The total raised for this year is $18,154, with all of the proceeds donated to the Milwaukee Affiliate of the Susan G Komen for the Cure for breast cancer. This makes the grand total for the three years over $43,000! This could not be accomplished unless we had a fantastic community of sponsors, players, friends and donors. Thank you for your generosity. [ read full report ]

The highlight of the weekend was presence of Malia Bailey, the former top-ranked Pro, former member and coach of the US National Team, and breast cancer survivor. Malia played singles, doubles and the mixed doubles fundraiser AND she hosted a clinic on Saturday afternoon.

Host Debbie Tisinger-Moore with special guest Malia Bailey. Click on photo for larger view, and see more shots online.

There was a special raffle for A & B players, with the winners getting to play with a National Champion in the Advanced Doubles. Robelyn Cadiz won the honor of playing with Malia, Misty Goldstone won the honor of playing with Janel Tisinger, nine-time National Champion and last year's PanAmerican champion, and Julia Mouser got Debbie Tisinger-Moore and her 27 National Championships.

Malia edged out Janel to win the Open Singles, Peggine Tellez and Motomi Elliott were 1st & 2nd respectively in the A Singles, Emily Baghdady and Julia Mouser were 1st & 2nd respectively in the B Singles, and Alicia Paoletta was 1st and Jackie Tilton was 2nd in the C Singles. Janel and Misty won the Advanced Doubles with Judy Hulen and Vivian Schneider coming in 2nd.

Many thanks to Malia for her time and energy in making this year's tourney a success and a special thanks to Chris Evon and Wilson for their support and sponsorship.

L-R: TD Eric Beaudry, RFTC honoree Jeannine Bartmess with husband Ken Bartmess, and Joe Prutch, winner of the grand prize!

Pueblo Athletic Club Celebrates Landmarks
To help mark its 10th Annual Cinco de Mayo racquetball tournament in May, the Pueblo Athletic Club added a very important debut "Racquet for the Cure" fundraiser to the long-running and popular event.

The club partnered with Vance’s Bicycle World to host a raffle for a mountain bike with 100% of the proceeds going to the “Racquet for the Cure” (RFTC). The raffle was open to PAC members, as well as tournament players, who also donated $5 per event to the RFTC.

With all monies counted, PAC sent a check to the RFTC for $1695.00 in honor of Alma Hubersberger (mother of Vance from Vance’s Bicycle World), and Jeannine Bartmess (current member of PAC and wife of racquetball player Ken Bartmess). Both of these women are currently battling breast cancer. Joe Prutch, a PAC member and tournament player, won the mountain bike.

The tournament was sanctioned by USA Racquetball and the Colorado Racquetball Association (CRA), drawing over 75 entries from Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, Grand Junction, and as far away as Missouri. The “Mens Open” division was won by CSU-Pueblo’s Charlie Pratt over John Rhodes. The Women's Open division was won by Debbie Beldring of Littleton, with Marcia Richards also of Littleton in second place. Local favorite Randy Belisle won the Men's D division and the Men's Open Doubles winners were Puebloans Dan Beaudry and Matt Melster. The Womens C/D division was won by localite Cecily Archuleta, while the Boys 16 & under was won by Daniel Pierson, also of Pueblo.

The tournament was also generously supported by sponsors: Vance’s Bicycle World, Jorge’s Restaurant, Tim Watkins, Hub International/SCA Insurance, Montano Concrete, Coca-Cola/Powerade, Rice/Root Accounting, and Grady’s Restaurant Supply.

USRA Women's Committee Hosts
Reception & Fundraiser for RFTC
The USAR Women's Committee hosted its third "Ladies Night" reception for women who had traveled to compete at the National Singles Championships in Houston. The May event continued a tradition begun in 2006 by Committee Chair Lorraine Galloway, and raised $425 that will be presented to the hometown affiliate of Komen for the Cure, at the annual Peoria event.