A Preview to the USA Racquetball Junior National Festival and Championships, presented by Team DOVETAIL
by Adam Manilla
Racquetball Fans! We are super excited to host the Junior National Festival and Championships presented by Team Dovetail in Pleasanton for the second year! This event is one of the most memorable events in racquetball because it gathers kids from around the nation to compete with players of the same age. Kids ages 6-21 will be battling for a chance to represent Team USA in Guatemala at the Junior World Championships this December. Even though the kids battle on the court, they come out of this tournament with something more significant: lifelong friends that they will stay in touch with for years to come! This young community of players brings a special energy to the building, where you get to see a variety of skill levels compete. You can take a look at the official tournament website here - https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=41777
Not only do the kids get to compete on the court, but they will get to partake in nightly activities to get to know kids outside of the court. These activities range from cornhole tournaments to painting activities, something for every junior, no matter how old they are. Our crew also has something exciting planned for the banquet on Saturday night! Our goal is to give these kids a tournament they will remember forever!
From personal experience, this tournament is hands down one of the best tournaments racquetball has. I grew up competing in this tournament like it was life or death. I played all the other sports in school, but there was something special about competing at the Junior National racquetball tournament. I credit a lot of my success today to this event; it taught me how to perform under pressure, interact with kids of all ages, and what level I needed to be at if I wanted to succeed in this sport. As a younger child, you get to look up to all these older kids playing at such a high level and daydream about the possibility of being at that level one day. This racquetball tournament is unique, and we hope you guys make the trip out to see this event firsthand.
We look forward to seeing everyone at the event. Bring your kids down, no matter their skill level, and let's play some racquetball!
See you June 26-30!