Its Name To The Amateur Racquetball Association example essay topic

HISTORY OF RACQUETBALL In the 1940's a man named Joseph G. Sobek got tired of how hard handball was on his hands. He was dissatisfied with the indoor sports. He worked at a rubber factory in Bridgeport, CT when he decided to start a new sport. He lived in Greenwich, CT and was professional tennis player and a pro squash and handball player. It is said that in 1949, Sobek and a partner began playing with a paddle and combined the rules of handball and squash to play what they called "paddle racquets".

He then decided to change from a paddle to a racquet itself using a tennis racquet as a model. He made 25 to sell to his friends to start the sport. There was one problem though; there were faults in the ball. Sobek then found a Spalding ball made for children that work well.

He bought a lot of them and sold him to his friends in 1950 to keep his sport from dwindling out. Sobek eventually started his own company to make his own ball to his exact specifications for the game. In 1952 Sobek started the Paddle Racquet Association. He then put together a set of rules and printed them out and started putting together a promotional package for his Paddle Racquet to different YMCA's to promote the sport. He also set up clinics so that new players could learn how to play the sport. In 1968, Sobek started talking to the head of the US Handball Association, Robert Kendler.

In 1968 the National Paddle Racquet Association held the very first racquetball tournament called the Gut-Strung Paddle Rackets National Championship. It was held in Milwaukee. The next year Kendler started the International Racquetball Association, and racquetball got its official name. To help get the name of the sport out and bring more players in Sobek kept doing his clinics to teach the new players.

Kendler used the Handball magazine, ACE, to advertise the sport and tell people about the game in articles and advertisements. Then the International Racquetball had their first tournament in St. Louis in 1969. Then after the tournaments the sport saw a lot of new players in the 1970's. The games equipment sale went through the roof and more and more companies began making the equipment. By 1974, there were over 3 million racquetball players in the U.S. In 1973, Kendler separated himself from the IRA, do to disputes in the board, he went on to start the National Racquetball Club and the US Racquetball Association, which both of them went bankrupt in the early 1980's though. Also in 1974, the IRA held its first professional racquetball tournament.

The group continued to grow throughout the nation and then throughout the world in the 1970's and 80's. In 1979 the IRA changed its name to the Amateur Racquetball Association. Later, in 1997 it took its name that it has to day, the United States Racquetball Association (USR A). In 1979 the International Amateur Racquetball Federation (I ARF) was founded with thirteen countries as members. They later changed their name to International Racquetball Federation (IRF). They now hold racquetball championships biennially.

The growth of racquetball was also very popular with the women, so they started the Ladies Professional Racquetball Association (LPR A) in 1980. Also in 1981, the first World Championships of Racquetball was held. Then in 1982 the Olympic Committee got together and decided that Racquetball would be recognized as a developing Olympic Sport. Then later in 1995, Racquetball was declared a full medal status sport in the Pan American games. By 1998 it was estimated that there was a total of 10 million US players and another 14 millions other players in 90 other countries..