WOR/Outdoor Racquetball Update -- June 2021
by By Todd Boss with contributions from Mike Coulter, Steve Fitzsimons, Erica Williams, Jim Bove, Greg Lewerenz, Joey Logan, and Deborah Elkins
Updates on the Outdoor Majors
Here’s the latest news from the three Outdoor Major tournaments (see the Upcoming Outdoor Events section for exact dates and locations).
Outdoor Nationals 2021
(See companion article in USA Racquetball’s June 2021 Serving Up the News newsletter.)
This tournament received a new title sponsor and is now officially called the “2021 Team Root Outdoor Nationals Racquetball Championships Presented by Pro Kennex.” Thanks to great racquetball benefactor Randy Root for his continued support of the sport. Thanks also to Michael Martinez and Pro Kennex for the ongoing support of outdoor racquetball as well. Read more about the new title sponsor Team Root.
The event will be four days and does have a participant cap, so sign up early!
Partner hotels have been procured and are available on the website.
There will be a Paddleball division.
Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/176381234248779
R2Sports Link: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=31967
3WallBall 2021
3WB recently announced a major title sponsor, AGE Solutions, to join presenting sponsors KWM Gutterman and Pro Kennex. Thanks to all the major sponsors and their representatives (Keith Minor, Andy Gomer, and Michael Martinez) for your continued support.
3WB also announced a week-long set of Fantasy Camps to be held during the week leading up to the event. There will be a number of four-hour sessions all week learning with top players like Alvaro Beltran, Daniel De La Rosa, Rhonda Rajsich, Cliff Swain, and Kane Waselenchuk. Each session has limited participation, so sign up early. For more details, see https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Racquetball/WOR-Home-Page/Features-WOR/2021/May/14/3WallBall-Fantasy-Camps
There will be a participant cap, so don’t be left out! The event will feature all three outdoor disciplines (Racquetball, Paddleball, Handball).
Tournament Directors Mike Coulter and Peggine Tellez recently announced that they will build Pickleball courts for the first time at 3WB. All the vendors in the Racquetball space who also sell in the Pickleball space will be invited to cross promote, and players will be encouraged to cross over as well.
Follow 3WB on Facebook for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/3WallballWorldChampionships . ]
R2Sports Link: https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37265
Beach Bash 2022
Nothing to report right now; we’re months away from a decision on this event going forward.
May 2021 WOR/Outdoor Tournament Results
We had several shootouts/tournaments in May, with the return of outdoor racquetball to several cold-weather areas after a long COVID-induced hiatus.
2021 NORCAL Bay Bash Outdoor Shootout, May 15, 2021, Palo Alto, California
Photo credit: Erica Williams
Thirty outdoor racquetball players arrived at Mitchell Park in Palo Alto to play in the first sanctioned WOR shootout of the NorCal 2021 Outdoor Series.
Men’s Pro/Open: Top Seeds Jose Diaz/Adam Manilla cruised through the final over #2 seeds Walter Ramos/Israel Torres.
Men’s Elite/A: Luis Almanza/Adam Koehler defeated Donny Piwowarski/Sal Alejandre.
Mixed Doubles: Katie Neils/Jeremy McGlothin defeated Cody Thomas/Jazmin Trevino.
For a complete look at the results, go to https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-results.asp?TID=37624
2021 Boston WOR Season Opener Recap, May 15, 2021, Boston, Massachusetts
The 2021 Boston W.O.R. Outdoor One Wall season opener was held under sunny skies on May 15, 2021, at Constitution Beach Park in Boston.
Men’s Open/Elite: Aida and Alex Roman defeated Elliot Saunders and Jim Bove, 21-19 in the final.
Mixed Division: Angie and Alex Roman took 1st with second place going to Aida Roman and Marlon Mancero.
The champion Roman family.
Photo credit: Jim Bove
2021 Rodrigo Moreno Birthday Fullerton Shootout Wrap-Up, May 22-23, 2021, Fullerton, California
Here are the results from the racquetball event at Craig Park this past weekend. There was a great turnout with some really top-level racquetball played.
Pro/Upper Doubles #1 Alvaro Beltran/Daniel De La Rosa defeated #7 Greg Solis/Lou Orosco to take the win in the stacked draw.
Lower Doubles: #2 Tony Hernandez/Manuel Unzueta defeated #1 Luis Espinoza/Miguel Arriola.
Mixed Doubles: Katie Niles/Jeremy McGlothin defeated Victoria Rodriguez/Georges Barrera, 15-1, 15-11.
Open Paddleball: Daniel De La Rosa/Alvaro Beltran were prevented from winning a double on the day, losing in the final to paddleball specialist Emmitt Coe, playing with long-time IRT touring pro lefty Todd O’Neil.
