Racquetball Canada Newsletter

November Issue

• It's Official
• Racquetball Canada Magazine
• Elite Players
• Tournament schedule
• Administrivia
• In closing...

It's Official

Racquetball Canada along with the National Tournament Committee are proud to announce the awarding of the 2004 Junior Canadian National Racquetball Championships to Prince Edward Island / Jerry Campbell and Jim Auld.

Racquetball Canada Magazine

Plans are to have the next Racquetball Canada magazine out in early December - just in time for Christmas! Material will include a Pan Am review and look ahead to Worlds next year, as well as an interview with Racquetball Canada's new Executive Director, Ron Brown.

If you have any suggestions for material, please send them to the editor, Evan Pritchard : evan333@mts.net.

Elite Players

This past weekend, Kane Waselenchuk won the IRT pro tournament in Chicago, one of the biggest on tour. This was Waselenchuk's second victory this season, and the second time he's won this tournament. Waselenchuk beat Josh Tucker (3-0) in the first round, then faced fellow Canadian Mike Green in the quarter finals (Green had defeated John Ellis in 5 games in the round of 16), winning 3-1, which put him in the semi-finals against Jack Huczek. That match went 4 games, and put Waselenchuk into the final against Mexican Alvaro Beltran. Waselenchuk took the final in 3 straight games. Congratulations to him!

Vincent Gagnon and Eric Desrochers also participated in the pro draw in Chicago, but they did not make it past the qualifying rounds. Gagnon beat Robert Lee, 3-0, but then lost to Agustin Tristan, 3-1. Desrochers lost to Alejandro Herrera, 3-1.

Congratulations also to Mike Green, who won a pro tournament in Casper, Wyoming, the previous weekend, beating (in order) Al Wiewick, Brent Walters, Derek Robinson and John Ellis in the final. Green drove serve very well throughout the tournament, losing only one game in the tournament - to Ellis in the final. However, we have it on good authority that he didn't catch the biggest fish on the fishing trip some of the players went on in while in Wyoming.

One LPRA tournament happened in October. In Albuquerque, Cheryl Gudinas won by defeating Kerri Wachtel 3 games to 1 in the final. No Canadians participated in that event.

November has been a good month for Canada's elite players to be born, with five having birthdays this month - two of them are on the same day. Players having birthdays this month are Mike Ceresia (November 3), Lori-Jane Powell (November 8), Bill Shepley (November 9), Kane Waselenchuk (November 9), and Jennifer Saunders (November 18). Happy birthday to them all.

Full results of the men's and women's pro tours can be found at their respective websites:

• International Racquetball Tour
• Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour

Tournament Schedule

The racquetball season is in full swing this month, as there will be at least one tournament each weekend somewhere in Canada this month. The big tournament this month happens south of the border in Memphis with the US Open - racquetball's 'Grand Slam' event. If you are going to be there, either participating or watching, please let us know. We'd be happy to hear what happens to you there.

The complete list of tournaments for November is:

• Nov. 6-9, Manitoba Open, Winnipeg, MB
• Nov. 8, Moncton 1st Annual Doubles, Moncton, NB<
• Nov. 7-9, ProKennex Tour, Port Elgin, ON
• Nov. 7-9, Saskatchewan Open, Regina, SK
• Nov. 7-9, Classique Édouard Boyer, Valleyfield, PQ
• Nov. 7-9, Kamloops Classic, Kamloops, BC
• Nov. 8, B.C.-Washington Junior Challenge, Surrey, BC
• Nov. 13-16, 9th Annual Open, Campbell River, BC
• Nov. 14-16, Bare Bones, Edmonton, AB
• Nov. 14-16, Jersey City Open, Calgary, AB
• Nov. 19-23, US Open, Memphis, Tennessee
• Nov. 20-22, Fall Classic, St John's, NF
• Nov. 21-23, Duckworth Open, Winnipeg, MB
• Nov. 28-30, Brandon Open, Brandon, MB
• Nov. 28-30, Kevin Parkhouse Memorial, Calgary, AB
• Nov 28-30, Saskatoon Junior Open, Saskatoon, SK
• Nov. 28-30 - Championnat Québéois en Double, Longueuil, PQ

Specific information (e.g., entry form, results, etc.) for tournaments is available on the provincial websites that can be accessed through the RC links page.

The Racquetball Canada tournament schedule is available on the RC website.

Administrivia

The Racquetball Canada web site - - is being updated and reformatted. Please send any suggestions for changes, or comments on the changes, to Evan Pritchard.

In closing...

Remember : March 13-21, 2004 will be National Racquetball Week. Last year was the first time we designated a week to racquetball, so we hope to build on the success we had then to make next year's week even better.

Please renew your Racquetball Canada membership for the 2003-04 through the Web site, or the national office : contact Ron Brown by email or phone at 204-237-9880.

Please keep your contact information updated, including email addresses. Doing so saves RC money, which means it saves you money. Also, it helps us keep you informed of what is going on in Canadian racquetball.

Any comments on or suggestions for the monthly Racquetball Canada newsletter should be sent to Evan Pritchard at evan333@mts.net.