Racket Ball at HLTSC
THE GAME
Unlike tennis and squash, the sport of
racquetball does not have a long and illustrious
history. Its principles were developed in the 20th
century and uses a combination of rules from sports
such as tennis, squash, handball and a Spanish sport
called Jai Alai.
The game is played primarily indoors and consists
of three walls, a rubber ball and a racket. Very
rarely is the sport played outside. Many believe
that the game was introduced in the 19th century
when prisoners were allowed to hit a ball against a
wall. However, at that time it was just called
rackets.
During the 1940s, the foundations of the game
were laid by Joseph G. Sobek, a former professional
handball, squash and tennis player from Greenwich,
Connecticut. History records suggest that Solak
spent part of his life working in a rubber factory
and it was this factory that helped design the
rubber ball used in the sport today. With this in
mind, Solak, along with a partner, decided to
combine the rules of squash and tennis and invent
the game of paddle rackets.
In order to spread the status of the sport, Sobek
founded the National Paddle Rackets Association (NPRA)
in 1952 which helped create a universal set of
rules. The games physical demands made the sport an
ideal workout for athletes and its popularity soon
spread into sport and country clubs throughout the
United States.
Over the next few decades, paddle rackets proved
very popular around the world and by the end of the
1960s the International Racquetball Association was
set up by the president-founder of the U.S Handball
Association, Robert Kendler. During the same year,
the IRA also gained control of the national
championship from the NPRA and set out organising
professional tournaments.
Kendler, who was also responsible for changing
the name of paddle rackets to racquetball, used his
publication ACE to promote both handball and
racquetball. Intent on making most of the fitness
boom that surrounded much of the 1970s, the sports
reputation enhanced with an estimated 3.1 million
players participating across the globe.
Subsequently, racquetball clubs and courts were
built and sports good were being tailor made for the
game.
During this period, Britain decided to adapt the
game of racquetball, aided by Ian D.W. Wright, a
former professional racquetball player. The new
format of Racketball was largely based on the US
version but was played on a smaller, wider court
with a smaller, less vibrant rubber ball. In 1984,
the British Racketball Association was formed and
the first national championships were held in London
in December of that year.
The success in Britain did not reflect what was
slowly becoming a dwindling era for the sport.
Despite boasting 15 million players worldwide, many
clubs were forced to tear down racquetball courts.
Its loyal players have prevented the game from
reaching extinction, with a world championships held
annually. In 1995, the sport was accepted as a Pan
American Games Sport with the hope of it becoming a
true Olympic sport in the future.
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