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Oregon Racquetball comprises three associations that provide statewide racquetball activities to three different groups. As a whole, Oregon provides the sport of racquetball with nationally recognized programs, events and players. Each association is run separately with its own board of directors, budgets and sponsors.
The Oregon Racquetball Association (ORA) is the state governing body for USA Racquetball, the national governing body of the sport. It has a board of directors and is responsible for sanctioning tournaments throughout the state. Tournaments are held at various athletic clubs and contain divisions for many skill levels and age/skill levels. The Open division is considered the top division of play. This is followed by Elite A, B, C and D divisions offered for men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
The Oregon High School Racquetball League (OHSRL) celebrated its 10th Year during the 2004-2005 Season. The league started with three schools and 30 players, and now has more than 350 participants from 24 schools. The season comprises four league matches followed by the State and National Championships.
Oregon and St. Louis, Missouri are considered to have the nation's strongest high school racquetball programs[ citation needed ], and the National Championships alternate between the two locations every year. In 2006, the event was held in Salem.
In 2006, Beaverton won the National Team Championship in the boys, girls, and overall divisions. The top three high school teams in the nation in 2005 were from Oregon. Catlin Gabel won its second consecutive National Team Championship, with Beaverton finishing second followed by Sprague. Beaverton has won five National Team Championships (1996, 1997, 1999, 2006, & 2007) in its existence; Sprague won the title in 1998 and North Salem in 2000.
The Oregon Junior Racquetball Association (OJRA) [1] is the crown jewel of junior racquetball programs in the country, if not the world.[ citation needed ] Like the ORA Tour, the season is made up of events held monthly. The OJRA Tour typically starts in September and runs through April. There is then a regional event, followed by the National Junior Championships in July. In 2005, USA Racquetball National Junior Championships (also called the U.S. Junior Olympics) were held in Portland.
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition. Cheerleading routines typically range anywhere from one to three minutes, and contain components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. Cheerleading originated in the United States, where it has become a tradition. It is less prevalent in the rest of the world, except via its association with American sports or organized cheerleading contests.
Racquetball is a racquet sport and a team sport played with a hollow rubber ball on an indoor or outdoor court. Joseph Sobek invented the modern sport of racquetball in 1950, adding a stringed racquet to paddleball in order to increase velocity and control. Unlike most racquet sports, such as tennis and badminton, there is no net to hit the ball over, and, unlike squash, no tin to hit the ball above. Also, the court's walls, floor, and ceiling are legal playing surfaces, with the exception of court-specific designated hinders being out-of-bounds. Racquetball is played between various players on a team who try to bounce the ball with the racquet onto the ground so it hits the wall, so that an opposing team’s player cannot bounce it back to the wall.
Nicole Kristen Powell is an American basketball coach who was the head women's basketball coach at University of California, Riverside. As a player, she had a standout collegiate career at Stanford University, Powell had an 11-year WNBA career most notably with the Sacramento Monarchs where she was an All-Star and won a WNBA Championship. Powell also played professionally overseas for Fenerbahçe Istanbul. Powell had previously served on the coaching staffs at Gonzaga, Oregon, and Grand Canyon before being named the head coach of UC Riverside in March 2020.
USA Ultimate is a not-for-profit organization that serves as the governing body of the sport of ultimate in the United States.
The American Poolplayers Association (APA) is a governing body for amateur pool competition in the United States. The APA conducts pool leagues and tournaments in the disciplines of eight-ball and nine-ball with a unified ruleset. The organization was founded in 1981 by professional pool players Terry Bell and Larry Hubbart, with roots dating back to the National Pool League (NPL), founded in 1979. The APA bills itself as the largest pool league in the world with a membership of nearly 250,000 players in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Singapore. The organization franchises its local league operations worldwide; some of these league operators are former professional pool players, including Ewa Laurance and Jeanette Lee. The APA is headquartered in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.
Volleyball is a popular sport in the United States with both male and female participants of all ages. Almost all high schools and colleges in the United States have female volleyball teams, and most regions of the country have developmental programs for girls of all ages as well. While many areas of the country are forming male teams and development programs, there are still fewer opportunities for young male athletes to play volleyball in the United States than for young female athletes. Men's volleyball is a fast-growing sport among high schools, with 36 states having male volleyball programs. Most men's seasons are in the spring while women's seasons take place primarily in the fall; however, there are a few men's teams such as in Wisconsin, Virginia, and New York who play in the fall as well.
