International Racquetball Federation
Official website
A 2023 Year-End Update from IRF President Aníbal Osvaldo Maggi León
January, 2024
Greetings to the Worldwide Racquetball Family. As 2023 comes to a close and an exciting 2024 is beginning, I am pleased to provide this year-end report.
Referenced letters about LA2028
(From International World Games Association website, visit on www.theworldgames.org)
Huge congratulations to Bolivia’s Conrrado Moscoso for securing the title of The World Games Athlete of the Year 2023!
In the final round, Bolivia’s Racquetball star ended up winning with an amazing total of 75,389 votes, defeating Luisa Rizzo (ITA) from Air Sports who came second with a total number of votes of 55,834.
Moscoso (28), and Rizzo (21), led the race from the start of the final round, and were very close going into the final 24 hours. They have left third and fourth places to Germany’s Marius-Andrei Balan (33) and Khrystyna Moshenska (34), nominated in the Latin dance discipline, from the DanceSport category and Ju-Jitsu ace Faisal Al Ketbi (36), from UAE.
The German dancers, performing together since 2015, collected 43,560 votes, while Faisal Al Ketbi, The World Games 2017 gold medallist, recorded 36,824 votes.
Once again with this yearly award there has been an equal distribution of votes, showcasing a very balanced gender representation. Two men and two women are in the top 3 (with one couple), while four men and three women complete the top-10 final ranking. These results align with the IWGA’s mission to promote gender equality.
IWGA President José Perurena congratulated all the finalists on their success: “On behalf of the International World Games Association, and personally, I would like to congratulate our winner and all the athletes in the Top 10 for their outstanding performances. Congratulations for their performances in this race; but they also need to be recognised and saluted for the constant, tireless hard work and sacrifices that they make to reach the highest possible level in their sport. This Award is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the incredible records and achievements of The World Games’ male and female athletes from all over the world. Athletes are the beating heart of our community, and this trophy symbolises our gratitude.”
After the first round which ended on 22 January 2024, the ten best athletes with the most votes went into the final round, with the voting phase ending on Wednesday 31 January 2024 at 12 noon GMT. The winner, together with the silver and bronze finishers, will receive a trophy as well as a certificate. The candidates were nominated by their respective federations.
Inspire the younger generation to get moving
Conrrado Moscoso has had a highly successful and glittering career in Racquetball. He is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) men’s singles World champion, and currently leads the Racquetball World Rankings. He won two gold medals and one bronze at the latest edition of the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Immediately after the announcement, winner Moscoso said: “I am incredibly grateful and honoured to win this Award. For myself of course, but also for the international Racquetball community that I wish to represent with this title. I want to advocate for my sport in my country, my continent and throughout the world because the sport deserves worldwide publicity. My goal is to inspire the younger generation to get moving and find a passion for sport, possibly Racquetball!”
IRF President Osvaldo Maggi spoke with great enthusiasm: “On behalf of the global Racquetball community, I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate our champion Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia on this tremendous achievement. We are so proud of him for winning and we would like to thank our supportive fans that made it possible. We look forward to seeing what the next edition of The World Games in Chengdu brings!”
A great honour!
For 21-year-old Luisa Rizzo, flying her FPV drone at speeds of over 160km/h around an intricate obstacle course is much more than a simple hobby. The remarkable Italian pilot came third in the FAI World Drone Racing Championships in Namwon, Korea in 2023. She also entered the Guinness World Record Book for clearing 56 gates in 60 seconds on live TV when aged just 16.
Happy about her second place, Rizzo said: “I am delighted with this final result. It is a great honour, not only for me but for the entire air sports community, to receive this distinction. It was thrilling to follow the voting evolution since the start of the year, and I had no idea that I was going to get so much support from The World Games community. I am endlessly grateful for the mobilisation and encouragement, and I wish I knew who voted for me, in order to thank them one by one. I would also like to thank IWGA for their promotion of non-Olympic Games Sports.”
