What to do, if you would love more competition and
opportunities to play, but no one at your facility is interested in setting
up racquetball programs. Programming racquetball is very simple.
Find a group of interested players and put them on the court(s) in an organized
format. Most formats work best when run over a a six to nine week
period. Players tend to lose interest, if programs run longer.
Many sucessful programs follow a league with a party (soft drinks/beer,
finger foods, pot luck, hamburgers/hotdogs by the pool or at a player's
house, etc.). Plan a league budget, if league t-shirts, awards, etc.
will be given out.
Sources for software to assist in scheduling various events.
Draw sheets:
Tournaments:
Tournament Directors GuideThis is designed for the Oklahoma Racquetball Association, but gives some good info that will most likely apply in your state.
Player lists:
Helps players meet new partners of similar or more advanced
skill levels.
May be self-ranked or ranked according to skill based
on a kickoff tournament.
Include player's name, skill level (Open, A, B, C, D,
Beginner), day/evening phone numbers, email address, and best times to
play (i.e. MWF after 5 pm)
Include contact information for other players that may
want to join listing
Challenge
Ladders:
Write each player's name & phone numbers on a card
or tag.
Post a board with pockets for cards or hooks for tags.
Post rules for challenge ladder near board.
Sample rules may be:
Individuals who are challenged have one week to play
challenge match.
You may challenge two postions up the ladder (may be
any number).
Players must play at least once each week or drop two
positions on the ladder.
Another option is a Pyramid
format:
Arrange names in a pyramid with #1 player at the apex,
#'s 2-3 on the second level, #'s 4-6 on the third level, #'s 7-10 on the
fourth level, and so forth...
Make each level a different color.
You may challenge only players of your color starting
with the closest player to your position.
After a player has defeated all players on their color
level, then they may challenge the lowest ranked player in the next highest
color level.
Handicap Leagues:
Provides an opportunity for lower level players to play
and gain experience against higher rated players.
Handicap System
|
MA |
MAB |
MB |
MBC |
MC |
MCD |
MD |
MBeg |
WA |
WAB |
WB |
WBC |
WC |
WCD |
WD |
WBeg |
| MA |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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| MAB |
2 |
3 |
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| MB |
3 |
5 |
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| MBC |
5 |
6 |
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| MC |
6 |
7 |
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| MCD |
7 |
8 |
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| MD |
8 |
7 |
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| MBeg |
9 |
8 |
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| WA |
5 |
3 |
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| WAB |
6 |
5 |
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| WB |
7 |
6 |
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| WBC |
8 |
7 |
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| WC |
9 |
8 |
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| WCD |
9 |
8 |
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| WD |
9 |
8 |
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| WBeg |
9 |
8 |
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Round Robin Leagues:
Each player plays all players in the league. To
manage large groups of players, separate players into flights or pools
of 8-10 players with a playoff between the top players of each flight/pool
to determine the winner.
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
Total Points |
| 1-B. Brown |
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| 2-C. Parrish |
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| 3-M. Ball |
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| 4-G. Penn |
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| 5-R. Force |
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| 6-A. Skipper |
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| 7-L. Pepper |
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| 8-B. Cruise |
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To schedule matches, list first half of players 1-4 and
place 5-8 in opposite position. To schedule next round, take the number
opposite #1 (i.e. #8) and place that number under #1 and continue the numbers
on around. If there is an uneven number of players, add a Bye (i.e.
1-Bye, 2-9, 3-8, 4-7, 5-6). One player each week will have a bye
and will not play.
|
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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1 plays 8
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1-7
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1-6
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1-5
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1-4
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1-3
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1-2
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2 plays 7
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8-6
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7-5
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6-4
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5-3
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4-2
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3-8
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3 plays 6
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2-5
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8-4
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7-3
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6-2
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5-8
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4-7
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4 plays 5
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3-4
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2-3
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8-2
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7-8
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6-7
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5-6
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Olympic Format Tournament:
An Olympic format tournament guarantees each player at
least 3 matches. Seed players and set the first round up as a straight
draw. Winners advance to the right and losers move to another straight
draw to the left. Winners continue to advance in their respective
brackets and losers drop straight down to another bracket. Players
are out after three losses. Brackets are usually labeled as Gold,
Red, Blue, and White, but may be called anything.
Straight Draw:
This is the most common type of tournament. Players
are ranked and seeded. May be run as a single elinimation event with
losers out after one match, losers dropping into a consolation round, or
double elimination. Straight draws work best with an eight player
draw, but may be run with a minimum of six players.
Leagues on the Internet:
This listing will be updated as more internet leagues
are found.
