WOR Update - April 2021

Finding people to play Outdoor Racquetball isn’t always like joining a health club and signing up to play in a league; often, they’re just courts built in a park, or at a school, without much in the way of being able to structure participation. So many communities around the country have taken to self-organizing through social media, specifically by creating Facebook groups where people coordinate play. 

Below is a list of all known Outdoor Racquetball-related Facebook groups, pages, and people to follow.  If you’re someone who lives in one of these areas, definitely join the group/follow the person so you’re “in on” coordinated play or have a place to ask questions of people who are familiar with the courts in your area.   POC = Point of Contact

Facebook Group/page Name	Area covered	URL	POC/Notes
WOR – World Outdoor Racquetball	Nationwide	http://rball.pro/201A05	Main WOR Website for all things Outdoor
Keep Racquetball Great	Nationwide	http://rball.pro/026896	Jacksonville, Florida, native Norm McNutt created this group that covers historical racquetball and a ton of outdoor. One of the largest racquetball-related groups on Facebook.
Keep Racquetball On	South Florida	http://rball.pro/640037	Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Boca Raton, and other outdoor hotbeds in South Florida.
Racquetball United (Florida)	Mid Coast Florida	http://rball.pro/A09D2A	Based in Port St. Lucie but covers a wide variety of indoor and outdoor activities. Rob Romano POC
WOR – Florida	Florida in general	http://rball.pro/F6C922	Home page for WOR Florida, which covers any WOR events throughout the state.
Outdoor Underground Racquetball	Southern California	http://rball.pro/EC9773	Jeffrey Thompson (aka JT Rball) leads group focusing on play in SoCal, the birthplace of outdoor racquetball.
Inland Empire Outdoor Racquetball	Redlands/ Riverside area of SoCal	http://rball.pro/ED7DE2	Ruben Antilla POC
Southern California Racquet Sports	San Diego	http://rball.pro/32E710	Used to be called “San Diego Outdoor Racquetball” but now expanded to include Paddleball and Pickleball
East Bay Outdoor Racquetball Group	East Bay in Northern California	http://rball.pro/F8DFF5	New NorCal WOR director Erica Williams is POC; covers play in Concord, Stockton, all the way to Sacramento
NorCal Outdoor Racquetball	San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California	http://rball.pro/206757	Similar geographic footprint to the East Bay group, based in Tracy, California, by Frank Biehl
Zerega Indoor	Bronx New York	http://rball.pro/182A06	NYC/Bronx-based indoor one-wall facility run by Kathy Zerega that features most of the top one-wall players in the city.
Restrung Magazine	Brooklyn New York	http://rball.pro/C96A0F	Freddy Ramirez run online magazine/blog that frequently discusses one-wall and the sport in general.
3WallBall	Las Vegas Nevada	http://rball.pro/E37BB5	Las Vegas-based organization that runs the annual 3WallBall Outdoor championships. Mike Coulter and Rick Koll POCs.
Mid-Atlantic World outdoor Racquetball	Washington DC & Virginia Beach, Virginia	http://rball.pro/3E285C	Highly active group that coordinates play in Columbia MD, Herndon VA, Olney MD, and Chesapeake VA.
Kansas City Outdoor Racquetball	Kansas City, Missouri	http://rball.pro/5A4983	Highly active group that coordinates play weekly. Tom Schrader, Randy Root, Khurram Khan POCs.
Jim Bove Home page	Boston, Massachusetts, and New England	http://rball.pro/5D32A0	Personal page of Jim Bove, who runs most of the outdoor programming in New England.
Phoenix Metro Outdoor Racquetball	Phoenix, Arizona	http://rball.pro/1C5696	Coordinating play at one of the dozens of sites in and around Phoenix that has outdoor courts
Missouri Outdoor Racquetball	St. Louis and other parts of Missouri	http://rball.pro/E93173	Outdoor enthusiast Yee Cheng POC for play at various parks in St. Louis metro area.
Savannah Outdoor Racquetball	Savannah, Georgia	http://rball.pro/616223	Little-used group for Savannah area players
Illinois Outdoor Racquetball	Chicago, Illinois	http://rball.pro/C6B802	Chicagoland and other parts of Illinois. Joey Logan POC.
Colorado Outdoor Racquetball	Colorado	http://rball.pro/5A3DDA	Little-used group for play in Colorado
Tennessee Outdoor Racquetball	Tennessee	http://rball.pro/419F55	Little-used group to coordinate play in Tennessee, where court availability is limited.
Waikiki Outdoor Racquetball	Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii	http://rball.pro/1C3452	Coordination of play at the historic courts at Fort Derussy
La Grange Outdoor Racquetball	La Grange, Illinois	http://rball.pro/6B76DB	Coordination of play in La Grange Illinois, replacing a Google Docs method used previously
Oregon Outdoor Racquetball	Oregon	http://rball.pro/7CF695	Coordination of play in Salem and elsewhere in the state
Cincinnati Outdoor Racquetball	Cincinnati, Ohio	http://rball.pro/7897C6	New group to coordinate play in and around Cincinnati
Belle Isle Racquetball	Detroit Michigan	http://rball.pro/2777CC	Group to cover outdoor play on the historic Belle Isle courts in Detroit, which have been closed for two years for repairs.
SCS Outdoor Racquetball	St. Claire Shores, Michigan	http://rball.pro/8DAD95	Just up the shoreline from Detroit is St. Claire Shores, which also has outdoor courts.
Texas World Outdoor Racquetball	San Antonio, Texas	http://rball.pro/16AAC9	Ramon Flores POC for one-wall courts in San Antonio and other Texas outdoor activities
Outdoor 3 Wall Courts in Houston	Houston, Texas	http://rball.pro/DF85B1	Small group coordinating outdoor play in and around Houston

