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About Racketball | |||||||||||
The court walls and ceiling are used for the American version of the game and there is no board or tin on the front wall as in a Squash Court. In 1976, Ian D.W. Wright (Kent) introduced the game in England. The game was adapted to utilise existing squash courts using a slower and less bouncy ball, as the ceiling was not included in the play area. On 13th February 1984, the British Racketball Association was founded at the Stourbridge Lawn Tennis Club, Worcestershire. A Constitution and Rules of Play, as compiled by Ian Wright, were adopted. On 30th October 1984 the English Sports Council confirmed recognition of the British *Racketball Association, as the Governing Body of the sport. On 1st December 1984, the first British National Racketball Championships were staged at the Metropolitan Club in London. The first Champions were: Denis Secher (Essex) and Greer Batty (West Midlands) with Ian Wright (Kent) and Dorothy Hanson (Worcestershire) as Veteran winners. The English version of Racketball is now played in Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bermuda, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Spain and many other countries where there are squash courts. It is even played in North American on courts originally constructed for American (Hard Ball) Squash with 18 feet 6 inches wide courts. On 1st September 1998, the Racketball Association merged with the English Squash Rackets Association. The game is played in many Kent Clubs and Centres and the following teams compete in the South East of England League: Bexley Full details of the League can be obtained from the
Organising Secretary: (Note the different spelling,
Racketball not Racquetball!)
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Joe
Sobek, America in 1949 on a Connecticut handball court, invented
Racquetball. Seeking a game with fast pace that was easy to learn,
Sobek designed the first short strung paddle. He devised rules combining
the basics of handball and squash and named his modification "paddle
rackets." His experiment was an overnight success; the sport
caught on quickly and has since evolved into racquetball, as we
know it today.