World Air Sports Federation President David Monks echoed the young athlete’s excitement: “We would like to extend our sincere congratulations to Luisa Rizzo for her second place. The depth of her talent and outstanding performances in one of our disciplines is undeniable and brings us all together. We are honoured that she gets to be recognised in her specific field.”
Growing popularity of DanceSport
Right from the beginning of their union, Balan and Moshenska became one of the most successful and mesmerizing couples in the world. They are German Champions and have been finalists in every major competition in the world. Since 2020 they are #1 on the World Dance Sport Federation World Ranking List and continue to dominate the international Latin Dance scene.
Thrilled about their third place, the pair commented: “We are incredibly grateful to be second runners-up in The World Games Athlete of the Year Award. We hope DanceSport will get more recognition all over the world, because it is an artistic sport which makes you feel and look good.”
World DanceSport Federation President Shawn Tay commented: “I’m delighted to witness Marius-Andrei Balan and Khrystyna Moshenska’s remarkable journey towards the third place in the IWGA Athlete of the Year Award. I’ve known Marius and Khrystyna for over a decade and have seen them persist through all the triumphs and hardships in their career. Their global acclaim is in recognition of their sheer hard work, discipline, and dedication, as well as an important indication of the growing popularity of our beautiful, artistic sport. We, at the WDSF, are very proud of Marius and Khrystyna, and thankful for the recognition from IWGA.”
Dreams are fuelled by determination and can turn into reality
The Abu Dhabi native Ketbi, finished fourth in the race among 22 top athletes. He is the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 World Champion in Ju-Jitsu in the -94kg category. He also won TWG 2017 gold medal in Wroclaw, Poland, in the same category, and grabbed TWG 2022 golds in the -85kg group and Open Men discipline in Birmingham, USA.
Ju-Jitsu Faisal Al Ketbi commented: “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the visionary leadership of the UAE for their limitless support, which made this achievement possible. I also extend my deepest appreciation to all my supporters who have been with me on this incredible journey. This achievement is a testament to the dedication, hard work, and endeavour that has fuelled my passion for Ju-Jitsu. I dedicate this achievement to my teammates, coaches, family, and fans who have stood by me every step of the way. This achievement is not just mine; it’s a collective effort, and I am overjoyed to be able to honour my country with this recognition. Together, we’ve proven that dreams fuelled by determination can turn into reality. I hope this win serves as a beacon of inspiration, encouraging aspiring athletes to pursue excellence and contribute to the sport’s continued success on the global stage.”
To close the 2023 season, a total of 22 athletes were running for The World Games Athlete of the Year title. As a reminder, in the voting for 2022, the individual winner was Valeria Cardenas (COL) from the World Flying Disc Federation (WFDF).
The International World Games Association (IWGA) is a non-profit-making international sports organisation recognised and supported by the International Olympic Committee. The IWGA comprises 39 International Member Sports Federations. It administers and promotes The World Games (TWG), a multi-sport event held every four years that features around 35 sports on its programme. The next edition of TWG will be in Chengdu (CHN) from 7-17 August 2025. 5,000 participants from more than 100 countries are expected to take part in this 12th edition. The latest Games were hosted by Birmingham, Alabama (USA).
.
For more information, please contact the IWGA Media and Communication team: press@iwga.sport, Tel: +41 21 311 12 97, or visit our web site.
PRESS RELEASE
Santiago de Chile, Chile, October 7, 2023.
The Pan American Racquetball Confederation – PARC and Federación Panamericana de Squash – FPS are excited to announce they will jointly present Racket:Next at the XIX Pan American Games Santiago 2023 during the Pan American Esports Championships. The virtual reality racquet game Racket:Next [aka Racket:Nx] was approved by the International Racquetball Federation Executive Committee as a fully sanctioned sport effective April 1, 2022, and was showcased during The World Games Birmingham 2022. The Executive Committee of the Federación Panamericana de Squash – FPS, with the full support of the World Squash Federation – WSF, has partnered with PARC in the presentation of this amazing Esports during the XIX Pan American Games Santiago 2023. Panam Sports and the Global Esports Federation invited PARC and the FPS to participate with Racket:Next in the Pan American Esports Championships for the first time as demonstration sport.