 

There are still pockets throughout the US that do not have known Facebook groups to coordinate play. If anyone is aware of additional groups/pages, please let us know. Email Todd Boss tboss@bossconsulting.com or reach out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/toddeboss.

Here’s a quick guide to known upcoming 2021 WOR/Outdoor racquetball events. We hope to get more tournaments on the books as Covid-19 related restrictions hopefully start to ease.

April 10: One-Day Tommy Medina Outdoor Doubles Shootout, Rose Mofford Sports Complex, Phoenix, AZ. 

April 16: Rocky Carson Outdoor Clinic at Eustis, FL - Sunset Island Complex. (See www.frandavisracquetball.com for full details)  

April 17: Raybro Memorial Doubles Shootout, Tracy McDonald Park, Tracy, CA  

April 17-18: Eustis Long Wall Championships, Eustis, FL  

April 18-19: WOR AZ VII Final Battle, Chicken Park, Glendale, AZ 

April 24: Florin High School Shootout, Sacramento, CA. R2/FB link tbd.

April 24: Spring Fling Shootout, Stratton Woods Park, Herndon, VA. R2/FB event site tbd. Rain date 4/25.

May 15: Palo Alto 3-wall (short court) Shootout, Palo Alto, CA

June 4-6: Capital City WOR Championships, Stratton Woods Park, Herndon, VA

June: Tracy High School Shootout (date TBD), Tracy, CA (NorCal East Bay)

July 8-11: 2021 Outdoor Nationals, Huntington Beach, CA 

Aug 14-15: Windy City 3Wall Brawl Championships, Chicago, IL

Aug 21-22: 2021 New Smyrna Beach CPRT Shootout, New Smyrna Beach, FL (r2sports site tbd)

September: Florin High School Shootout (date TBD), Sacramento, CA

Oct 21-24: 12th Annual 3WallBall Outdoor championships, Las Vegas, NV

Here are some quick results from some recent Outdoor events.

Sweet Lou’s Low-Down Doubles Shootout Results

March 20-21, 2021

Marina Park, Huntington Beach, California

 

Group shot of the Sunday CPRT Doubles participants.

Photo and graphics courtesy of Mike Peters

March 20, 2021, marked the return of Lou Orosco’s annual “Sweet Lou’s Lowdown Doubles shootout,” hosted at the Marina Park outdoor courts in Huntington Beach, CA. Twenty-one doubles teams competed across three divisions.

• In the Upper Final, Jesus Ustarroz/Rocky Carson def. Orosco/Lavely, 21-9
• In the Lower final, Tom Quiroz/ Pio Motera def. Caesar/Joaquin, 21-8
• In the CPRT final, Jesus Ustarroz/Rocky Carson made it a double on the weekend by edging Lou Orosco/Ravi Sohoni, 21-20

Thanks to tourney hosts Lou Orosco, Geoff Osberg, and Jesus Ustarroz for hosting and organizing.

