Ok fellas, inquiring minds want to know, hot off the press:
Participation-wise, was it all that and a bag of chips? Any first-timers to introduce, any surprises? I wanna know. :-k
Any surprises in outcome, or did technicians Solis and Lane take the goody-bag? Are MikeP and Kevin coming out yet?
How about melt-downs? Did anybody experience an embarrassing loss of composure? Tears are the ultimate benchmark, of course - a sign of true craftsmanship. But there are less dramatic indicators that can be good material for future taunting.
Hope it was fun and fair for everybody. I'm looking forward to hearing the quick and dirty when you get a minute.
We finally got our sun back, and a chance to get out on the courts again. Hopefully the action was good on both coasts.
I am having an OCD experience with the algorithm for the points on MNP. Recently my points average took a plunge for the worse, so that my average points per post dipped down to 2.83195592. This compared to Roland, who's current points per post average is 3.292193483.
Each post is worth 3 points at face value, however, total points earned can apparently go higher or lower, depending upon if you delete posts, among other things.
I can think of a few reasons for the dip in my average (which until recently was higher than 3.0):
perhaps if a thread upon which I comment is locked, points are deducted from my total, brining my average down? I know points are deducted when you delete a post, so I never do that, I just use the edit feature.
But I cannot figure out how one gets a points per post average of higher than 3?
If you have insight into the math, please let me know.
What is a good way to deal with grommet replacement, if you are not a commercial stringer, but do it for friends?
Should you try and figure out which types might be commonly used and have some on hand, or does it need replacing so infrequently you should tell your friends, "hey - this is going to take a while until I can order grommets."?
How do you all deal with that? I have an E-force Bedlam Lite 170, and am wondering how hard it is going to be to replace them - how long will it take, how much will it cost. Do pro stringers at Sports Authority stock these items?
Thanks in advance,
Here are some unofficial results from the Port St. Lucie long-wall event I took down over the phone around 1am Monday following the event. It has not been proofed for accuracy, so if typos have occurred, they are not WOR errors, they are mine.
Open Singles
Points First Name Last Name
1st 200 Alejandro Herrerra
2nd 100 Rob Abbott
Semi 75 Joe Young
Semi 75 Maikel Rodriguez
Open Doubles
Points First Name Last Name
1st 200 Joey Young
1st 200 Yolandi Rivero
2nd 100 Kirk Kennedy
2nd 100 Rob Abbott
Semi 75 Alex C Cuartas
Semi 75 Gary Smith
Semi 75 Juan Rubio
Semi 75 Patrick Schneider
A Singles
1st 200 Jeff Clayburn
2nd 100 Andres Alonso
Semi 75 Charles Kennedy
Semi 75 Daryn Vasquez
A Doubles
1st 200 Darian Vasquez
1st 200 Jeff Clayburn
2nd 100 Andres Alonzo
2nd 100 Daylor Cutie
Semi 75 Ariel Aconda
Semi 75 Eugenio
Semi 75 Maikel
Semi 75 Peter Vayez
B Singles
Pending TBD Mary Clayburn
Pending TBD Yoanis Garcia
Semi 75 Ervin Ellis
Semi 75 Jabari Vaughn
I went up to the Port Saint Lucie event yesterday to watch and maybe play in the mixed division, but I was running against a rain pattern that cut the event short. I did collect participation info from Ralph Cuesta, the tournament director, which I'll post.
Background issues of interest to me:
The Port Saint Lucie courts have a long tradition down here, having provided outdoor players with a tournament venue long before WOR came into existence. However, this event was a breakthrough for the players because it was WOR sanctioned, and also because it is long-wall, which if I understand the facts, is somewhat of a Florida specialty in outdoor.
Congratulations to the WOR team in Florida for achieving sanctioning of this event, as it has been pursued for a few years now, and does offer some key benefits to Florida outdoor players; namely, those that like to pursue rankings will now have the opportunity to earn points here. Additionally, the event provides a key communication link between the local players at this park to the various organizations in the sport.
Newsflash: this link is essential to better visibility and increased participation and commercial interest for the sport. :-)
On another note, this event provided a venue for touring IRT pro Alejandro Herrera to make an appearance and show off his game. He ended up winning the men's open division on a coin toss, ironically, to the one player to whom he dropped a game - Rob Abbott. The Open draw was pretty thick, and included Tournament Director Ralph Cuesta, a National level Elite player (semi-finalist at Nats 2008), and Norm McNutt, who also has his own claims to dominance on both the indoor and outdoor courts.
Other challenges for dominance in the Open division included:
WOR Open division title-holder Alex Cuartas
Local defender, Joe Young
Understated veteran Gus Carvallo
indoor up and comer Maikel Rodriguez
and indoor heavy hitter Randy Elman
Complete list to follow, these were the top contenders.
Of interest, 2 non-WOR female players jumped into the fray to come out in the finals of the small men's B division. Hopefully, we shall see these women in future events, adding to an increasing list of female participation scattered throughout South Florida's outdoor empire. Welcome to Mary Clayburn and Yoanis Garcia, look forward to coming up against you in future draws, ladies. Way to wear the skirt.
