 |
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|
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An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The first tour event in the Czech Republic
and the real novelty on this year's World Tour. But although
this is indeed a tournament for true Racketlon pioneers
the risk that often comes with pioneering is very small
this time since there is solid Racketlon experience behind
it; Marcel Weigl, the organiser of the World Championships
in Vienna (2004 and 2005) is the main tournament director. |
 |
The event takes place in Prague - one of
Europe's most beautiful cities. |
 |
See Tournament homepage (available through
www.racketlon.at
) for how to enter and all other details. |
 |
Reid Comes of
Age
- a report from the event |
|
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| |
|
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An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
This is the traditional Belgian "King
of Rackets" tournament, that last year adopted the
Racketlon format and joined the World Tour, thereby opening
up the door between one of Europe's oldest multi racket
communities and the International Racketlon community.
This attracted a record 170 players (see report)
out of which many (given excellent organisation and outstanding
Belgian hospitality) said they would be back next year! |
 |
This will also be a warm-up for the 2006
Racketlon World Championships that have recently been
awarded to Belgium. |
 |
See the Tournament
Homepage for how to enter and all other information. |
 |
Adamsson and Altmann
Claim First Tour Titles
- a report from the event |
|
 |

| |
|
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Racketlon in the evening. The best of Holiday
Sweden during the days. |
 |
Since matches take place in the evenings
participation in the tournament combines extremely well
with tours in one of Sweden's most spectacular summer
holiday resorts - Karlskrona and its archipelago. |
 |
This is the classic Karlskrona Racketlon
championships, with a history of more than ten years. |
 |
Note that the Karlskrona racketlon rules
deviate from the standard; 50 points are played in each
discipline. |
 |
Watch out for more information on the Karlskrona
Racketlon home page |
|
|
| Hukka Racketlon |
Oulu, Finland |
8 - 10 July 2005 |
| |
|
 |
A new racketlon tournament in Finland! |
 |
Foreign competitors are warmly welcome.
There is e.g. a direct flight connection to Oulu from
Stockholm (see www.blue1.se). |
 |
For information on how to enter etc. see
the invitation (English,
Finnish) |
|
|

| Bulgarian Open |
Sofia |
15-17 July 2005 |
| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The second Bulgarian Open and the eastern-most
tournament on the tour. Given evidence from last year's
event (see reports), this
is probably the most interesting tournament on the tour. |
 |
Considering the success chances are that
the attendance figure from last year (35) will double
this year and many more will experience Bulgarian hospitality
at the Soviet style Sofia Sports Academy. |
 |
For info on how to register, and all other
info you will need, see the invitation
(.doc). |
 |
Watch Out for
Nicolay Angelov
- a report from the event |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
This is the first major racketlon event
in Västerås and an event on the 2005 Swedish
Racketlon Tour (prestige factor 1 in the Swedish ranking
system). |
 |
The tournament will be held at Bellevue
Stadium (see www.bellevue.se)
which is one of Scandinavia's largest indoor sports facilities
with 13 000 m2. |
 |
Västerås has a long tradition
in racket sports with many great players and a big potential
for racketlon. The demand for a racketlon event is enormous. |
 |
See Tournament
Homepage (Swedish only) for how to enter and all other
information. |
 |
The Old Crunch
the New
- a report signed English racketlon journalist Keith Lesser. |
|
|

| |
|
 |
The first closed British Championships!
|
 |
Organized by racketlon enthusiast John O'Donnell,
whose marketing skills got almost legendary when he managed
to attract 70 players to the first Canadian Open in 2004
(see report). |
 |
Who will be the first British Champion?
This is an event of exceptional prestige in the country,
which probably has the biggest potential to see racketlon
really take off! |
 |
To enter on-line go to the Tournament Homepage,
which is available from www.topracket.com
(click "Tournaments", then "Racketlon"
and finally "British 2005"). |
|
|

