2008 Woodie Awards
Racquetball Club founded at CMU
By: Danny Inman
Issue date: 3/14/08 Section: News
When he looked at the way people play racquetball, Grad Blanc graduate student Dusty Smith decided he needed to do something about it.
"There is always people playing, but no one really knows each other," Smith said.
So he, along with Midland senior Eric O'Rourke, a fellow racquetball enthusiast, founded the first Racquetball Club at CMU.
"The main benefit is meeting a lot of fellow racquetball players," O'Rourke said.
The goal of the Racquetball Club at CMU is spelled out in its constitution: "… to bring together all the students of CMU who have an interest in the sport of racquetball in an effort to organize the sport on campus to a whole new level."
Smith said he is working with the Racquetball Association of Michigan and wants to give organizational backbone to the sport.
Matches with other racquetball clubs are in the works and hopes to have a tournament with a racquetball club from Western Michigan University set up by the end of the semester, he said.
"There are only three other schools around that have official programs," Smith said.
Smith has been playing racquetball since high school.
"It's an easy sport to pick up: the concepts are basic," he said. "Players can get very involved and lose track of time."
The club required a $13 membership fee, which included access to the club's online matchmaking forms and professionals from the Ektelon Co., which sponsors Smith. League costs are also included.
A league match is played once per semester, he said.
The league is broken down into three divisions: competitive, recreational and women.
Smith said competitive is for people who want to compete and win; recreational is for people who want to participate and focus on fun; and women have their own league.
Club practice takes place from 8 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday in the Student Activity Center courts D through F. For more information, contact Smith or O'Rourke at cmuracquetball@gmail.com.
news@cm-life.com
"There is always people playing, but no one really knows each other," Smith said.
So he, along with Midland senior Eric O'Rourke, a fellow racquetball enthusiast, founded the first Racquetball Club at CMU.
"The main benefit is meeting a lot of fellow racquetball players," O'Rourke said.
The goal of the Racquetball Club at CMU is spelled out in its constitution: "… to bring together all the students of CMU who have an interest in the sport of racquetball in an effort to organize the sport on campus to a whole new level."
Smith said he is working with the Racquetball Association of Michigan and wants to give organizational backbone to the sport.
Matches with other racquetball clubs are in the works and hopes to have a tournament with a racquetball club from Western Michigan University set up by the end of the semester, he said.
"There are only three other schools around that have official programs," Smith said.
Smith has been playing racquetball since high school.
"It's an easy sport to pick up: the concepts are basic," he said. "Players can get very involved and lose track of time."
The club required a $13 membership fee, which included access to the club's online matchmaking forms and professionals from the Ektelon Co., which sponsors Smith. League costs are also included.
A league match is played once per semester, he said.
The league is broken down into three divisions: competitive, recreational and women.
Smith said competitive is for people who want to compete and win; recreational is for people who want to participate and focus on fun; and women have their own league.
Club practice takes place from 8 to 10 p.m. every Tuesday in the Student Activity Center courts D through F. For more information, contact Smith or O'Rourke at cmuracquetball@gmail.com.
news@cm-life.com
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