The demonstrations will be open to the public from October 21 to 31 at the National Stadium in Santiago de Chile, Chile, where it will be surrounded by the top Racquetball and Squash players from across the Americas and Caribbean and is guaranteed to create an sensationalenvironment of action, movement andpassion for traditional sports through this incredible new e-sports; Racket:Next
About the Pan American Racquetball Confederation:
The Pan American Racquetball Confederation – PARC is the governing body for all continental sanctioned racquetball events. It is a member of ACODEPA and Panam Sports. Racquetball has been part of the Pan American Sports Program since 1995.For more information:
www.panamericanracquetball.com
facebook.com/panamericanracquetball
instagram.com/panamericanracquetball
About the Federacion Panamericana de Squash- FPS:
The Federación Panamericana de Squash- FPS is the governing body for all continental sanctioned squash events. It is a member of ACODEPA and Panam Sports. Squash has been part of the Pan American Sports Program since1995.For more information:
www.panamsquash.com
facebook.com/Federacion-Panamericana-de-Squash
instagram.com/panamsquash
About Racket Next:
Racket:Next has already surpassed 300,000 players worldwide, led by the fastest-growing VR headset, the Meta Quest 2, in which it’s been a top-rated title since its launch in 2019. We have witnessed a surge of players on emerging China-based platforms. For more information:
www.racketnext.com
racketnext@gmail.com
Stronger Together
NEWS from Basque Country:
On July 15th, the Basque Association of Beach Tennis and Minority Sports, Racquetball Section, organized the. I Basque Championship of Racquetball (doubles). In April we met to play the singles tournament and this time we played the doubles tournament. We had 8 players: Luis Getxo, Daniel Barrientos, Jesus Carballeira, Tomas Beriashvilli, Andi Erromo, Unai Pérez, Maximo Kulachenok and Egoitz Campo, the organizer.
This time we met again at the San Ignacio Municipal Sports Center in Bilbao, for the simple reason that we have not yet been able to build a racquetball court. However, we are still trying to convince the institutions. In this tournament we played two rounds: semifinals and in the second round we played for 3rd and 4th place and the final.
Egoitz and Luis won their matches easily, proving to be the stronger couple. It is also worth mentioning the match for 3rd and 4th place, where Tomas and Jesus beat Daniel and Máximo by the minimum. It was a tight match of three sets.
For now, our goal is still to build a racquetball court in the Basque Country, or at least to find a court with dimensions similar to the official IRF ones. We will continue to insist and search; let’s see if we reap the fruits of this search.
In December, if all goes well, we will play another tournament, this time it will be more concentrated because we will play a single set, both singles and doubles. We will call it the Villa de Bilbao Racquetball Tournament. Here are the results of the I. Basque Racquetball Championship (Doubles):
Results
Semifinals
Egoitz Campo/ Luis Getxo 2-0 Tomas Berishvilli/Jesus Carballeira (11-4, 11-7)
Unai Pérez/ Andi Erromo 2-0 Maximo Kulachenok/Daniel Barrientos (11-7, 11-9)
3º and 4º
Tomas Beriashvilli/ Jesus Carballeira 2-1 Maximo K./ Daniel B. (11-9,8-11, 11-9)
Final
Egoitz Campo/Luis Getxo 2-0 Unai Pérez/Andi Erromo (11-1, 11-2)
Classification of the I. Basque Championship of Racquetball (Doubles)
1-Egoitz Campo (Basque Country) / Luis Getxo (Basque Country)
2-Unai Pérez (Basque Country) / Andi Erromo (Basque Country)
3-Tomas Beriashvilli (Georgia) / Jesus Carballeira (Basque Country)
4-Maximo Kulachenok (Basque Country) / Daniel Barrientos (Basque Country)
At the XXXIV Pan American Racquetball Championship, held in Guatemala City between April 1 and 8, 2023, the countries of the continent competed for the medals and trophies of the tournament but also for the qualification to the XXIV Central American and Caribbean Games San Salvador 2023 and the XIX Pan American Games Santiago 2023.