Acknowledement goes out also to HEAD pro-player Alejandro Herrerra for giving of his time on behalf of the sport in order to compete this weekend. In my mind, that kind of grass roots participation lends much-needed vitality and interest to the sport at the local level. Way to take a leadership position Alejandro - you are one of the first Florida pros to step outside on the outdoor courts. Perhaps at some point we can get some comments from you on the nuances of the outdoor game from a pro's view. Looking forward to your insight.
On another organizational note, tip of the hat to Angel and Vic, WOR team leaders in Florida, for giving Ralph a tremendous amount of support in running the event. They both gave up substantial chunks of time so that he would have essential support in running the event.
Unfortunately, I cannot provide color commentary because I did not get to see any play, I merely rolled in in time to see the coin toss. I do have some photos and the entrant list which I will post separately.
Congratulations to outdoor racquetball in Florida for another milestone event.
Heard a rumor that Dillon Silver is out in Cali. Can anybody confirm?
If so, please post up so we can keep track, and tell him not to stay out there too long:
"Baby, baby it's a wild world."
OK, so I'm not sure my brain works right, and so sometimes I think of things and it's not the way everybody else thinks of it. But it seems like the right way to me.
For example, to me, sports is about legacies, among other things. And that is how different levels of interest are addressed. For example, the new guys typically are hot-shots that want to play hot, hard ball. They do not care that much about anything else. But then you have people that are more socially oriented, and they like to have things to discuss in a polite and relevant way. And then you have purists that are very interested in knowing where things are going, and a good way to track that is where things have been.
So to me, it seems like to be a strong, healthy org., record-keeping and promotions are essential. It is how people that are not "on the beltway" get included, to some extent.
I think it would be cool to start an outdoor hall of fame. Just for general purposes. It could be light and fluffy, or it could be intense and reflect what really goes on in the soul of a competitor. I mean, some of these guys may not have had professional coaches, or do their nutrition, and some of them may even smoke (ICK), and yet the intensity is there, and the means and the drive and desire to rise up above the others comes out.
That really draws me to sports, and to the players. It's not about the wins necessarily, its about the drive, and how far people will push themselves compared to their capacity.
Is this another one of my "out there" ideas that is not practical or timely? Sometime I get ahead of the game, and it ruins the happy moment for some. I'd just really like to be able to publish some material that has a little more meat than just ads for gear. No disrespect, I know how you guys loves yo gear, but there's other interests out there that might be of benefit to address. I'm thinking history and record-keeping, and the PERSONALITIES could be good material to keep people engaged and wanting to come back.
So let me know if I need to shut up again.
Questionne, por favor:
not sure if this is a good venue or not, but imagine for a minute that something constructive could come of it:
What, in your humble, or esteemed opinion (whichever the case may be), might be the next strategic step(s) to enhance the sport of racquetball, using outdoors as the vehicle?
What I'm getting at is this: outdoors has kind of exploded to a point where the word is out and outdoor tournaments are known to be a rapid pulse experience. And this is kind of out indoors works, too. I mean, you're playing ball, there's a bunch of people liking the same thing you do, you're competing, which is fun..kind of hard to screw it up.
And yet, saturation is a danger. Running tournaments well does not a successful endeavor make, though it would seem somewhat crucial to providing a solid core. Not real danger, like "head on fire", or "electrocution in the bathtub" danger, but the danger of being content with one's achievements, strategies and goals at the expense of actual expansion and growth.
Now that outdoors has grown into adult shoes, and shown that the venue is perfect for public access, as much or more so than television, what is a next step to bring more people into the sport, to make it more diverse, enjoyable, raise the level of competition?
Does this make sense as a question? We have achieved a level in a short time. What next? What is the next step, or is this good enough? Is this strategy and direction sufficiently encompassing that to change course or add visions would be a detrimental distraction?
Inquiring minds want to know.
BTW - did anybody get to hit with the Pink Ektelon camo? Haven't found it on any sites yet, wondering about specs and availability.
Thanks in advance for any consideration of the topic.
Click here for cool tunage!Frou Frou/ Hear me out
I love this forum! And after this event, I'm extremely sentimental about the beginnings of WOR, as they became known to me. It reminded me that when something gets very big like this, many people can be seen in the rearview, the ones that were in it before it "boomed".
On that note, because I'm still kind of "rocking" from this thing, I want to take a minute to recognize some folks that drew me into the WOR experience:
Robert Martinez: Robert is, como se dice? "headstrong". He was in it from the beginning, he's still in it, he was on a mission, he's still on a mission to get out there in the trenches and bring some hot ball to more people.
The WOR OrganizationRobert was initially acting as a figurehead for the strategic vision of a team. The team assembled the players and then set out to do something kind of different. It started out kind of small, making serious noise. They did not get a whole lot of support, and received some static for their grandiose visions. Congratulations on living up to the hype, growing into your britches, etc.