Photo credit: Steve Fitzsimons
Southfield King & Queen of the Court, May 29, 2021, Southfield, Michigan
2021 King and Queen of the Court is a wrap! The first outdoor event of the summer Michigan series was held on May 29th at the Southfield Civic Center.
Winners on the day:
Upper (King): Scott Young
Lower (Prince): David Alan Schwartz
Queen of the Court: Latonya Jones
Photo credit: Greg Lewerenz
One Day Shootout/Cookout Racquetball Tournament, Rainbow Beach, Chicago, May 29, 2021
Pro Division: Jim Camasto/Alcides Gutierrez
Semi Pro Division: David Royster/ O’Neil Bertrand
Mixed Division: Letty Maldonado/Alcides Gutierrez
Photo credit: Joey Logan
Mark your Calendars for Upcoming 2021 Outdoor Events
Tournament Directors, when you set up your Outdoor event in R2Sports, PLEASE make sure you select “World Outdoor Racquetball (WOR)” as your Organization. That way, your event will show up on the new WOR webpage we’re working on in the dynamic “Upcoming Events” widget. If your event doesn’t show up in this link, then it isn’t referencing the correct organization on the tourney setup page.
June 4-6: Capital City WOR Championships; Stratton Woods Park; Herndon, Virginia
Contact: Amie Brewer
SOLD OUT, waiting list only.
https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37467
June 12-13: RAM Outdoor Championship, St. Clair Shores Civic Arena, St. Clair Shores, Michigan
Contact: Tom Blakeslee
https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37667
June 19: NORCAL WOR Warmups, West High School, Tracy, California
Contact: Frank Biehl
https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37660
June 26: Boston WOR Worchester 2021 Season Opener, Worchester, Massachusetts
Contact: Jim Bove
July 8-11: 2021 Team Root Outdoor Nationals Racquetball Championships Presented by Pro Kennex, Huntington Beach, California
https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=31967
July 10: Southfield Racquet Sports Triathlon (Racquetball, Paddleball, Squash), Southfield Civic Center, Southfield, Michigan
July 31: Can You Stand the Heat 17, St. Clair Shores Civic Arena, St. Clair Shores, Michigan
August 14-15: Windy City 3Wall Brawl Championships, Chicago, Illinois
Contact/TD: Joey Logan
https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/home.asp?TID=37530
August 14-15: So Cal Vegas Warm-up Doubles Shoot-out Presented by 3WallBall, Esperanza High School, Anaheim, California
Contact: Peggine Tellez
https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=31974
August 21-22: 2021 New Smyrna Beach CPRT Shootout, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
R2Sports site tbd
Contact: Norm McNutt
September Date TBD: Florin High School Shootout, Sacramento, California
Contact: Erica Williams
September 19: Fallen Comrades, St. Clair Shores Civic Arena, St. Clair Shores, Michigan
Oct 21-24: 12th Annual 3WallBall Outdoor Championships, Las Vegas, Nevada
Contacts: Peggine Tellez, Mike Coulter
https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37265
Stay in Touch on Facebook
The absolute best way to stay abreast of Outdoor events is to follow WOR – Outdoor Racquetball on Facebook. We post updates for upcoming events as soon as they’re available!
Plus, there’s a slew of geography-specific groups that talk about play all over the country. Wherever you live, there’s likely to be a group that coordinates play in your area. Reach out to WOR to find a Facebook group or a state director to help you out.
WOR Website Updates
We have been making some incremental progress on getting the WOR component of the USAR website converted over from the previous sites and brought current. Here’s some of the content we’ve worked on in the last month:
Bill George has done a major court update to clean out old/nonexistent courts. We’ve added some new ones, we’ve made the XLS available online, and we’ve added a Google maps link.
This page now features an ongoing feed of WOR news, tournament results, and updates of interest to the outdoor community. There have been more than 30 articles published just in the last couple of months, the same content that usually gets posted to the main WOR Facebook group. One can also subscribe to this newsfeed to get notifications of all new posts via the “Subscribe” button on the above link; this will generate an RSS link suitable for your RSS-enabled reader.
We’re now current with all serving State Directors, and all contact information is correct.
We are working diligently on new content and will continue to provide updates in this space and on the Facebook page as we convert over/add new static pages.
Contact WOR
If you have any questions, please email WOR@usaracquetball.com and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
The Latest on the Dane Elkins Search
The Elkins family continues to look for their son Dane, who has now been missing for nearly five months, but there have been great developments lately. Dane used his own name to check into a location just recently, and the search is now focused in the Wofford Heights area just north of Bakersfield. There have also been a number of credible sightings just in the last couple of weeks of May.
A Facebook group has been setup by his parents to coordinate communication of updates. Please join the group “Searching for Dane Elkins.”
Flyer credit: Deborah Elkins