Sudsy Monchik, is an American racquetball player. As a five-time Pro World Champion, Monchik is one of the top 3 players in the history of the sport. Monchik was known for his power and speed, as well as his shot-making ability, especially his backhand, which many believe is the best in the game. Sudsy revolutionized the sport with his electric personality combined with his tremendous shot power from both his backhand and forehand along with his jaw dropping shot making ability. Sudsy only competed professionally for 7 seasons. Due to a back condition identified as Spondylolisthesis and broken foot known as a Jones Fracture which needed surgery, he had to retire early. There are many that believe if he had been healthy he would have shattered all the records. Sudsy only played 7 healthy seasons on the professional tour and finished the season as the #1 player in the world an astonishing 5 times. Sudsy is the true ambassador to Racquetball worldwide. Sudsy made another outstanding comeback with a win in the 2018 USA Racquetball National Doubles Championships with partner Rocky Carson. Sudsy will now represent Team USA in San Jose, Costa Rica for the World Championships in August 2018. Sudsy's wife, Veronica Sotomayor is the most decorated racquetball player in the history of her home country of Ecuador.
Charles A. Sprague High School, known as Sprague High School, is a high school in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Salem, Oregon, United States. The school is named after Charles A. Sprague, who served as Oregon's governor from 1939 to 1943.
Cliff Swain is a professional racquetball player and coach from Boston, Massachusetts. Known for his dominant drive serve and on-court intensity, Swain finished as the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) six times -- in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, and 2002. He won US Open Championships in 1997 and 2001, and was inducted into the USA Racquetball Hall of Fame in 2003. A legendary figure in racquetball for over 3 decades, Swain still plays professionally and is quickly becoming a sought-after professional coach as well.
Rocky Carson is an American professional racquetball player. Carson has won a record 5 International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in Men's Singles, and 2 Pan American Games gold medals in singles. He was the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) in 2007-08 & 2017–18. Carson has also played outdoor racquetball, and in 2008, he became the first man to win Men's Singles at the World Outdoor Championship, as well as the indoor IRF World Championship, and US Open. Carson has won 27 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) titles and has been ranked in the top 10 for a record 23 seasons.
Jack Huczek is a retired American racquetball player. Huczek was a 3 time International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Singles, and he was the #1 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) player at the end of the 2006–2007 season. Huczek announced his retirement on May 24, 2011.
Rhonda Rajsich is an American racquetball player. She has been World Champion in Women's Singles twice, and Pan American Champion 6 times, as well as US Open champion four times. Rajsich was the #1 player on the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour season ending rankings four times – three straight seasons from 2005–06 to 2007-08 and then again in 2010–11. She is of Serbian descent.
Kristen Walsh Bellows is a retired American racquetball player. She represented the USA on four occasions, winning gold in Women's Singles at the 2005 Pan American Championships. On the women's professional racquetball tour, Walsh Bellows won once, and was twice ranked 4th in the season ending rankings. She was also a five-time USA Racquetball (USAR) collegiate champion.
The Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets are the athletic teams for Baldwin Wallace University. The Yellow Jackets participate in Division III of the NCAA in the Ohio Athletic Conference. BW's rivalries include John Carroll University and University of Mount Union. BW's most successful athletic programs include cross country and swimming and diving. Among BW's most famous alumni related to athletics include Harrison Dillard, Lee Tressel, and Jim Tressel.
Dane Elkins is a professional racquetball player. He holds 23 major national junior racquetball championships. He is also the 2017 National Paddleball Association-(NPA) Junior's 18-and-under National Champion. Elkins holds a black belt in taekwondo.
Daniel de la Rosa is a Mexican racquetball and pickleball player. De La Rosa is the current International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's doubles, winning the title in 2022 in his home city of San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He's won 12 times on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), including the 2021 US Open. De La Rosa is the first Mexican player to win the US Open, and he was the second Mexican player to win an IRT Tier 1 event.
Carla Muñoz Montesinos is a Chilean professional racquetball player. She has won multiple medals, including the three consecutive gold medals in the USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championships in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2014, Munoz was awarded Best Racquetball Player of the Year by the Chilean Journalist Association. She plays for the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour and is currently ranked #10 in the world.
Sebastian Franco is a Colombian racquetball player. Franco is a former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion in Men's Doubles, winning the title in 2014 with Alejandro Herrera. In 2018, Franco became the first South American to win a tournament on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), when he won the March Madness event in San Antonio. He finished the IRT's Top 10 four straight seasons – from 2015–16 to 2018–19 – with a career high ranking of 6th in 2017–18.
Jamey Harris is an American athlete and coach in track and field and cross-country. He is the 1998 USA national champion in the men's 1500 meters and finished fourth in the world in the men's mile at the 1998 Goodwill Games. Jamey Harris is currently Head Coach for Cross Country and Assistant Coach of Track and Field at Humboldt State University.
Jake Bredenbeck is an American racquetball player. Bredenbeck is a four time USA Racquetball (USAR) National Champion: three times in Men's Singles and once in Men's Doubles. He's also won the International Racquetball Tour, and represented the USA internationally.
