WOR Updated August 2021
by Todd Boss, with contributions from Norm McNutt, Rob Mijares, Cyrus Chinoy, Joey Logan, Maddie Melendez, Thao Le, and Brett Elkins
Two Legendary Outdoor Players Inducted into WOR Hall of Fame
Press release by WOR HOF coordinator Brett Elkins in collaboration with Todd Boss
The USAR World Outdoor Racquetball Hall of Fame (WORHOF) is pleased to announce the induction of one of the greatest outdoor racquetball doubles teams of all time, Dave Trenton and Steve Fey. The dominant and feared team of Trenton and Fey were elected unanimously and comprise the 2021 WORHOF class. They were physically and mentally intimidating and equally lovable off the court as well.
These two beloved personalities transitioned first from dominating handball in the mid-1970s and ended up dominating outdoor racquetball competition during its heyday in the era of Brian Hawkes and Dan Southern. They competed and were victorious over many famous pro and outdoor players and were part of the legendary early “class” of Southern California players.
Their career highlight as a team was in 1979 when they won the 6th Annual Outdoor National Championships Men’s Doubles title. In the Pro/Open division, they defeated Hall of Famers and outdoor racquetball founders Barry Wallace and Bob Wetzel, 21-15 and 21-16. [We believe this to be accurate, but memories do fade!] Trenton and Fey also made two other Outdoor National pro finals (in 1980 and 1984) and were top seeds and title challengers for the better part of a decade in Costa Mesa.
Steve Belmonte, noted WOR historian, said, “Dave Trenton was probably the most feared player out there for years and he was a former Green Beret (special forces) ... He was the most feared guy on the courts and always my favorite player to watch. In fact, Dave was one of the best left-side players ever, and I believe he made the singles nationals finals [he did], losing to Kossler. But in the semis, in 1977, that year, he took out Barry Wallace (the 1976 singles champ) pretty easily.”
Brian Hawkes, inaugural WORHOF inductee and outdoor GOAT, added, “Trenton and Fey are what outdoor racquetball was all about and why I personally lobbied for them. They are the epitome of outdoor racquetball. They are what you want in the Outdoor Hall of Fame: top players who were fearless, guys you never wanted to lose to, and good guys you loved hanging out with after the match. Fey was a linebacker playing racquetball and Trenton was a Green Beret. They worked well together. Trenton would put the ball away on almost every shot.”
The World Outdoor Racquetball Hall of Fame (WORHOF) Committee is honored to induct these legends together as a team in the Class of 2021-2022 Outdoor Hall of Fame.
WORHOF is actively seeking new (and complete) resumes/applications. Please review the WORHOF site at http://worldoutdoorracquetball.net/worhof and send resumes to brett@trafficeducation.net. Public nominations do move to the front of the line. We are nominating players from the 1960’s through 1999.
Updates on the Outdoor Majors
Here’s the latest news from the three Outdoor Major tournaments (see the Upcoming Outdoor Events section for dates and locations):
3WallBall 2021
The room block at The STRAT is now at greater than 80% capacity; if you are attending the Vegas event, PLEASE get your hotel reservations. There’s a slew of events that weekend, and the rates will only continue to rise. See this post for hotel codes and information on reservations: https://www.facebook.com/DailyRacquetball/posts/3082623418677237
Sign up now for the 3WB Fantasy Camps going on all week leading up to the event. Each session will be four hours with the instructors, covering basic RB skills, strokes, drills, game playing. Talk about indoor game vs. outdoor strategy as well as court time and play with the pro. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/3WallballWorldChampionships/posts/232016592260885
Team Florida is selling 2021 3WB Shirts: order yours today here: https://www.facebook.com/WorldOutdoorRacquetball/posts/10159228825881145. Contact local WOR directors in your area to see if others are doing team shirts.
Don’t forget: there’s a separate pickleball tournament being held Oct 18th-20th; see here for the R2Sports link: https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37768. And, there’s also pickleball added to the 3WB event itself on the main R2Sports application below.
Follow 3WB on Facebook for all the latest news: https://www.facebook.com/3WallballWorldChampionships.
R2sports home page: https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37265
Beach Bash 2022
No news for the 2022 event at the current time.
Dec 18th-19th will feature a small two-day event called the AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle, Garfield Street Courts, Hollywood, FL. https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37870
Outdoor Nationals 2022
No news for the 2022 event at the current time.
August 2021 WOR/Outdoor Tournament Result Recaps
Here are recaps of some of the outdoor programming that went on this past month.
August 14-15: Windy City 3Wall Brawl Championships, Chicago, Illinois
Greg Lewerenz and Nathan Tucker (pictured L-R) three-peat as champions of the Windy City event. Photo by Joey Logan
Chicagoland native and Illinois WOR director Joey Logan ran the latest iteration of his Windy City 3-wall long-wall championships. More than 60 players showed up representing 11 states. For a wrap-up of the event, please see the WOR newsfeed link here:
https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Racquetball/WOR-Home-Page/Features-WOR/2021/August/23/Windy-City-Wrap-Up
August 21-22: 2021 New Smyrna Beach CPRT Shootout, New Smyrna Beach, Florida
New Smyrna Beach tourney t-shirt, photo courtesy of Norm McNutt
Tournament Director Rob Mijares continued the yearly tradition of a summer shootout at the unique New Smyrna Beach courts. Twenty-four players braved the Florida summer heat and headed to New Smyrna Beach for the 2021 Doubles challenge. Twelve teams, lots of round robin play.
