I have the highest admiration for Lynn Stephens and the entire tournament crew for the fantastic job they do in running the tournaments. As a former President of the Iowa Racquetball Association I can truely appreciate the effort and time it takes to put on a tournament. I'd like to pass on a heart-felt thanks to the tournament crew of the NCRA. Thank's for everything you do for us.

Thanks for the kudos Doug. I don't want to take away from the great State Singles and Doubles events that the NCRA runs, but our other tournament directors in the state deserve credit for their events. Other than State Singles and Doubles the NCRA does not run any other events at this time. The individual tournament directors are responsible for those events. The NCRA provides a referee clinic and referee certification and assesment at all events.

Guys,

Can a person play two men's doubles events, for instance A's and B's or B's and C's? Also, can a person play down in doubles. For instance, I play A's and sometimes elites in Virginia, could I drop down from elite singles and play A doubles or be an A player and drop down and play B doubles in NC? Virginia gives a little leeway. I am just inquiring. Looking forward to getting back into tournaments scene at New Bern, still nursing a bad knee.

Thanks,

RT

Hi Ronald,
In North Carolina your doubles division is based on the higher singles level between the two players. For instance, if one player is a men's C singles player and the other is a men's A singles player then that doubles team must play men's A doubles and may not drop down to play a lower level of doubles. Now the C player may play C doubles if he finds another partner that is a C player. This is also how the Nationals run thier events . You can always play up, but not down as to your skill level. If you play elites in VA then you should also play elites in NC. North Carolina tries to make each division to be as fair and as competitive for all players involved in that event. I hope this helps out!

Thanks you Debra! That clears it up.

You bet they do Lynn. The whole NCRA governing body and everyone that helps out is the "BEST." Kudos to the entire board.

Thank you to the whole tournament crew for a fantastic weekend of racquetball and fellowship...this was a fantastically run tournament and I appreciate the efforts of all involved to make it a great time for all of the players, this was my first year to participate, but I will surely return.

Plus,I want to mention that I appreciate the welcome I have felt as being one of the "new guys" in the NC tounaments over the last few months, everyone has been very willing to talk and offer pointers and a hand of friendship, very unusual for a group of highly competative athletes. I've seen it mentioned that the NC group is a "family" of competitors, and I see now that is true.
Thanks to all! I hope to see you in New Bern!

Thanks to Bobby Thorpe and his WSAC crew for the hospitality at the Aloha Open. The food was delicious, the fellowship was sweet, and of course, the racquetball was fun and very exciting at times. While I greatly appreciate the tournament directors for all their hard work, if it weren't for club owners like Bobby who let us racquetball players play on their courts, the NCRA, not to mention the game of racquetball, would be hurting. I highly encourage participants in these tournaments to show their appreciation to these club owners/managers by personally thanking them. Also, I would like to emphasize that we as participants should show respect to these owners/managers by keeping and leaving the clubs clean. It's amazing the amount of trash (somehow people miss the trash cans that are in plain sight), towels and racquetball equipment that are left behind at these tournaments and the owners/managers are left cleaning up. Then you have some people who maliciously destroy club property. At the Aloha Open, some bozo put gum on the benches! I would hate to see venues become unavailable for tournaments because of the mess we racquetballers leave behind. Mahalo (that means Thank you in hawaiian) for reading my comment.