News Archive

July - September 2003

IRF President Keith Calkins has appointed Usher Barnoff from Canada as interim Technical Director of the IRF. Barnoff succeeds Jim Hiser (USA) on January 1 who resigned recently due to his other obligations with the USRA.

Secretary General Luke St. Onge travels to Asia tomorrow to attend the Asia Championships. He will also meet with the Organising committee for the World Championships 2004 in Korea to discuss the final dates for the event and other important details.

The French Open 2004 have been scheduled for January 9-11 in the Forest Hill Club in Paris.                        Contact

Chigozie Ijeoma from Nassau became new president of the Bahamas Racquetball Federation. "We are aggressively trying to foster the growth and development of the sport within the Bahamas", Ijeoma said.

The final match of the 20th Hamburg Open took only one game, when European Champion Joachim Loof had to forfeit the game to Martin Klippel, after losing the first game 15-6. Loof won the doubles title together with Torsten Krieger (Hamburg).      Hamburg Open

Racquetball Canada's latest newsletter is now available on the Canada website.                     Newsletter

The European Racquetball Tour kicks off in Hamburg, Germany next weekend with the Hamburg Open. The event will be held in the club that served as the site for the 1988 World Championships. Hamburg Open

The 2nd UK Open Championships, one of the European Tour's major tournaments will be held October 10-12. The tournament is organised by the English Racquetball Association, an affiliate of the Great Britian Racquetball Federation (GBRF). The tournament will be held at the RAF Alconbury, Huntingdon.                           Contact Angus Smith

A new partnership has been developed with Lawlersports. The company located in Indiana/USA is now one of the IRF's Official Partners. From each purchase by IRF members or international friends, a donation will be granted towards the IRF to promote the global development of the sport.                                                           Lawlersports website

It has been announced recently that the Pan American Racquetball Confederation (PARC) has renamed it's annual event, the Tournament of the Americas, into the Pan American Racquetball Championships. The 2004 competition has been granted to Ecuador.

ToA information

The relaunched website for the 2003 US Open Championships is now online. Check it out for all major information about racquetball's grand slam event.     Entry Form      US Open 2003

The 15th World Senior Championships in Albuquerque, USA with players from over 10 nations, have been finished and declared the best Senior Championship ever. All results here.

The USRA will host a golf outing on Sep 4 at the Country Club of Colorado. Interested? Contact Heather Fender.

The Ladies Pro Tour kicks off in Rosarito Beach, Mexico this season with the 4th Rosarita Beach Racquetball Open on September 4-7. Contact VP Rosy Torres for more information.

The IRF received an eMail from the President of the Asociación Nacional de Racquetball de Costa Rica, sending us new contact information and the link to the official website. If you or your country is not represented on the web, help to get it out there. Even better, if you know of a National Association that is online but not represented in our list, please let us know.                          Costa Rica Racquetball

The teams from the United States and Mexico have split the four gold medals in the final matches today when Team USA was able to win both Singles titles and Team Mexico advanced in the Mens and Womens Doubles Division. The Racquetball competition at this years Pan American Games is finished with these final results, the Games will continue until August 17.  Full coverage & Pictures: www.racquetballmagazine.com    www.racquetball.ca

Already 200 entries from USA, Ireland, Puerto Rice, Bolivia, Ecuador and other nations, the IRF World Senior Championships are expected to be another highlight event in International Racquetball. The event will be played in several age divisions between 35+ and 85+.  more

The Racquetball Association of Pakistan [RAP] has announced that this years first edition of the Pakistan National Racquetball Championships will be held in December 24-26 in Karachi. Pakistan's National Team will also participate in the Asia Championships in Saipan.

While the opening ceremony of the 2003 Pan American Games already took place yesterday, the racquetball competition will start on August 5th in the brand new club in Santo Domingo.

Event Site | Recordbook | Preview & Pictures

Daily coverage:

www.racquetballmagazine.com

www.racquetball.ca

The Asia Racquetball Federation (ARF) invites to the 13th Asia Championships on Oct 3-5 in Saipan. Teams from Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Guam, India and other Asian countries are expected to take part in this regional event. The site will be the Nikko Saipan Hotel. The entry dealine to this event is scheduled for August 31.

Right in time: A new racquetball facility has been just finished in time. The club has 8 courts and is the venue for the racquetball competition at the Pan Am Games 2003 in Santo Domingo, Dom. Republic. The club has also been chosen by the IRF for the 2006 World Championships.

   Picture: Vicki Hughes