi, Joe Silius, and LynneWeisbart

Per the ISRA bylaws, opposing slatesand individuals must be nominated inwriting and received prior to May 15. Ifthere are no additional nominations, theNominating Committee’s slate will be

accepted automatically. Anyone inter-ested in running for office or a Boardposition should contact Marla Cusanoat [email protected].

Additionally, any ISRA member whowishes to help improve the quality ofracquetball in Illinois is welcome to jointhe Auxiliary Board. Come out andsupport Illinois Racquetball!

Signed,

The Nominating CommitteeMarla Cusano (chair),Mike Davern and Rick Seaberg

Officers and Board MembersNotice of Election of ISRA


2010 Tournament

CALENDARFor updates or edits to the ISRA Tournament Calendar, please contact

Geoff Peters at (773) 251-4413 or at [email protected]

JR - Includes Junior Divisions $ - Prize Money in Open Divisions $$ - Prize Money in Multiple Divisions

All tournaments listed are sanctioned by USA Racquetball

CALENDAR

March 17th – 20th

NMRA NationalChampionships

Tucson Racquet & FitnessClub, Tucson, AZ

Steve Cohen(714) 767-4622Enter online atwww.nmra.info

March 18th – 21st

The ShamrockShootout, $$

The Glass Court Swimand Fitness Lombard

Doug Halverson(630) 629-3390Enter online at

www.illinoisracquetball.com

March 27th

One Day Singles Shootout(MO/A and B/C)

Forest View Racquet ClubArlington Heights

Dave [email protected]

Enter online atwww.illinoisracquetball.com

April 7th – 10th

38th National CollegiateChampionshipsSpringfield, MOHeather Fender(719) 635-5396Enter online at

www.usaracquetball.com

April 16th – 18th

USA Racquetball RegionalChampionships WeekendVarious Sites Nationwide

View: www.usaracquetball.orgJR

April 23rd – 25th

USA Racquetball RegionalChampionships

Schaumburg Tennis PlusSchaumburgDave Negrete

[email protected] online at


May 1st

MatchPoint RacquetballSpring Rally for YouthRacquetball FundraiserSilver Lake Country Club

Orland ParkJoy Herth (708) 717-6987

Enter online atwww.illinoisracquetball.com

May 26th – 31st

43rd USA RacquetballNational SinglesChampionships

The Downtown YMCAHouston, TX

Heather Fender(719) 635-5396Enter online at


June 26th – 30th

38th National JuniorOlympic Championships

Minneapolis, MNHeather Fender (719) 635-5396Enter online at

www.usaracquetball.comJR

June 25th – 26th

6th AnnualRacquet for the Cure

Landmark Healthand Fitness, Peoria

(Women’s Division plusMen’s/Mixed Doubles)

John Snarr(309) 685-8360Enter online at


July 14th – 17th

NMRA InternationalChampionships

Allentown/Bethlehem, PASteve Cohen

(714) 767-4622Enter online atwww.nmra.info

July 23rd – 25th (Tentative)17th Annual

Summerfest Open, $$The Glass Court Swimand Fitness, Lombard

Doug Halverson(630) 629-3390Enter online at



Your membership in the ISRAhas helped make our organi-zation second to none.Though we strive to make im-provements to build and growthe sport for future success,we sometimes struggle tokeep our heads above wateras an organization. Our focusis not for the purpose of mon-etary gain but to generateenough funds to give backquality, first-rate programs,tournaments and events wecan all be proud to participatein. Our volunteers who donatetheir time and/or money aregreatly appreciated as arethose who advertise in thisISRA Newsletter. For as littleas $25 for a business card sizead, we can help get yourname out there to let every-one know what you do; for$150, we can run your ad on afull page. Help Us Help You bygetting your ad into the nextISRA newsletter.

Many thanks,Joe Silius,Advertising Editor

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Send to:

ISRA603 E. Wilson Ave.Lombard, IL 60148

Member Sport,U.S. Olympic

Committee

The ISRA Newsletter has transitioned to an electronic format. As youknow, it is presently available on www.illinoisracquetball.com. We may,however, move to an email (members only) format in the near future.Please take the opportunity now to update your USA Racquetball mem-bership profile, most especially supplying your current email address soyou don’t miss any issues of this cutting edge publication!

Please follow the steps below to update your profile:

1. Log into www.usra.org2. Select Membership Login in the upper left hand box3. Enter your six-digit USAR membership number and password*4. Update the information in the profile5. Click on Edit Contact Info6. Log out

Now, wasn’t that easy?

*If you don’t know or have misplaced your membership number and/orpassword, contact Heather Izzett at [email protected].

Thanks for taking the time…and be sure to visitwww.illinoisracquetball.com for tournament schedule revisions and com-petition results.

Lend YourSUPPORT

AttentionISRA MEMBERS!

NAME ___________________________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ________________________________________________________________________________________

CITY _________________________________________________________________ STATE/ZIP ___________________

TELEPHONE (Home) ______________________________________ (Business) _________________________________

E-MAIL __________________________________________________________________________________________

BIRTHDATE ______________________________________________________________________________________

Adult competitor ........................................................................................................ $50.00 _________________

Junior competitor (age 21 and under) .......................................................................... $25.00 _________________

Tax-deductible donation ...................................................................................................... $ _________________

Total enclosed ..................................................................................................................... $ _________________

Tournament ________________________________ Representative __________________________________________

All memberships are for one year, and include a subscription to RACQUETBALL magazine (four times/year).


Heritage YMCA(630) 420-6270Naperville, IL

Saturday9 -10 a.m.

$4.00Members,

$8.00Non-Members

Landmark Healthand Racquetball(309) 685-8360

Peoria, ILFirst and Third

Friday each month6 - 8 p.m.

$5.00

Life Center Healthand Fitness at the

Bartlett Park District(630) 540-4848

Bartlett, ILWednesdays

7:30 -9:30 p.m.Saturdays

7:30 - 9:30 a.m.$4.00 Members

$6.00 Non-Members$9.00 Non-Residents

Buehler YMCA(847) 359-2400

Palatine, ILThursdays 7-10 p.m.

Saturday 8 a.m. - Noon$15 One-Day Guest Pass

Courts Plus(Elmhurst Park District)

(630) 833-5064Monday-Saturday8:30 -11:00 a.m.

$2.00 M-F,$3.00 Sat. Members

$10.00 Non-Members

Fitness Formula Clubs –Old Town

(312) 640-12351235 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL

Tuesdays 6:00-9:00 pmSaturdays: 9:00 am – 12 noon

$20 for guests

Forest View Racquetand Fitness Club(847) 640-2574

Arlington Heights, ILThursday

6:30 -10:00 p.m.$2.00 Members,

$5.00 Non-Members

CHALLENGE COURTS

To add your club to this list, contact: Marla Cusano at [email protected]

Norris Rec Center(630) 377-1405St. Charles, IL

Tuesday and Thursday7 - 9 p.m.

Friday 5 - 7 p.m.Sunday8 -10 a.m.$5.00 Members

and Non-Members

Schaumburg Park District(847) 490-2505Schaumburg, IL

Saturday 8 -10 a.m.Sunday 6 - 8 p.m.

$3 Members,$9 Non-Members

Silver Lake Country Club(708) 349-6940Orland Park, IL

Friday 7 - 10 p.m.$7.00 Members

and Non-Members

West Cook YMCA(708) 383-5200

Oak ParkWednesday 7 - 10 p.m.

Thursday 2 - 4 p.m.Saturday 8 -10 a.m.

Free to YMCA members,$9.00 Non-Members

Racquetball

isra nl winter 2010 -...

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