The Central American and Caribbean Games are the oldest Games after the Olympics and the Racquetball competition will be held between June 24 and July 1 in the sub-venue of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The Pan American Games, organized by Panam Sports, is the most important continental sporting event in the world and Racquetball will open the competition on October 21 and end on October 26.
The following is the order of the qualified countries by branch, female and male, where the first four countries obtained three places and from the fifth to the last two places each.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to outline below its webinar schedule for May 2023.
| Date / Time | Session Title(Language) | Speakers | Target audience | To register |
| 10 May08:00 EDT / 21:00 Tokyo Time | Managing Athlete profiles and user accounts in ADAMS(In English) | Emmanuel Gomes, Senior Product Specialist (ADAMS), IT, Data & Digital Development, WADAKenny Lee, Manager, Asia/Oceania Office, WADA (Moderator) | Anti-Doping Organizations (ADOs), Major Event Organizations (MEOs), delegated third parties (DTPs), administrators and business users in the Asia/Oceania region | Register here |
| 11 May11:00 EDT / 15:00 GMT | How to develop an effective testing program(In English) | Karine Henrie, Deputy Director, Testing Department, WADA Juan Manuel Lauria, Manager, Latin American Office, WADA (Moderator) | Testing Managers, National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO) Managers, Executive Secretaries and/or Directors of Latin America and the Caribbean | Register here |
| 12 May11:00 EDT / 15:00 GMT | How to develop an effective testing program(In Spanish) | Ilaria Baudo, Senior Manager, Testing Department, WADAJuan Manuel Lauria, Manager, Latin American Office, WADA (Moderator) | Testing Managers, NADO Managers, Executive Secretaries and/or Directors of Latin America and the Caribbean | Register here |
| 17 May08:00 EDT / 21:00 Tokyo Time | Managing sample collection in Next Gen ADAMS(In English) | Emmanuel Gomes, Senior Product Specialist (ADAMS), IT, Data & Digital Development, WADAKenny Lee, Manager, Asia/Oceania Office, WADA (Moderator) | ADOs, MEOs, DTPs and business users in the Asia/Oceania region | Register here |
| 29 May08:00 EDT / 12:00 GMT | Why, How and When: A Guide for the establishment of a National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO)(In English) | Mekonnen Yidersal Mulusew, Director General, Ethiopian Anti-Doping AuthorityIeva Lukosiute-Stanikuniene, Senior Manager, NADO/RADO Relations, WADASameh Elray, Manager, Africa Office, WADA (Moderator) | All countries in the process of or interested in establishing a NADO | Those interested are invited to register by sending their information (name, country, organization, job title and phone number) to the WADA Africa Office Manager, Sameh Elray, sameh.elray@wada-ama.org, as early as possible. |
| 30 May08:00 EDT / 12:00 GMT | Why, How and When: A Guide for the establishment of a National Anti-Doping Organization (NADO)(In French) | Mourad Hambli, Director General, Tunisian Anti-Doping AgencyLouis Duparc-Portier, Manager, Compliance, WADASameh Elray, Manager, Africa Office, WADA (Moderator) | All countries in the process of or interested in establishing a NADO | Those interested are invited to register by sending their information (name, country, organization, job title and phone number) to the WADA Africa Office Manager, Sameh Elray, sameh.elray@wada-ama.org, as early as possible. |
To register, please view the registration instructions in the ‘To Register’ column above. Should you have any questions, please contact WADA Communications at: WADAcommunications@wada-ama.org.
March 17, 2023
Dear Worldwide Racquetball Family:
During January and February, IRF President Osvaldo Maggi traveled to several countries of the Americas to meet with national racquetball leaders. Positive meetings took place that brought the following results:
– Santiago de Chile, Chile: The construction of the racquetball venue to hold the XIX Pan American Games 2023 is moving forward slowly but strongly.