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The second tour event in Germany. Check
out the report from
last year's big (140 players!) breakthrough which became
the first true Racketlon competition of size in Germany. |
 |
Multi racket tournaments of various formats
are probably more common in Germany than in any other
country. This is a tournament with potential! |
 |
Enter on-line on the Tournament Homepage
- www.racketlon.de
- which also contains all other information you will need.
|
 |
Sweden, again!
- a report signed Raymond Jordan |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The fourth(!) Scottish Open and the oldest
of all non-Scandinavian tour events. It has been growing
each year to reach 70 participants last year (see report)
thereby, at an impressive rate, buiding the most successful
of all non-Scandinavian Racketlon communities as clearly
indicated by two gold medals for Scotland at the last
World Championships (see report). |
 |
This year's event has the potential to cause
another big leap forward for the Scottish community since
the tournament is moved from little Monifieth on the Scottish
countryside to the capital Edinburgh, implying a much
better local marketing opportunity. In parallell with
the Czech Open this is the tour novelty of the year! |
 |
If you have never been to Edinburgh this
is also an opportunity to discover one of Europe's most
interesting cities, culturally, historically and visually. |
 |
See Tournament
Homepage for how to enter and all other information. |
 |
The Best Ever Final?
- a report from the event. |
|
 |

| Finnish Championships |
Vantaa |
7-9 October 2005 |

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The fourth(!) Racketlon English Open. The
only tour event this year that takes place in London (since
the British Open has turned into a closed British Championship).
|
 |
An inspired new team under the lead of Keith
Lesser is now joining forces with Stuart Foster
to take this tournament one step further in its development.
Since it was first organised in 2002 Foster has continuously,
year by year, managed to attract more and more participants
to this tournament. Last year's event had no less than
90 entries (see report).
|
 |
See the Tournament
Homepage for how to enter etc. |
 |
Reid Conquers Adamsson
in Tournament of Surprises
- a Ray Jordan report from the event. |
|
 |

| Polish Championships |
Zgierz |
15-16 October 2005 |
| |
|
 |
The second closed Polish Championships.
A follow-up from last year, when e.g. a 14-year-old girl(!)
- Sylwia Borek - won the ladies' open class (see
report). |
 |
Information on how to enter etc. should
emerge on www.racketlon.pl |
 |
See www.racketlon.at
for a report from the event. |
|
|

| |
|
| |

|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
This is the tournament that, in effect,
launched Racketlon internationally, now held for the fifth
consecutive year. In 2001 it was the first international
Racketlon event. In 2002 it was the first official World
Championship. In 2003 it was again recognized as the official
Racketlon World Championship and in addition the peak
of the first Racketlon World Tour with eight tournaments
in six countries (see report). |
 |
Last year (see report)
showed that, although retired from World Championship
status, Gothenburg Open is still an event of exceptional
prestige on classic racketlon ground. It is also the last
event before the World Championships in Vienna - and therefore
the last chance to gain ranking points that could influence
the Vienna seeding. |
 |
To register on-line in one single minute
go to the Tournament
Homepage. |
 |
He is back.
- a Keith Lesser report. |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
A new country on the tour! Hungary, the
quickest growing racketlon community at present (from
virtually nothing to 27 players on the world ranking after
the 2005 World Championships) is joining the tour! |
 |
The sport center is described as "the
first sports and leisure center of the 2000 years"
on their homepage.
It is located a few minutes away from the historical city
center in Pécs in southern Hungary close to the
Croatian boarder. |
 |
Further information is available through
www.racketlon.hu.
|
 |
Next Stop Hungary!
- an early tournament preview. |
 |
Racketlon Breakthrough
in Hungary - a report from the event. |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The only Tour event outside Europe and the
third Canadian Open (see reports - 2004,
2005 - from last years' events).
This year's event promises to beat previous records as
regards size and prize money as Canadian racketlon gears
up. (Of all countries outside Europe, Canada is the one
that has so-far indicated the biggest potential for Racketlon
- as shown by interest emerging from several regions within
the country. For a good example, see the Pacific Rim Open
below, coming up in the beginning of October.) |
 |
Cheap flights from Europe available on www.cheapflights.co.uk
! It does not have to be as expensive as you might think
to cross the Atlantic. Prices have been known to get down
to almost £200 return! |
 |
See the tournament homepage (www.canadianracketlon.ca)
for how to apply and all other information. |
 |
Tournament Preview: All
Set for Thomson? |
 |
Report: A Canadian
Veterans World Champion? |
|
 |
| |
|
 |
The first closed British Championships! |
 |
Who will be the first British Champion?
Calum Reid (WR4)? John O'Donnell (WR8)? Douglas Struthers
(WR12)? (World Rankings as of December 2005.) Or someone
completely different?? This is a national event that will
attract international interest since the UK (England +
Scotland) is a huge racket nation, on the track of becoming
a dominant racketlon power. |
 |
The venue
is the same as the one that will be used for the English
Open in October and the idea is that this tournament will
serve as a pilot to try out the sport center. |
 |
See tournament
homepage for how to enter and all further information! |
 |
Tournament
Preview |
 |
Report: Invinsible! |
|
|
| |
|
 |
The first Dutch racketlon tournament! (But
the Netherlands have a long tradition in multi-racket
sport - see news-item.) |
 |
Not open to international players. There
will be two draws for 32 men and 16 women. The strongest
players from the last three years of the traditional "Racket4s"
events will be invited and, in addition, the four individual
national racket sports federations will actively scout
for the best all-round players in their respective communities.
|
 |
This is a one-day event with matches to
11. |
 |
Part of the Dutch National Week of Sport
in co-operation with the Dutch Olympic Committee and all
the four individual Dutch racket federations. |
 |
See tournament homepage (www.racketlon.nl;
Dutch only) for further details. |
 |
Report: Van
der Woerdt and Hilpert Dutch Champions |
|
|


