PRELIMINARY NEWSITEM CONNECTED TO THE PROPOSAL TO CHANGE ACRONYM!

PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY! PRELIMINARY!

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The Iron Forge of Racketlon.
The IRF [ai - ar - eff] becomes the IRONF [ai - ron - eff] as the International RacketlON Federation change their acronym.
2006-xx-xx

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In accordance with a decision taken at its recent Annual General Meeting in Belgium the International Racketlon Federation today makes official that their acronym is changed from the previous IRF to IRONF.

The idea is that RacketlON, from now on, in this context, will be abbreviated "RON" rather than just "R" through the addition of "ON" (which is a suffix that carries with it some significance since it is shared with other multi-sports such as triathlON, decathlON, heptathlON etc.) The new acronym shall be pronounced [ai - ron - eff], which makes it very similar to the previous [ai - ar - eff]. It can even be argued that from a sound an not letter point of view [ron] is a more natural abbreviation of racketlon than [ar]. (Try saying "racketlon" really quickly and [ron] is pretty close to what you get.) The overall effect is an acronym that sounds like a conventional three letter abbreviation although, in writing, the mid section is represented by three letters and not one.

The main reason behind this change is the desire to get a unique acronym that minimizes the risk for confusion with other organisations. In particular, it has been identified that the International Racquetball Federation have been using the acronym IRF since around 1980 and since racquetball is another racket sport the risk for confusion with them is therefore fairly obvious in some contexts. The new acronym, IRONF, is not only unique among racket sports but also among sports or even organisations in general (whereas the previous IRF is used not only by racquetball but by both the International Rafting Federation and the International Rogaining Federation as well as numerous other organisations outside the area of sport, such as the International Road Federation). In addition it carries with it some good associations;

Iron Forge

The first four letters of the new acronym, and the way they are pronounced, link IRONF to the metal iron and, with a bit of imagination, IRONF can be associated with the place where the raw material iron is turned into useful things, that is an "iron forge". Now, because of the long traditional importance and special character of iron forges the word "forge" has taken on several symbolic meanings in many languages. In English the following meanings exist:

forge:
1) come up with after a mental effort - "forge an idea, forge a plan"
2) to give form or shape to, especially by means of careful effort - "forge a close relationship"
3) to advance gradually but steadily - "forge ahead"

These ideas are all embraced by the International Racketlon Federation and very relevant to what they try to achieve;

Their ambition is to take the idea of racketlon (which is fantastic raw material!) and forge it into a well established sport on the international level.

An iron forge. Think. Shape. Advance.

Ironman

Another branch of association, also stemming from iron, is that connected to the Ironman race on Hawaii, which is the most classic of all triathlon races. It has been held yearly since 1978 making triathlon the slightly older cousin of racketlon. Since the first Ironman race, which attracted 15 participants triathlon has grown to become truly global and nowadays the "Ironman Triathlon" has developed to include a long series of almost 30 qualifying events all over the world, where participants compete about eagerly sought after slots in the original Hawaii race, now known as the "Ironman Triathlon World Championship". (The entry field is limited at around 1500 participants.)

In this context, the iron of IRONF is linked to endurance and a new multi-sport that, after a humble start, due to a very strong fundamental idea, quickly grows to become a global phenomenon. Again, these are ideas embraced by the International Racketlon Federation.

The Ironman triathlon events. Endurance. Multisport. Conquering the world.

In short, the International Racketlon Federation believe that IRONF, will be a unique (although still natural) acronym loaded with strong, positive and relevant associations; and with a good chance of being easily remembered and instantly recognized in wider contexts than the previous, more anonymous IRF.

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The above is a draft of what a newsitem introducing IRONF might look like. For the related proposal including some analysis, see this web page.