2024 USA Racquetball National Junior Festival & Championships Recap
by Cheryl Kirk
The National Junior Festival & Championships were hosted for the second year in a row by Bay Club in Pleasanton, California, June 26-30, 2024. We can’t say enough about this beautiful facility and the nice people who staff it. Thank you!
The ATHLETES!
First up, let’s start with stats.
Players numbering 139 competed, with 40 entering two divisions and 86 entering three!
In the 69 divisions (both singles and doubles), 86 boys and 53 girls aged 6 to 22 hit the ball against the wall Wednesday through Sunday with the winners going home with medals in Olympic format divisions (Gold, Blue, Red, and White) as well as round robin divisions.
https://www.r2sports.com/tourney/viewResults.asp?TID=41777
With 17 states in attendance, California contributed 49 players, Texas brought 18 players (10 from San Antonio), and Missouri brought 32, up from 19 last year! Fifteen of the athletes from Missouri attend Lafayette High School in Wildwood, coached by Manny Rodriguez. What a great way to continue to provide experience and foster team spirit for the next USA Racquetball National High School Championships in early 2025!
The SPONSORS!
Without you, where would we be? Our sincerest gratitude goes to:
Presenting Sponsor: Team DOVETAIL
USAR Premier Partners: Manilla Athletics, Gearbox, Head/Penn, WIS Inventory Solutions, Splathead
Joe Hall of Splathead deserves very special recognition in service to the U.S. Junior Team. For the second year, Splathead is providing full uniform packages at no cost to all U.S. Junior Team athletes who travel to compete in the IRF World Junior Racquetball Championships in Guatemala City, December 2024. Thank you, Joe!
Very special thanks go to Visit Tri-Valley whose contributions to this event were substantial. We can’t thank you enough for what you did for USA Racquetball and for this Junior Championships event!
The host hotel, DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pleasanton at the Club, offered the perfect scenario for sleeping in until the last possible minute (for some of us) and then walking next door to the club in five minutes’ time. It’s a very pleasant hotel with a restaurant/lounge area that serves as a congenial meeting place at the end of each day.
The STAFF & VOLUNTEERS!
Much gratitude goes to this hard-working group who teamed up OFF the courts to provide their special brands of expertise. Let’s call them “Aces in their Places.” Their mantra for the weekend was: “Yes! Now, what’s the question?”
USA Racquetball Staff Members: Executive Director Mike Grisz, National Events Director Jonathan Greenberg
Key Tournament Desk Volunteer: Kristin Wattz
Bay Club Operations: Bobby Horn, Adam Manilla, and Erika Manilla
Photographer: Ellen Williams
LiveStreamTeam: Pablo Fajre (King of Streaming), Carrie Reitmeier (Queen of Streaming), Toni Reitmeier (Princess of Streaming, naturally), Vedant Chauhan, Robbie Collins, Jim Douglas, Iain Dunn, Cody Elkins, Lucas Frost-Biskup, Jonathan Greenberg, Adam Manilla, Erika Manilla, Vaishant Mangalampalli, and Cole Sendrey
U.S. Junior Team Head Coach Robbie Collins (Parents’ Meeting, Awards)
U.S. Esprit Team Coach Jen Meyer (Parents’ Meeting, Awards)
Cindy Tilbury (Medals/Tournament Desk)
Cheryl Kirk (U.S. Junior Team Admin/Parents’ Meeting)
Brian Dixon, Terry Rogers, Jim Douglas were all over the place, filling in and making sure TLC reigned. Steve Wattz was a referee of many matches throughout the week/end. Eight state directors were on hand to serve in various capacities: Brian Ancheta (OR), Dan Horner (IA), Cheryl Kirk (IL), Carrie Reitmeier (NE), Sandy Rios (TX), Terry Rogers (CA/NV), Rod Van Dyke (FL), and Dan Whitley (MO).
A special note of gratitude goes to the athletes and spectators who stepped up to referee matches. The tournament desk staff do a happy dance when someone says, “Sure, I’ll ref!” ❤️ And that goes double when someone walks up and says, “Do you need a ref?” ❤️❤️
The PARTY!
After a delicious taco bar prepared on site and served by the Diaz Family at the Annual Awards and Program on Saturday evening, Adam Manilla served as emcee, recognizing everyone who supplied their time, efforts, expertise, and financial support for this Junior Nationals.
USA Racquetball Junior Committee Chair Brian Dixon thanked these Junior Committee members for their contributions at the tournament: Brian Ancheta, George Bustos, Dan Horner, Sandy Long, and Carrie Reitmeier.
Rob Durbin of Oregon shared his inspiring story of how Racquetball has made a lifelong difference to his well-being, bringing him through significant health issues and back to good health.
Lauren Peck, wife of Hall of Famer Gregg Peck who passed away in 2020, traveled in from Texas to talk about Gregg’s pro racquetball career and about the Gregg Peck Memorial Fund (an initiative hosted by The Dallas Foundation), the purpose being to “award annual scholarships to aspiring, high-level junior racquetball players to aid with costs associated with tournament travel expenses and entry fees, lessons/coaching, fitness training, and racquetball equipment.” For more information, please visit https://dallasfoundation.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=2848
Team USA Junior Head Coach Robbie Collins and Esprit Coach Jen Meyer presented the 2024 World Cup, Esprit Cup, and Sportsmanship Awards:
- World Cup Male and Female Athletes of the Year – Iain Dunn and Naomi Ros
- Esprit Cup Male and Female Athletes of the Year – Vaishant Mangalampalli and Aarya Shetty
- Sportsmanship Award – Nyasa Gupta
All-American recognition was bestowed upon the 67 athletes who placed 1st-4th in team qualifying singles divisions and/or 1st and 2nd place in team qualifying doubles divisions.
The MEDALS!
Matches concluded on Sunday, followed by medals and photo ops galore.
To the parents, guardians, family members, and coaches who accompanied their athletes to Pleasanton, thank you for the time and resources you provided to make this memorable event possible for your young athletes. Virtual medals and tons of gratitude go to each and every one of you!
Athletes, their families, and coaches then headed back home to continue their summer activities. Thanks to everyone who made the trip to Junior Nationals -- see you next year for the 2025 USA Racquetball National Junior Racquetball Championships in (drum roll, please) Minneapolis, Minnesota!
U.S. Junior Team and All-Americans
At the 2024 USA Racquetball National Junior Festival and Championships, the Gold divisions had very special significance, with the Finalists (1st and 2nd) in Singles and the Winners in Doubles landing a coveted spot on the 2024-25 U.S. National Junior Racquetball Team.
Representing nine states, a total of 36 players comprise Junior Team USA for the coming year. Eight players “triple qualified” and nine additional players “double qualified.”
Please see the companion article in this newsletter for a full listing of the U.S. National Junior Team members as well as the All-Americans who excelled at the tournament. Congrats to all!