Tommy Medina Mofford Park Shootout Results

March 20, 2021

Rose Mofford Sports Complex, Phoenix, Arizona

 

The finalists (L-R), Darin Randles, Juan Mendoza, Marti McCurdy, Daniel De La Rosa, and tournament host Tommy Medina.  Photo courtesy of Medina/David Lee

Twenty-one teams turned out for the first Arizona shootout of the year held at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex in North Phoenix. In the finals: Current #5 ranked IRT pro and dominant outdoor presence Daniel De La Rosa teamed with Marti McCurdy, defeating Juan Mendoza/Darin Randles despite an eight-point game handicap.

Thanks to Tommy Medina for organizing and hosting, and thanks to David Lee for helping to provide results and to get the word out on Facebook.

WOR Shootout at Tropical Park

March 20, 2021

Tropical Park, Miami, Florida

Tournament hosts Roy Hernandez and Marcos Gravier also took the shootout win.

Photo credit Rick Bernstein

Fifty-two players entered the March 2021 WOR Shootout, held at Tropical Park in Miami, FL.  Multiple divisions were competed and below are the results for the three Pro Divisions:

• In the Men’s Open/Pro division Roy Hernandez/Marcos Gravier downed Ismael Noa/Kevin Vazquez in a close tiebreaker, 9-15, 15-11, 11-9.
• In the Women’s Pro/Elite division, 1^st place went to Miriam Benard/Carolina Pisana and 2^nd place to Valeria Clemmensen/Ileana Villarreal.
• In the Mixed Pro/Open division, 1^st place went to Mike Harmon/Sara Noyes, with 2^nd place going to Greg Lewerenz/Valeria Clemmensen.

Thanks to tourney directors Roy Hernandez and Marcos Gravier for hosting and organizing the event. 

 

KRG Eustis Long-Wall Warm-up Doubles Shootout

March 28, 2021

Crystal Springs Park, Jacksonville, Florida

Jimenez/Berry take the one-day shootout and the cash prize.

Photo courtesy of Norm McNutt

Florida outdoor racquetball enthusiast Norm McNutt organized a one-day doubles shootout in his hometown of Jacksonville to prepare the teams for next month's big Eustis Long-Wall event. Ten teams competed.

Hilmar HS Outdoor Shootout Wrap-Up

March 27 2021

Hilmar High School, Hilmar, Calfornia  

Photo courtesy of Walter Ramos

The first NorCal outdoor doubles series shootout was competed at Hilmar High School in Hilmar, California. No fewer than 36 players showed up on a beautiful day to play some three wall in the California sun and compete in two divisions (Upper and Lower).

In the Upper Final, Greg Vezey/Scott Warren topped Corey Vaughn/Mitch Forrest, 11-2, 11-9.

In the Lower final, Ivan Velazquez/Hein Doan took Miguel Ramirez/Manny Sandoval in a tiebreaker, 10, (4), 5.

In the final, Noslen Jimenez/James Berry def. Andres Ramirez/Scott Graves, (10), 12, 9.

Thanks to WOR NorCal director Erica Williams, frequent NorCal Outdoor tourney director Frank Biehl, and Walter Ramos for hosting and organizing the event.

 

 

The Elkins family continues to look for their son Dane, who has now been missing for nearly four months. More than 100 days after his disappearance, 21-year-old UC Santa Cruz student Dane Elkins remains missing, and he may be in Kern County, according to his mother. His last known location was near Interstate 5 and Templin Highway around 8:30 p.m. on 12/21/20 in Castaic, where his car was found abandoned with his wallet and cell phone still inside, per the Los Angeles Police Department. The latest updates indicate it's possible Dane traveled to the greater Kern County area (in and around Bakersfield) after abandoning his car. See https://fb.watch/4CbSfta2nx/ for the most recent news broadcast and updates on the search for Dane. A Facebook group has been set up by his parents to coordinate communication of updates; please join the group “Searching for Dane Elkins” here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/findingdaneelkins

The absolute best way to stay abreast of Outdoor events is to follow WOR – Outdoor Racquetball on Facebook. Updates are posted for upcoming events as soon as they’re available!

https://www.facebook.com/WorldOutdoorRacquetball/