The Dutch Do It Too!
Date: 2003-05-28
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Racketlon.com was yesterday, for the first time, reached by news about a multi-racket tradition in Holland. This is yet another of a series of discoveries of multi racket sport in several of the countries of Europe. The list of countries keeps growing and beside the well-known Racketlon strongholds of Finland and Sweden it now includes Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium ...and since yesterday, thus, Holland. Racketlon.com would not be surprised if it, in the end, would turn out that almost all countries of the western world have had similar multi racket ideas during some period in time (the end of the Eighties seem to be the hottest one). (Please, give us a tip on Racketlon@hotmail.com if you know of any multi-racket tradition that we seem unaware of.)

The format used in Holland is not known to Racketlon.com to exist anywhere else. The next tournament, scheduled to take place at the end of June, will run as follows:

It is a team tournament for eight teams of six players in each team. All teams face eachother in a Round Robin setup.

A team match means that the best player in each team play eachother in all four sports and so do the number two:s and three:s, four:s, five:s and sixes. "Straight" counting (i.e. every ball means a point) is applied and each serve game contains five points. Sounds pretty much like Racketlon thus far - but there are some very significant buts:

1) tennis and badminton are always doubles(!) Only squash and table tennis are singles.
2) the counting does not end at 21 but when 15 minutes have passed by.
3) There is a "marathon" touch to the Racket4's format. Since all eight teams face eachother each player gets to play the equivalent of 7 racketlon matches or 7x4=28 15 minute matches meaning 7 hours of play per person. Since the tournament is a one-day event it goes without saying that it takes some stamina to take part.
4) Finally, two points are awarded to the winner of any of the 15-minute matches. If the match is a draw it means 1-1. The team that gathers most points is the overall winner.

Is this Racketlon, then? No, not as the IRF defines it. The IRF use the following two criteria to distinguish between Racketlon and other Multi Racket Sport:

1) There has to be Matches (where two players face eachother in all four sports and a winner, the best racket player, is decided at the end of the match).
The IRF argue that a true racket sport must contain matches.

2) Every point must count.
The IRF argue that this is needed to make all sports interesting. If a set victory counts above points the tennis set against e.g. André Agassi will almost always be totally uninteresting - whereas if every point counts one or two points in the tennis set against Agassi might be enough to win a racketlon match against him. The fact that there are good chances that even a World Star like Agassi will have to do his very best in his own sport is indeed by some regarded as the beauty of Racketlon.

None of these two criteria is met in the Rackt4's format. Not Racketlon then but still Multi Racket Sport and very interesting in its own right and probably a lot of fun. Tournaments were arranged during the years 1985-1995 then comprising not only the four sports of Racketlon but also soft tennis(!) Since then there has been a long break but now the format returns with only four sports. An event is planned to take place in Rotterdam 28 June (look under EVENTS on the www.racketlon.com startpage) and another event with a more international profile is planned for the end of the year. See www.racket4s.com (sofar only Dutch but information is about to show up in English as well) for more details

Just as, hopefully, some players from the racketlon community will decide to try out the Dutch way of multi-racket sport, players from the Dutch community are welcome to take part in any of the events of the IRF Racketlon World Tour of eight tournaments in six countries. In particular, there is no doubt that the Racketlon community would be very excited to see a Dutch team at the Racketlon World Championships in Gothenburg in the beginning of November (again, look under EVENTS on the www.racketlon.com startpage). Who is the best racket player in the world? Do you take on the challenge, Holland?

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