– Colorado Springs, USA: Several meetings were held with stakeholders that support the IRF and PARC. Discussion included new development programs and also exploration of possibly hosting a future IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships in the United States.
– Bogota, Colombia: The Colombian Olympic Committee and the Minister of Sport have created a Pro Federation Committee to re-fund the Colombian Racquetball Federation and enable the participation of Colombian racquetball athletes in 2023 events to include the XXXIV Central American and Caribbean Games and the XIX Pan American Games. Sincere thanks go to NOC President Ciro Solano, the Ministry of Sport of Colombia, and the members of the Pro Federation Committee.
– San Juan, Puerto Rico: The National Olympic Committee will support the constitution of a new Executive Committee of the National Racquetball Federation headed by Pucho Miranda. They will collaborate with the IRF and PARC to build Puerto Rican participation in future events.
The outcomes of President Maggi’s visits to these countries and the meetings with their leaders serve as encouragement to all of us who love racquetball that the sport is moving forward nicely on the international stage.
We have so much to look forward to in the future!
https://www.theworldgames.org/news/The-World-Games-17/IWGA-Athletes-Committee-Making-the-athlete-s-voice-heard-2432
At its board meeting in January, the board of the International World Games Association (IWGA) agreed on the composition of the Interim IWGA Athletes’ Committee. As already announced, the Chair of this committee will be the Spanish karateka Sandra Sanchez.
The six other members of this committee are Cat Phillips from Australia (Flying Disc), Andrés Acuña from Costa Rica (Racquetball), the Swiss Floorball player Matthias Hofbauer, the Indian archer Abhishek Verma, Justyna Możdżonek from Poland (DanceSport) and the Canadian Powerlifter Rhaea Stinn. Board member Jan Fransoo will represent the IWGA Executive Committee on this panel and thus be the counterpart for the athletes. In the IWGA Office the committee will be supported by Guillaume Felli. The decision to form an Athletes’ Committee was communicated to the IWGA members at the Annual General Meeting in 2022.
Jan Fransoo explains the next steps: “The current IWGA Athletes’ Committee has an interim status until September 2025. By that time, an Athletes’ Committee will have been elected by the athletes of the next edition of The World Games. The 12th edition will take place in Chengdu, China. The main task over the next two-and-a-half years will be to prepare for the installation of this Athletes’ Committee, including the process of election, future powers, composition, and associated regulatory changes. The focus of our efforts will be on the regulations for the transformation of the provisional committee into a standard institution of the IWGA.”
Sandra Sanchez, who attended the IWGA board meeting in January in Madrid as a guest at the invitation of IWGA President José Perurena, says that she is aware of the responsibility. “The committee will make the athletes’ voice and assessment heard, and influence the IWGA’s decisions for the benefit of the participants in the Games. I feel very honoured to be able to lead the committee after finishing my active career in sport, and I’m looking forward to this new task,” says the winner at The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA and 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland. She was Olympic champion at the 2021 Games in Tokyo.
One of the first tasks will be to convene a first official meeting with all members of the committee before the summer of this year. At this meeting they will also agree on their further course of action. The members will work on the rules of procedure.
José Perurena explained: “One of our basic principles is that we put the athletes and their needs at the centre. The establishment of this Interim Athletes’ Committee is another step on the way to putting this principle into practice. We are thus following the guidelines we set ourselves in the strategy paper ‘Growth Beyond Excellence’.” The 39 IWGA member federations decided to set up this provisional committee at last year’s Annual General Meeting.
Jan Fransoo explains how the current members were nominated: “We communicated with our Federations and asked them to provide us with suitable candidates. Gender equality was important to us in this process. In addition, the athlete representatives should come from all over the world and clearly show the diversity of the sport within The World Games family. Above all we asked for confident and experienced athletes. Their informed opinion carries weight in the further development of our event. We are convinced the current composition meets these expectations. I am very much looking forward to the cooperation that is about to begin.”