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May 6, 2013

One more big one this season, and we know a number of players in Illinois are getting ready to travel to Fullerton, CA, which will not only be the Amateur National Singles Championships, but also a full (season-ending) pro stop for both the Women’s and Men's Professional Tours. If you have not already done so, we encourage you to sign up for live streaming of professional matches on either the Men's (www.irt-tour.com) or Women’s (www.LPRT.com) sites and see what the greatest racquetball players in the world are doing on the court. Of particular interest to those of us in Illinois are Cheryl Gudinas of Naperville who was seeded 4th at last week's San Antonio Pro event, Krystal Csuk, now living in Grapevine, TX, who was seeded 8th, Ben Croft who continues to be in the top 8 players on the Men's Tour despite working full time, and up-and-comers on the Men's Tour including Juan Herrera, Juan Martinez III, Andres Herrera, and Geoff Goldblatt. It's great fun to watch these players on your home computer, and the quality continues to improve with each broadcast.

The competitive season in Illinois is winding down, so this is when we hone our games and get ready for the next season. It's also the time of year when everyone thinks about those first events on the 2013-2014 calendar.

Racquet for the Cure in Peoria will take place June 7-8, and the 21st Annual Glass Court Summerfest in Lombard is on the calendar for July 26-28.

The Racquet for the Cure is a great charity event at the Landmark Racquet & Health Club in Peoria. It has donated significant funds to Komen for the Cure over the past ten years, and it’s a fun event (including a great auction) with dinner included for all participants. Ask anyone who has attended…it’s great fun!

The premier event of late summer is the Glass Court Summerfest. With racquetball, bathing suits, beach volleyball and that great Sunday BBQ for everyone, Tournament Directors Doug and Michelle Halverson and host Dan Jaskier promise a great weekend of racquetball (with heavy emphasis on doubles) interspersed with sun and sand! Sign up now as this is one of the few events where we may have to cap entries to avoid playing past midnight. Please refrain from providing Doug with a series of time restrictions on this one - come prepared to play throughout the weekend!

We're also working during the summer to expand our ISRA Travel League to new clubs and teams. As Laurel Davis, our ISRA President, mentioned in the most recent newsletter (click above), we plan to have league matches count as part of your overall national, state, skill and age group rankings next year! Please contact Pam Grace (pgrace@cata.info) or Geoff Peters (petersgeoff@hotmail.com) if you are interested in being a part of a travel team or interested in helping to form a team at your club. We are hoping to grow by at least eight teams for next season and try to be flexible in terms of days, times and schedules for those of you who want to get involved. Anybody want to start a High School or Collegiate Division? Let us know, it's all done with volunteers like YOU!

Look soon for our updated ISRA Website at www.illinoisracquetball.com. We are endeavoring to make the website more informative, more interactive, and more of a resource for our players. We hope to be up and running in June!

As always - we are looking for volunteers at our events. Just walk up to any of your Board Members and volunteer to assist…we can always use the help!

Your ISRA Board

Notice of Election of ISRA Officers and Board Members

The ISRA Board will hold its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. As with all ISRA meetings, this meeting is open to the membership. The Annual Meeting is particularly important since all members attending have a vote in the election of the ISRA Board of Directors. If you plan to attend, please contact Cheryl Kirk at cherylkkirk@aol.com for time and location.

Officer and Board positions are staggered two-year terms.  This year, the open seats include that of President, Secretary, one of the four Zone Vice Presidents and five Governing Board member positions.

The Officer slate is: Laurel Davis for President, Marla Cusano for Secretary, and

Pam Schubach for Central Zone VP.

The following three individuals are being re-nominated to the Governing Board:

Mike Davern, Pam Grace, and Rick Seaberg

The following two individuals are being nominated to the Governing Board for a first term:

Dolores Lamberson and Eric Mathews

Opposing slates and individuals must be nominated in writing by a current member and received prior to May 24, 2013.  If there are no additional nominations, the Nominating Committee’s slate will be accepted automatically.  Anyone interested in running for office or a Board position should contact Cheryl Kirk at cherylkkirk@aol.com.

Additionally, any ISRA member who wishes to help improve the quality of racquetball in Illinois and familiarize themselves with Board processes is welcome to join the Auxiliary Board.  Come out and support Illinois Racquetball!

~ The ISRA Nominating Committee: Cheryl Kirk (Chair), Geoff Peters, and Michelle Halverson