| Swedish Championships |
Stockholm |
19-21 May 2006 |
| |
|
 |
A classic Peter Landberg/Lennart Eklundh
event held every year since the late Eighties. |
 |
Not open to international players. |
 |
Geographical
advice |
 |
See Tournament
Homepage for all further details. |
|
|

| CUHK Racketlon Championships |
Hong Kong |
20-21 May 2006 |
| |
|
 |
The first Racketlon tournament in Asia!
|
 |
Open to staff and students at the CUHK (Chinese
University of Hong Kong).. |
 |
See article
for more information on this historical Racketlon milestone. |
 |
Report: Chan
in the Lead |
|
|

| |
|
 |
The prestigious peak of the IRF
Racketlon World Tour. (Prestige Factor 2 in the IRF
World Ranking System.) |
 |
After three World Championships in Gothenburg
(2001-2003) and two in Vienna (2004-2005) it is now time
for Belgium to host the racketlon highlight of the year.
|
 |
This tournament has its origins in the traditional
Belgian "King of Rackets" tournament, that in
2004 adopted the Racketlon format and joined the World
Tour, thereby opening up the door between one of Europe's
oldest multi racket communities and the International
Racketlon community. This attracted a record 170 players
(see report), which was
followed by another record (over 260 players) event in
2005 (see report). |
 |
Local qualification rounds wil be organised
a week in advance of the main event (i.e. Thu 25 and Sat-Sun
27-28 May. |
 |
Details on how to enter etc. will appear
through the homepage of the Belgian Racketlon Federation,
www.racketlon.be
in due course. |
 |
Report: The Greatest
Ever Racketlon Festival. |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
The first racketlon tournament in Malaysia!
A pilot pending a likely Malaysian Open later this year.
See newsitem "First Racketlon
Tournament in Asia!" (written before the announcement
of a tournament in Hong Kong
that instead became the first in Asia.) |
 |
This is a 6 day event (qualification rounds
Mo-Wed and main event Fri-Sun) estimated to attract around
60 participants. The venue will be INTI college in the
town of Nilai, 30 minutes from Kuala Lumpur in the state
of Negeri Sembilan. The event will be targeted mainly
at students. |
 |
Details on how to enter will appear on www.malaysiaracketlon.com
in due course. |
 |
Report: Marking
the Arrival of a New Sport |
|
|

| |
|
 |
Racketlon in the evening. The best of Holiday
Sweden during the days. |
 |
This is the classic Karlskrona Racketlon
championships, organised every year since 1991! - and
therefore one of the oldest racketlon tournaments in the
world. See webpage
(look under "Finalists") for a list of all champions
from previous years. |
 |
Since matches take place in the evenings
participation in the tournament combines extremely well
with tours in one of Sweden's most spectacular summer
holiday resorts - Karlskrona and its archipelago. |
 |
Note that the Karlskrona racketlon rules
deviate from the standard; 40 points are played in each
discipline. |
 |
Watch out for more information on the Karlskrona
Racketlon home page |
|
|

| |
|
 |
An official event on the 2006 Swedish Racketlon
Tour (prestige factor 1 in the Swedish
ranking system) - and a follow-up of last year's inaugural
event. |
 |
The tournament will be held at Bellevue
Stadium (see www.bellevue.se)
which is one of Scandinavia's largest indoor sports facilities
with 13 000 m2 and often referred
to as a potential host for a future Racketlon World Championship. |
 |
Västerås has a long tradition
in racket sports with many great players and a big potential
for racketlon. |
 |
See Tournament
Homepage for more information. |
 |
Supported by The
Racketlon.com Entry Engine. |
|
|

