 |
|
||
 |
Racquetball Canada Newsletter |
September Issue
Pan Am Games RecapThe Canadian national racquetball team came away from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the site of the 2003 Pan Am Games, with 1 silver medal, and 3 bronze medals. Mike Green took silver after losing the final to Jack Huczek, the top US player. Brian Istace, the other Team Canada men's singles player, lost in the quarter finals to Rocky Carson of the USA. Lori-Jane Powell took bronze after losing in the semi-final to Laura Fenton of the US. American Cheryl Gudinas beat Fenton in the final to win her second consecutive Pan Am gold medal. Unfortunately for Team Canada, Powell and team-mate Jennifer Saunders met in the quarter finals, which meant that only one of them came home with a medal. Powell beat Saunders in a tie-breaker. Both doubles teams took home bronze medals. The men, Corey Osborne and François Viens, lost in the semi-finals to the Mexican team of Alvaro Beltran & Javiar Moreno, who captured the gold medal by beating the US team of Mike Guidry and Ruben Gonzalez. The Canadian women, Josée Grand'Maîum;tre and Julie Neubauer, lost in the semi-finals to the Mexican team of Susy Acosta and Rosy Torres, who also won the gold medal by beating the US team of Jackie Rice and Kim Russell. Our elite Canadian players will now be working toward the 2004 World Championships to be held in Anyang, South Korea next August. Pro tours have begunYou may not have got into the swing of the new racquetball season, but both the men's and women's pro tours have begun. In fact, the men had two tournaments in August, while the women's season began the first weekend of September. Canadians have been involved in all of these events. For the second year in a row, Kane Waselenchuk won the first men's pro tournament of the year in New Orleans. Waselenchuk defeated Jason Mannino in the final, 14-12, 11-9, & 11-4. Waselenchuk got to the final by beating Cliff Swain in the semi-final, and fellow Canadian Mike Green in the quarter-final round. Green defeated Sudsy Monchik to reach the quarters. Waselenchuk didn't fare so well in Stockton, California, the site of the second men's event of the season. There he beat Brent Walters in the first round, but lost to Alvaro Beltran in the quarter finals, as the result of an injury forfeit. Jack Huczek beat Beltran in the final. In the first women's tournament at Rosarito Beach in Mexico, Christie Van Hees made her first appearence on the tour in over two years. She was successful in her first match, beating Angela Burth in three straight games, but then lost her second match in four games to Adrienne Fisher. Cheryl Gudinas won the tournament, defeating Kerri Wachtel in the final. Full results of the men's and women's pro tours can be found at their respective websites: Tournaments for the rest of usCloser to home, some of the upcoming tournaments in Canada include
We hope to have a full Canadian tournament schedule for this season on our website soon. AdministriviaTerry Nelson is Racquetball Canada's new Vice-President of Finance. Also, François Viens has succeeded Lori-Jane Powell as the athlete representative on the board. At the provincial level, Marci Tyc has become the new Executive Director for Racquetball Manitoba, succeeding from long time director Brent Jervis. Nicola KaneRacquetball Canada recently received the sad news that Nicola Kane, Ontario racquetball player, was involved in a serious car accident in the United States in June that resulted in multiple internal and external injuries. Nicola's injuries included head lacerations, skull fracture, neck fracture, broken arm and wrist, and she spent the first 18 hours after the accident in a coma. The doctors were doubtful she would survive the accident, but she did, and is now recovering in the Toronto Rehabiltation Institute. Her rehabilitation will require a long period, and the impact of her spinal cord and severe brain injury will not be known for some time. Adding to her misfortune, Nicola only had limited insurance in the US for such accidents, covering approximately 30% of the US medical bills incurred to-date. Of course, Nicola will also forgo potential earnings as well as requiring more rehabilitation, home care, and accessibility renovations to her home. Her family does not have the financial capability to provide for all of Nicola's needs, so a committee has been formed to raise funds to help Nicola in this time of need. A benefit dance for Nicola is scheduled for September 19 in the Brampton area. More information about her condition, and how to help her, can be found at www.nicolakane.com. Racquetball Canada wishes Nicola the best, and hopes that her rehabilitation is successful. In closing...Mark your calendars now, because 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. |
 |
| Site designed by FernWeb |