Standing Room Only: Seattle Pro/Am Plays to Packed House

Seattle’s historical-landmark designated Washington Athletic Club (WAC) set the stage for the last Tier 1 Pro Stop before the IRT’s holiday break. “Seattle’s always fun,” said Richelle Kulju who participated in the event. “It has such a great energy because the WAC’s in the heart of downtown. Players love to come to stay, play, and shop.”

“The urban setting is one of the unique aspects of the event,” explained Co-Tournament Director and Hall of Fame coach, Fran Davis. “Seattle is such a young, …

by Arun Rohila and Wanda Collins

With 136 participants, this tournament continues to be one of the big ones in Washington. It offers first rate competition and great hospitality to everyone who attends. The directors give a big shout out to sponsors and volunteers who helped to bring the Women’s Pros to Olympia. Thanks to Ektelon, Head, Gearbox, Racketskinz, PCI Pest Control, L&E Bottling, Izzy’s and of course Bally’s and John.

If any of the participants wanted to meet the women’s pro players and have the opportunity to get on the court …

by Wanda Collins

The tradition continues, with junior racquetball players from Washington State competing with juniors from British Columbia in a two part series for individual and team honors. The first of the two contests was held in Bellingham this year. Twenty seven juniors played in an all day Saturday shootout, with abilities ranging from multi bounce players to accomplished high school competitors. The point scoring at the end of day showed a tie between the two teams with 32 points each. The second part of this challenge will be in …

The 2011 Auburn VW Open was held on October 22-23 in Kent, Washington with close to 80 players. It was a tournament with some “firsts”.

We had a dynamic Men’s Open draw of 16 players – (1st: Anthony Herrera, 2nd: Jimmy Lowe)
We had the Gear Box traveling bus (very cool!)
We had to relocate the tournament unexpectedly during the 1st day of the event.

A round of thanks and gratitude goes out to Benji Doniego and LA Fitness for their incredible support of the tournament – resulting in a great “save” of the …

Club Sept. 30 – Oct. 2. A total of eighty players joined together to play racquetball and support
the junior players of Washington State. This tournament has been through some large changes,
including a much earlier date than in previous years, as well as the lineup in the Men’s Open
Division. But the consistent factors have been the perseverance and leadership of Neal Heggen,
and the generosity of our sponsors and players. Thanks to the help of John Avendano and the
Women’s Center, George Brewer, and Robert Brown of Max Technologies, this tournament,
even with the …

On September 17th we had our Membership Drive tournament for the North End, and for those who just couldn’t get to the membership drive tournament held by Neal Heggen in Kent the previous weekend. In case you somehow missed the advertising emails, facebook posts, etc that I put out to try and promote the event, the idea was that you’d play this tournament (or Neal’s the previous weekend), and then instead of getting another t-shirt for your closet we’d provide you a one-year membership extension instead.

The …

Jacob Allen(Everett):  Jacob fought hard for 2nd place in the Boys 10 Singles Red Division, losing in an exciting tiebreaker match against Alan Yepiz of Stockton, CA.
Zachary Allen(Everett):  Zach placed 4th in the Boys 8MB Division, with some great competition from California, Texas and Oregon.
Jake Birnel(Bellingham):  Took 3nd in Boys 14 Singles Gold Division, losing to the eventual first place winner, Spencer Shoemaker of Ohio.  Jake scored more points in their match than anyone else Shoemaker played, and he’ll be looking for a rematch next year. Jake also took 2nd …

There were 30 of us who made the trek to Friday Harbor to remember Rusty and play some rball. And a great time was had by all. We made the most of the two courts with five events.

Keith Turley and Peter Alexander teamed up to take down Favian and Viron Elmore in Men’s Elite Doubles.
Matt Purcell and Peter Alexander took down Ron Stanger and Cal Ryan in Men’s Doubles.
Lori Turley and Bill Cumming squeaked by Keith Turley and Adrianne Mathews to take Mixed Elite Doubles.
Matt Purcell and Angie …

Congratulation to all our juniors that attended WA State Singles last weekend! It was great to see all of you there and, and the adults loved watching you!

The 2011 Washington State Adult and Junior Singles Championship Tournament was held on April 7-9 and hosted at the Pro Sports Club and the 24 Hour Fitness Sports Center in Bellevue, Washington. The tournament was attended by 144 Washington State residents all vying to claim the title of State Champion in their respective divisions