National Masters Racquetball Association (NMRA) Players Travel to LSU Baton Rouge March 15-17, 2024

We just missed all the craziness of Mardi Gras in Louisiana! No worries, though. For the first time ever, the National Masters Racquetball Association 40+-year-old players will be descending on the Southern capitol city of Baton Rouge and the purple and gold campus of Louisiana State University for our March 15-17 tournament. Al Schof, Parker Ewing and the whole Louisiana racquetball clan are welcoming our tournament crew and hardy group of round-robin players to their state to see if we can drum up some fun. We hope this will be a repeat venue for our group and others—fingers crossed for LSU continuing to recognize the value that a nine-court facility provides students and competitors.

Bruce Adams and I have everything set for your visit. The host hotel will be the Crowne Plaza, about five miles from the URec center on campus. Rumor has it they provide live music on the weekends, and that our players will not have trouble finding entertainment in general. Since St. Patrick’s Day is that Sunday, the last day of our tournament, we plan to check out the Saturday morning St. Patrick’s Day parade. NMRA will again provide a shuttle to the club and sites around town. Airport rides from New Orleans need to be arranged in advance—see the R2Sports.com tournament site. Come in a whole day before to attend check-in night and get used to the courts before your first match.

Sign up today on R2Sports.com, and have us help you find a great doubles partner, if you don’t already have one. Singles is always a great option, too. If you are a first-timer to NMRA round-robin events, we are sure you’ll have some questions on why everyone plays every day, match formats, banquet menus, sightseeing in the area, and where to go for delicious Cajun and Southern cuisine. Jason Suitts from VisitBatonRouge.com has helped us highlight all of the best ideas on the nmra.info website (Tournament tab, link below). You’ll find an Info Sheet there too, as well as a little flyer to post at your club.

We know you’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans and the area—us too! Let’s make it a great weekend to get to know the city, play some racquetball, and become old friends in no time.

NMRA Tournament Info: https://www.nationalmastersracquetball.com/competition/annual-championships/

NMRA 2024 Baton Rouge Registration/Info: https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=41789

But I Already Have Plans for Mid-March -- March is one of the busiest racquetball and kid sports months in the year, so we understand you may be booked that weekend. We already planned for that. We have a special treat for you for the summer—in Chicago July 25-28, 2024. We will hold our summer NMRA tournament at the Glass Court Swim & Fitness club in Lombard, have the Embassy Suites Hotel as our free-breakfast headquarters—all the usual great reasons to plan to play NMRA in July. We are currently working on making this tournament an NMRA/IRF (or as Gary Mazaroff will tell you—IRF/NMRA) event where it will have more international flair than usual.

The 40th Annual IRF World Seniors Racquetball Championships (normally held in the Albuquerque area) is without a home club and an unconflicting date. NMRA and IRF are separate organizations, but we have overlapping goals of providing social round-robin competition for the group that is the legacy and pillar of our sport—the 35+ crowd. More on the details of this combined venture are coming soon—but you can sign up today on R2Sports.com, and get your hotel room reserved. Dan Jaskier is the Glass Court Club owner and serious racquetball supporter—he and his whole team will make sure we have a great time in Lombard in July. Mark your calendars and call if you have questions. Gary Mazaroff and I will remind you again very soon.

We hope you are as excited about this joint venture as we are. Before then, though--See you in Baton Rouge in March. Geaux Tigers!

NMRA/IRF 2024 Chicago Registration/Info: https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=41788