Dec 11, 2008

Racquetball Pros Join the Fleet onboard USS BONHOMME RICHARD (LHD 6)

For the first time in history, a portable outdoor racquetball court was placed on the flight deck of a naval vessel to showcase the benefits of racquetball as it relates to fitness for Sailors. The USS BONHOMME RICHARD  (LHD 6) welcomed the top professional racquetball players from the International Racquetball Tour, Women's Professional Racquetball Organization, World Outdoor Racquetball and Classic Professional Racquetball Tour. "We're making history onboard this vessel, as we promote health and fitness for our Sailors through the sport of racquetball," said Lt. Cmdr. Steven Harper of Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron Five and event organizer. "This is an opportunity to show Sailors how to play the game and promote the sport in the military," said Alvaro Beltran, the number four ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour.

Check out photos from the event.

The idea of merging Navy fitness with the game of Racquetball began two years ago, while Lt. Cmdr Harper was deployed to the Gulf onboard a Norfolk based Cruiser. "Initially I was only thinking of how cool it would be to bring some type of court onto my ship while underway" says Lt. Cmdr Harper. "But then I learned about the possibilities of portable outdoor racquetball courts, and I thought it would be more exciting to bring the game of Racquetball directly to Sailors who have never been exposed to it and who know nothing about the physical and mental challenges of the game."

He put his idea into action while attending the 41st USA Racquetball Association National Singles Championship, where he met Hank Marcus with World Outdoor Racquetball and Peggine Tellez with the California State Racquetball Association. Together, this dynamic team orchestrated the two day demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, November 12-13, then seamlessly launched the All Military National Championship at Naval Base San Diego, November 14-16.

The planning of such a huge undertaking took massive coordination between organizers, sponsors and the ship's staff. In fact, timing was critical as the BONHOMME RICHARD had just returned to port (San Diego) from for a four month exercise -- conducting maritime exercise missions with coalition forces, and it was scheduled to fulfill additional operational mission requirements. Yet, even with such a tight schedule, the ship's Commanding Officer, CAPT N. Parrott and CMDCM T. Verschueren thought this would be a unique way to introduce the sport and feature a new option for physical fitness to Sailors.  

The day before the event kickoff Chuck West, of GIMEL Properties, and his crew transported and built the portable outdoor court on the flight deck of the ship. Working from sunup to sunset, they meticulously erected the court that would be used to make naval history. Then it was time to play.

More Navy Fitness News

The clinic began with exhibition matches between the professional players. Sailors were also given the opportunity to test their racquetball skills against the pros so see if they could score a few points. The professional players in attendance were IRT Professionals Rocky Carson, Jason Mannino, Alvaro Beltran and Chris Crowther; WPRO Professionals Rhonda Rajsich and Angela Grisar; CPRT Professionals Bret Harnett and Jimmy Lowe; and WOR Professionals Greg Solis and Craig Lane.

Between games, the sponsors, players, and guests were given the opportunity to tour the ship and have lunch with the crew. Professional players Rhonda Rajsich and Rocky Carson, agreed that this event was unique, as it was the first time either player had an opportunity to experience life on a warship. "We are pro's in the sport of racquetball, but these Sailors are dedicated and committed to keeping this country free and democracy strong." said Rhonda. "We are the ones who are honored, just to be able to promote the sport to these Sailors" she continued. Rocky added, "We see the camaraderie amongst these Sailors, and pride they take in serving this country."

The Sailors expressed gratitude and admiration for the Pros as they, in most cases, received their first introduction to the game of Racquetball. "It's a very challenging sport and it's an awesome way to keep in shape," said Seaman Darren Larsen. "This was a successful event overall, both in terms of a morale boost for the crew and in promoting the ships continuing commitment to a culture of fitness," said Anne Bolton, BONHOMME RICHARD's Afloat Recreation Specialist. "We support a variety of fitness programs on BONHOMME RICHARD, and this racquetball clinic introduced the crew to an alternate method of staying in shape. It was a great event and it's awesome that we [BONHOMME RICHARD] were the first to host such an event."

As the clinics and demonstrations on the USS BONHOMME RICHARD; aimed at promoting racquetball to a new military audience, came to a close, the All Military National Championship, hosted by the Southwestern Region MWR, was just getting started, thanks to the generous support of Romano's Macaroni Grill, E-Force, Ektelon, GearBox Racquetball, Head, ProKennex, Wilson, Racquetball Warehouse, CPRT, NMRA and the Military Racquetball Federation (MRF).

Over 100 military players from across the country and abroad (Germany and Italy) came to compete in this tournament; the first of it's kind in over 15 years. In a celebration of military service, active duty and veteran service members from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard convened on Naval Base San Diego over Veteran's Day weekend in Round-Robin competitions to determine who would rein as the military Champion.  "It's a passion and the Inter-Service competition that keeps me coming back," Lt. Cmdr Chhem Young-Pen, from SPAWAR System Center Pacific "I mean, this tournament brought out the best players." Ron Dorst of Saratoga, N.Y. at 74, Dorst was the oldest player in the competition. The retired Vietnam-era veteran, who served in four branches of the military, has been playing racquetball for more than 25 years, said"It's fun coming together to have fun and see my friends."

"This week was a success for the sport of racquetball as we were extremely well received, not only by the tournament players, but also by those Sailors who had never heard of the game," said Lt Cmdr Steven Harper. "Getting the Military Racquetball-family back together again was just Great," said Jeff Elder, (Air Force MSgt, ret.), former Presidential aircrew member of AIR FORCE ONE. "After 15+ years, it's been a long time coming, and a dream of many to put on this type of event. We have to keep this program alive in the military." And that is exactly what the supporters of this event intend to do!

After watching the Pro's and playing for an entire weekend, there were several champions. A few of  the  winning results were as follows:

Men's OPEN Division	Jimmy Lowe	Hawaii
Men's A Doubles Division	Chhem Young-Penn / Steven Harper	San Diego
Men's 35+	Timothy Hardison	Germany
Men's A Single Division	Charles Phillips	Nellis AFB
Men's OPN / ELITE DBLS	Derrick Victor / Kevin Brylski	Lake Villa, IL

We owe our deepest gratitude to Terri Thomas, Ron Vogel, Irene Wells, and Cynthia Fabian from the Southwest Region MWR for taking a chance on us (MRF) to run this event.

To view photos, to read more about the demonstration onboard the USS BONHOMME RICHARD, or for a complete list of winners from the All Military Racquetball Championship visit www.militaryracquetball.com.

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