I've been frustrated with EXO3 racquets since they launched, I've played Black, Copper, and Ignite, and have cracked their frames around 7 or 8 times. Usually at the 3, 9, or 12 O'clock position, on the connecting piece that "bridges" the two halves of the racquet. I'm tired of the shipping costs and waiting for warranty replacements, and I end up playing my O3 White backup 90% of the time anyways.
Is there any chance Ektelon has solved this breakage problem in the Re-Ignite? I know the website claims to have "re-engineered with a new resin bonding process to radically improve frame strength" but that could just be the marketing talking.
Thanks!
I'm going to Colorado Springs 20-24 Sep, and the hotel I'm staying in gets me free admission to the 24 Hour Fitness on Southgate Rd. If I understand correctly, they have r-ball courts there. I'm traveling with another guy from my office that I play with, and we both are solid B level players. We're planning to go to the courts in the evening after work.
Does anyone know anything about the courts there? how many? Are they busy? Anyone play there normally and want a chance to beat up on some out-of-towners?
Friendly doubles game, players A and B against C and D. During the rally, A and B are in the back court, while C and D are in the front court. Player A is hitting a forehand from along the right side wall, around 35' back. He hits a crisp cross-court to the left side wall. Player C is in the front left, and swings at the ball, but misses. The ball subsequently hits Player B, who was behind Player C when he swung and missed. Player D was moving over and would have had a reasonable chance to make a play on the ball. Player B says he was screened and could not see the ball, but is it possible to be screened when you're on the non-hitting team?
Thanks, Bill
I am running a small tournament in 2 weeks from now and have about 20 people signed up, with an almost even spread of Open, A, B, and C. I'm considering having round robin formats in each of those four skill levels, with my goal being to get everyone to play as many games as possible. (I feel bad for the guy who drives in from out of town, gets a tough draw against a top player, gets spanked, and sent home immediately)
My other option is to make 2 brackets, Open/A and B/C. This will be tougher for the guys on the lower ends though since there's still a broad range of skill in there.
Anyways, my question is this: How much time should I schedule for a match? We have 2 courts.... can I get 4 matches in an hour? We're starting at 9 AM, and at 30 mins per match, I can get everyone 3 matches of round robin, then have the top two finishers play a finals, and have it all done by dinner time. That's key because we're doing the doubles the next day.
Sorry for my relative incoherency, I'm usually a more better writer.
I'd love to see the pro's play sometime...
The situation is this: I hit a ceiling shot to the back left corner, except that it's not all the way into the corner, and it comes out off the back wall a foot or two. My opponent hits a soft pinch to the front right corner that dies way up front.
Up to now, I've always given him room to hit that shot.... he hits it often and has a nice touch with it. But it keeps me toward the back and right of the court, making it hard to get up and left for a return.
Since this isn't a DTL or CC, do I have to stay clear of that shot lane? (I'm guessing 'no')
If this situation occurred in a tournament, what would be the appropriate call? (Safety hold up, replay?)
Thanks in advance,
Bill
I was scrutinizing a new Exo3 the other day and thinking about how to string it. It comes from the factory with 2-piece strings, and the published instructions are for 2-piece.
So after running my finger up and down mains for a good 20 minutes, I'm pretty sure you can do this in 1 piece..... BUT.... you'd have to start opposite from how the racquet is labaled. Meaning: The side of the racquet labeled "Short Side" is actually not the short side for a 1-piece string job.
This is so that the O ports line up right when stringing the crosses.
Does this sound right, or did I pick the wrong week to stop sniffing glue?
I received your package today... I can't thank you enough for your generosity and I hope I can respond in kind some day. You are a class act all the way and I look forward to meeting you come Nov.
BTW, thanks also for the hookup with the MRF guys, I got a package from them as well.
Our tournament is off and running, so far so good. There are some obvious changes I'll make for next go-round, but so far I have all positive feedback from the players.
Thanks again!
Bill Ellis
The manager of my gym has been bugging me to run a tournament, so I finally agreed to it. We only have one court, so it'll have to be played out over several weeks. I'm thinking 1 week per round, with opponents responsible to schedule mutually agreeable times. I'm expecting between 16 and 32 people, so I'll most likely start with a round of 32 featuring a bunch of byes. Random seeding... we don't have any kind of ladder for rankings here in Stuttgart.
So far, it's straightforward. Here's where I stray from the norm.... I've been in these types of tourneys before, and the common feature to them all is that they drag out way too long. To alleviate this, I'm planning to have the non-winners from the first 2 rounds go into an alternate bracket that will proceed in single elimination style. Then, starting with the round of 8 quarterfinals, the non-winners will move into a traditional loser bracket with a chance to get to the finals.
My goal is to have this whole thing wrapped up inside of 2 months. The downside is that a good player might lose in the first round and have no chance to make it up the loser bracket. But, there is no entry fee and there are no prizes. It's just for fun and to meet different players.
I'd love to hear opinions and/or suggestions for how I could make this better. Thanks in advance!
Bill Ellis