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The third tour event in Germany. Check out
the reports from the previous years (2004,
2005) to find out that this
is a big tournament in a country with huge potential for
racketlon. In 2005 Germany delivered at least two sensational
new players through Elmar Schaub (who beat John O'Donnell
in Prague) and Oliver Kudicke (who beat Rickard Persson
in Weiterstadt). Will new German racketlon stars continue
to emerge this year? Probably. Because this country has
tradition. Multi racket tournaments of various formats
are probably more common in Germany than in any other
country. |
 |
For further information see the tournament
homepage on www.racketlon.de
|
 |
Supported by The
Racketlon.com Entry Engine. |
 |
Preview: Who's
Next? |
 |
Report: Tartan
Army Dominate in Germany! |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The fifth(!) Scottish Open and the oldest
of all non-Scandinavian tour events. It has been growing
each year to reach 87 participants last year (see report)
thereby, at an impressive rate, buiding one of the most
successful Racketlon communities in the world. |
 |
Last year the event was moved from little
Monifieth on the Scottish countryside to the capital Edinburgh,
implying a much better marketing opportunity. In addition,
participants at last year's tournament could verify that
the new venue was one of the best on the tour. |
 |
If you have never been to Edinburgh this
is also an opportunity to discover one of Europe's most
interesting cities, culturally, historically and visually. |
 |
Visit the Tournament
Homepage for more information. |
 |
Supported by The
Racketlon.com Entry Engine. |
 |
Preview: Titles
up for Grabs as Tour Moves to Scotland |
 |
Report: Home
Favourite Waltzes Away with Title. |
|
 |
| |
|
| |

|
 |
An IRF Challenger
Event. (Prestige Factor 0,5 in the IRF
World Ranking System.) |
 |
A new racketlon event in Canada! - pushing
the frontiers of racketlon big time. Although still Canada
this is far away from racketlon stronghold Toronto by
a distance comparable to that from London to Jerusalem! |
 |
Victoria, British Colombia, is a city of
400 000 people on beautiful Vancouver island off the west
coast of Canada. |
 |
This is a 5 day! (Thu-Mon; Monday
is a Thanksgiving holiday in Canada) event with huge potential
given the vicinity to two of the bigger cities in North
America;
Vancouver (3 million people) is 1.5 hours away by ferry
(20 minutes by plane-pop)
Seattle (5 million people) is 2 hours away by ferry (20
minutes by plane-pop)
Both Victoria itself and Vancouver have strong Asian badminton
and table tennis communities... |
 |
The venue - Cedar
Hill Recreation Centre - has 6 table tennis, 3 badminton,
4 squash and 4 indoor tennis courts. Experienced tournament
director Dean Gillis is their racket sports coordinator. |
 |
For more information, see the tournament
homepage at www.pacificrimopen.com |
 |
Supported by The
Racketlon.com Entry Engine. |
 |
Report: "The
Wayne Gretzky of Racketlon" |
|
 |

| |
|
 |
An official IRF
Racketlon World Tour event. (Prestige Factor 1 in
the IRF World Ranking System.) |
 |
The fifth(!) Racketlon English Open and
therefore one of the oldest tournaments on the tour. But
racketlon development is faster than ever in England so
a lot is new. |
 |
Last year's tournament (see report)
broke British Racketlon records by about 50% with an entry
of around 140 players. And this year, inspired Tournament
Director Keith Lesser with team is hoping to move
the British frontiers of Racketlon further by switching
to a new
venue - making for the first tour event in Birmingham!
(still reasonably close to the Stansted airport!) |
 |
This is a four day(!) event with Thursday
earmarked for doubles only. If you think this indicates
high ambitions you are quite right! Lesser is also the
creator of the British and Irish Racketlon Tour currently
running through its first year - and a potential applicant
for organising the Racketlon World Championships in the
near future. |
 |
Further details are available through the
tournament
homepage and through www.racketlon.co.uk
(the homepage of the British Racketlon Federation). |
 |
Supported by The
Racketlon.com Entry Engine. |
 |
Preview: The
5th Annual English Open Graces the West Midlands. |
 |
Report: Foreign
Talent Clean-up in Birmingham. |
|
 |

| |