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Club racquetball provides competitive hobby for students |
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Wednesday, 27 February 2008 |
by CORY WATSON
Intern Sports Reporter
A ball and some friends is all you need for some sports.
Racquetball, however, is a little more complex than that; court space, racquets and a wall are in order to participate.
“It isn’t exactly a sport you can play in your driveway,” junior art education major Kathryn L. McGee
said.
The game requires several amenities to make playing possible.
 Senior English major Lucy M. Anderson, racquetball president and senior health promotion major Brittany M. Bailey, and freshman biology secondary education major Andrew D. Jacobs enjoy a game of racquetball. Photo by Alisha Park
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According to the USA Racquetball Association rulebook, a court must be 20-feet wide, 40-feet long and 20-feet high; a back wall at least 12-feet high is also required. This is often the most difficult tool in the game to attain.
“It’s harder than you think it is,” senior health promotion major Brittany M. Bailey said.
So why do students choose to play it?
“Because it’s challenging,” said Bailey, racquetball club president.
Freshman education major Andrew D. Jacobs, who is one of the few players on the team with
experience prior to college, said speed is one of the reasons the sport can be tough.
Players often have little time to react to shots from their opponents because the game is played in
such close quarters.
“In my opinion, it’s the most reflex-sharpening sport out there,” he said.
Because there is no established intercollegiate conference for racquetball, Bailey said players enjoy
several benefits.
The time is not as demanding for the racquetball club team. Unlike several of Appalachian club teams,
they don’t travel frequently.
“We usually travel once or twice in a year,” Bailey said.
The Mountaineers play most of their intercollegiate tournaments against the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This weekend, the Mountaineers will participate in the state tournament in Greensboro.
Although there have been appearances in the past from Duke University, North Carolina State
University and the University of Virginia at the tournament, UNC at Chapel Hill is typically the team’s
toughest opponent.
UNC offers an element of unfamiliarity to the game because ASU typically only plays against their
fellow Mountaineers, McGee said.
However, there is one requirement that passes all others involved in playing racquetball.
“You have to be a good sport,” McGee said. “There aren’t referees watching, so you do a lot of
self-regulating.”
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