The following is a short recap of
the IRF and its activities during 2011. It was truly a great Year
for the IRF and the sport and I would like to take the opportunity
to thank all of you for your commitment and dedication towards the
future of the IRF and the sport of Racquetball.
1 The IRF continued
to be a Recognized Sport under the International Olympic Committee.
Recognized Sports are those Sports that the IOC considers for
inclusion in future Olympic Programs.
2 President Keith
Calkins and Secretary General Luke St Onge attended SportAccord
(Previously named GAISF) in London with the IOC and 125
International Sports Federations. Major focus was on ARISF's
legislation, WADA, World Games SportAccord legislation, and the IOC
Olympic Program.
3 PARC conducted a
very successful Pan American Games Qualifying Championships in
Managua, Nicaragua. PASO was notified of those countries qualifying
and for the first time all of the National Olympic Committees who
qualified agreed to send their athletes.
4 The WSRDoubles
were conducted at the Pojoaque Pueblo-Recognized as a Independent
country under the USA Laws- North of Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. 13
countries competed. It was an excellent event. The 2012 WSRD will
be held this coming June in San Pedro Sula, Honduras and 2013 will
be in Cochabamba, Bolivia.
5 The ARF held its
Asian Racquetball Championships in Seoul. Korea.
6 The IRF Junior
Worlds were held in Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic with 17
countries competing and 250 athletes. The Juniors was hosted by the
Dominican Republic Racquetball Federation under the direction of
Rafael Fernandez. Streaming was held on 4 courts for 5 days. It was
truly a great event with Mexico defending its World Title.
7 The IRF awarded a
grant to the Racquetball Association of Ireland to help its Juniors
attend the Junior World Championships.
8 The Pan American
Games were held in October in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Pan Ams
featured 5500 athletes and is second only to the Olympics as a
Multi-International Sports Event. Racquetball was included as a
full medal sport for the fourth time and it was treated by the
Organizing Committee as a Olympic Sport. Under the Direction of
PARC President Osvaldo Maggi the organization of the racquetball
competition was second to none. Mexico captured the Team Gold in
both men and women's and also won 3 of the gold medals in the
individual events with the USA winning one gold. We fully expect
that racquetball will be included as a full medal sport in the 2015
Pan Ams which will be held in Toronto Canada.
9 The IRF signed a
5 year sponsorship agreement with E-Force. The sponsorship
emphasized support for the development of Racquetball Worldwide
especially focusing on supplying equipment for Junior Development.
To date 13 IRF member countries have taken advantage of the
Equipment Developmental Grant.
10 The IRF
made a special effort to make sure that it was in compliance with
the World Anti-Doping Agency with both incompetition and out of
competition compliance. The IRF received compliance in October with
5 out of competition tests and 12 in competition tests. All proved
negative.
11 The IRF
awarded the 2012 Elite World Championships to Santa Cruz, Bolivia
with Santo Domingo as a backup venue.
12 The IRF
awarded the 2012 IRF Junior World Championships to Los Angeles,
California-USA
13 The IRF
established the IRF Hall of Fame and the first inductees voted in
are-
Athletes-
Sherman Greenfeld-Cn, Cindy
Baxter-USA, Michelle Gould-USA, Heater Stupp-Cn, Egan
Inoue-USA.
Contributor
Gary Mazaroff-USA.
The first Hall of Fame Induction
ceremony will take place in conjunction with the Junior Worlds in
Los Angeles, USA. 2012
14 The
Asian Open Racquetball Championships were held in December in
Seoul, Korea
15 The
World Senior Racquetball Championships were once again held in
Albuquerque New Mexico-USA for the direct benefit of the
development of international junior racquetball through the IRF.
The WSRC have been held each year since 1984.
16 Awarded
the Sportsmanship Junior Award at the Juniors in Santa Domingo to
Joe Dillon-Ireland and Maria Munoz- Ecuador
Respectfully submitted,
Luke St Onge
Sec General-IRF