Semifinal 1: Andres Ramirez/Scott Graves vs. Jim Fanning/David Levy
Semifinal 2: Joe Young/Yelandi Rivero vs. Scott Reid/Norberto Denico
Final: Joe/Yelandi over Andres/Scott in a tiebreaker
Tournament website: https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37823
August 27-28: “Hot Tamales” Shootout, Stratton Woods Park, Herndon, Virginia
Tournament Directors Thao Le and Maddie Melendez. Photo courtesy of Thao Le.
Stratton Woods was the host of the latest in a series of events, this one aptly named the “Hot Tamales” shootout in honor of the great BBQ chefs who cook at weekend park gatherings. Fifty players from up and down the East Coast competed in racquetball and paddleball events. Dylan Pruitt and Wayne Storch were the double Men’s Open winners, taking both the one-wall and three-wall open draws. For a full list of all winners in all divisions, go to the results summary here:
Tournament website: https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37786
There were also several ad hoc events held in August throughout the land.
August 1: One-day Spur of the Moment Outdoor tourney, Florin HS, Sacramento, California. Scott Warren organized players for a one-day shootout when an indoor tournament was cancelled last minute.
August 21: New London Outdoor One-Wall doubles tournament, Toby May Park, New London, Connecticut. Danny Lee organized this one-day doubles tournament.
August 28-29: Colorado Springs Outdoor tournament, Memorial Park, Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Colorado Springs outdoor group organized a nice weekend shootout primarily through social media.
August 28: Defeat the Heat, one day/no frills Indoor/Outdoor Shootout at Greenbriar North YMCA in Chesapeake, Virginia. Hall of Famer Malia Bailey ran a fun one-day indoor/outdoor event at her club in the Virginia Beach peninsula.
Upcoming Outdoor Events
September 11: Boston 9/11 Memorial One-Wall tournament, Constitution Beach, Boston, Massachusetts. Tournament Director: Jim Bove. https://www.facebook.com/events/572303770472522/
September 11-12: So Cal - 3WB Vegas Warm-up Racquetball Shootout, Esperanza High School - Yorba Linda, California. Hosted by Daryle Uhrich, Rick "Soda Man" Koll, Jesus Ustarroz, and Geoff Osberg. https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=31974
September 19: Fallen Comrades, St. Clair Shores Civic Arena, St. Clair Shores, Michigan. Tournament Director: Tom Blakeslee
September 25: One-day Shootout, West High School, Tracy, California. Tournament Director: Erica Williams. https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37896
Sept TBD: Saco Maine Long-Wall Shootout, Date TBD. Tournament Director: Jim Bove.
October 21-24: 12th Annual 3WallBall Outdoor Championships, Las Vegas, Nevada. Tournament Directors: Peggine Tellez and Mike Coulter. https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37265
November 6-7: 2021 WOR Florida State Long-Wall Championships, Waterford Park, Davie, Florida. Tournament Director: Rob Mijares. https://www.r2sports.com/portfolio/r2-event.asp?TID=37824
Dec 18-19 (SOLD OUT): The AGE Solutions Hollywood Beach Battle, Garfield Street Courts, Hollywood, Florida. Two day doubles only 1-wall tournament. Tournament Directors: Thao Le and Maddie Melendez Limit of100 participants, cash prizes, raffle prizes. https://www.r2sports.com/website/event-website.asp?TID=37870
August 12-14, 2022: Windy City 3Wall Brawl Championships, Chicago, Illinois. Tournament Director: Joey Logan.
The Latest on Dane Elkins Search
There was a confirmed signing in the Oakdale, California, area In July. Dane used his name and said he was headed to Oregon. Most likely Dane is somewhere in between this area and parts of California further north to Sacramento at this point. Because he’s an adult and has broken no laws, this is not a police matter and the Elkins are referring to it as a “soft search.” The goal is for the family to find him, make contact, and bring along medical professionals to alleviate the manic period that has gone on for so long.
Oakdale (which is near Modesto/Stockton) would be consistent with Dane’s moving up California SR 99 gradually by either walking or hitchhiking.
If you see Dane or may know about his whereabouts, his mother Deborah Kassin Elkins respectfully asks you to contact her at 562-504-6005 and to send any pictures or videos to searchingfordaneelkins@gmail.com.
To keep updated, please consider joining the Facebook Group “Searching for Dane Elkins” at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/findingdaneelkins. The Elkins family is continually providing updates, possible sightings, and news articles/media coverage on the search.
Stay in touch with WOR 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 geographic-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 continue to post event recaps on the website news feed. There are no other major website updates to announce this month. We anticipate some updates to the court list in the coming month.
Contact WOR
If you have any questions, please email WOR@usaracquetball.com, and we’ll get back to you ASAP.