After 7 long years, the day finally came and went like a quick breeze through the city with the long-awaited return of the 40th Annual Belle Isle Longwall Racquetball Championships in Detroit, Michigan at the historic Belle Isle Park courts.
40 players from 5 different states (Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana and of course Michigan) were excitedly waiting for the return of this long standing beloved tournament and the day finally arrived. Like waiting for a long lost family member, the stage was set to be one big happy reunion to our Home court and to wait to see all those players and spectators return back to these magical courts to create new memories and that is exactly what happened. One by one, players returned to compete and spectators to watch the action on the courts with plenty of great players and divisions stacked all day long.
The only ominous thing on this day that potentially could have slowed down this Belle Isle express, was the grandest force of them all, with that being Mother Nature. Rain started mid Friday afternoon and tarps were placed over all of the courts as a protective measure. It didn't look like it wanted to cooperate with us as tournament day approached on Saturday, which also had rain forecasted for the early morning and scattered all throughout the day, potentially causing all sorts of delays as expected with any outdoor event. Well, 7 years must have been our lucky number because the weather gods were looking out for us and we didn't get any rain and in fact the sun started coming out and shining down on all of us and Belle Isle to make it truly a magical day to return to the courts.
Players competed in a combination of singles and doubles skill and age divisions and were anxiously awaiting to get back to playing on these hallowed courts. And plenty of play did we have as all the great women and men athletes came out and showed their skills on the courts and as always, plenty of kill shots, splats, pinches, reverse pinches and a few mishits for winners dashed in. Unfortunately, I can't write in here great ceiling shots because we had to rip those off after all these years and replace them with nets, but that didn't stop the plentiful amounts of great play and rallies on all the courts as expected. You could feel that even with all the good and positive vibes and energy of opening the Belle Isle courts backup, it didn't stop the competitive fire of players that came out once play got started. As expected, plenty of great matches were completed in this round robin and pool play format all day in every division. The action was fierce and competitive as players battled all day long looking for that elusive Belle Isle champion title in their respective divisions.
None of this was possible without the constant dedication of a team of people who brought all of this to fruition over the years that culminated in being able to have the Belle Isle courts back open and to have our beloved tournaments started back up again after all the years. The real superstars during this process are Darryl V Hunter, Russell M. Baker, Eric Washington and Jen O'Meara. This team of people helped organize a great event as we returned this tournament back to Belle Isle for all players and spectators to enjoy. Their hard work and dedication in planning this event and thinking of all aspects to make sure to run a successful tournament was on point as expected and hence why we were able to have such a great event for all to come out and either play, watch or just to come back and say hi after all these years. Thank you team for all your support and dedication. It is greatly appreciated.
Thank you galores also go out to so many more people as they helped the tournament in various ways including sponsorship, donations and overall general help to help support the tournament and Belle Isle that they love so much. I truly appreciate all of these wonderful people and entities for their generosity and kindness they showed us and Belle Isle to make this return an even better success. Thank you kindly goes out to Joe Hall, Lan Huynh, Kathy Zerega, Dan Greene, Weldon Blakeslee, Christopher P Kelly, Marcos Rivera, Patricia Rivera, Carrie Handfinger Hoeft, Amie LeBrun Brewer, Jim Price, Tonya Rose, Roy Gelerman, Lamar Leverett, Splathead Sportsgear, Chick-fil-A and Benito's Pizza.
It was such a joy to see everyone so happy to see the Belle Isle courts back open and the return of the tournament back to its rightful home. All the smiles and laughs that were had and the camaraderie on and off the court was so very apparent throughout the day. This tournament was not only for current local and nationwide players, but also for those players from the past that came back home to visit the courts and see all the older players who don't play anymore and have one big family reunion. It was again truly magical to see all the smiles and big grins on everyone's faces.
For those that participated or came to watch and visit, we truly hope you all had a great time and a great day. If you haven't played in this event or have played and haven't been back for a while, we openly invite everyone to come play and support this truly special tournament at the Belle Isle courts. We thoroughly enjoyed putting this great event back together for our racquetball family across the nation to enjoy.
Congratulations to all the winners, as you all are deserving champions. Thank you everyone for all your support in either playing, sponsoring, donating or just coming to watch and support the event. It was a memorable day and here's to bringing all of our racquetball family many more great tournaments to come.
We appreciate everyone's support and until we meet again, PEACE to all of you.
TEAM BELLE ISLE!