Jesusx2Speaking of noise, what is a party without music? I think of these guys as the hecklers, but they really brought the music out onto the courts all across the country. It's not so much that they traveled to do it (like it's really hard being a celebrity, going from town to town
), it's their open-arms approach to the game, the people, the crowd, etc. and so on. They're a hilarious mouthpiece that brings everybody onto the beltway, live and in person, and leaves you wanting more. Hope the show continues fellas.
It's a long list, but for fear of botching the details, leaving somebody out, getting it wrong, etc. I shall staunch the flow. Main point being: we had some key players that went out and suffered scorn and derision while trying to get things going down here in Florida. We had many folks make cross-continental voyages (?) from Cali, NY, Hawaii, up and down both coasts, and some stuff in Belle Isle and other parts of the Midwest. We had our own benevolent benefactors down here in Florida, pouring their time and efforts to bring more public access to the sport. Some are still here, some moved on, but MIA or not, I thank them for the experiences they have created, past and present.
Well - I just like this forum. It's fun to pretend to be a roving reporter, but pretending or no, I still like the way the forum lets a lot of us connect in ways not previously possible, including with all these people with whom I feel a specific and personal connection, respect, admiration, and "brotherhood". These folks mainly are the kind that are not really about wanting to be in the headlines, but seem to be more about enjoying the work. And hugs need practice, so really, this is just me doing a hug my way, on the keyboard.
Muchas Gracias, Domo Aragato, merci beaucoup, etc. and so on.
K. I'll stop.
Click here for Cool Tuneage!
DJ Harry - All My Life
OK - see if this is right:
Men's 40+:
Booth/Peters def. Johnson/Sandello
Well-earned, glad to see it, and yes, this was certainly a tough draw of 20 teams. Congratulations, guys, you is BAAAAAAAAD!
Mens 40+:
Gary Martin/Marty Hogan def. Kevin Booth/Mike Peters
FYI: this single elim draw had 20 teams, and basically is a properly aged and mellowed Pro draw.
Nice goin' fellas, well-deserved, and thank you both for your HUGE contributions on and off the court. :)
Men's A Doubles: Art Pena / Jim Fernandez def. Barrerra/Barrerra
WA Dbls (rr): 1st Devon Pimentelli / Teresa Diaz 2ndDebra Garrett-woods / Sonya Green -
Women's A Singles (rr) 1st Sarah Houghtailing 2nd Sarah Warhaftig
Men's A Singles: Marco R def. Vic L.
I had to do it!
The depth of the mixed draw was pretty serious this time around. That's a big win, especially for a midwestern dude that probably doesn't get on the outdoor courts too much, and ESPECIALLY over Rhonda and Son! :-)
Open Mixed:
Greg & Martha McDonald over Danielle (?) & Scott Davis (Not positive on whether it was Michelle or Danielle, no first name on the draw)
This is redundant, but my head is still a little scrambled, so I figured if I pulled a recap for my own benefit to figure out what actually happened, I might as well share.
Men’s Pro Singles: Rocky def. Alvaro
Women’s Pro Singles: Angela Grisar def. Keely Franks
Men’s Pro Doubles: Son/Josh def. Alvaro/Reuben
Women’s Pro Doubles: Kristen Bellows/Veronica Sotomeyer def. Angela and Keely
Men’s Open Singles: Ben Croft def. Mike Orr
Women’s Open Singles: Aubrey O’Brien def. Christie Singleton
Men’s Open Doubles: Ken Grandy/Dave Smith def. Brian Pineda/Charlie Pratt
Women’s Open Doubles: Kris Kaskawal/Michelle Earl def. Kathy Geels/Jodi Nance
Mixed Pro: Jacob Hutchinson/Veronica Sotomayer def. Son N. & Rhonda R.
Open Mixed:
Greg & Martha McDonald over Danielle (?) & Scott Davis (Not positive on whether it was Michelle or Danielle, no first name on the draw)
Got the sassy recap from Brian, Vic and others are working on the photos.
Zeus, looks like you're having a good year and busy living "the good life", but your commemorative poetry is so adorable, can you please make some time to "do your thing" with a post-tourney poem? :) I think it'd be a nice finishing touch.
I think one pretty big upset today was Janelle over Rhonda. That's not official, but that was the crowd overview after the fact.
Also, close almost-upset was Zeus and Lou against Cliff and Chris. I'm not exactly sure why these guys lost, except perhaps a bit of performance pressure. Zeus is crazy fast and does a lot with the ball on the run. Lou was accurate with his rally-ending shots, and with stuff coming at him from Chris and Cliff.
Lot of stuff going on.
California Luuuuuuuv
Any updates guys? Thanks for posting Jeff, just wondering how Mike's back and Craig's shoulder are faring, amongst other things.
Did the tv go, and are the draws being posted to r2?
I'm staying up all night to catch an early flight (knock on wood).
It's too echo-ey in here. How about a few comments to keep things going?
This place totally cleared out. :cheesy:
