On Tuesday I head to the frozen north, for the 2014 UnitedHealthcare US OPEN at Life Time Fitness in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There were 707 players registered and committed to the event at the time I added this post. There are 16 players in my division this year, which is a good number. No byes, no more than one match per day, etc. The way the USA Racquetball organization sets up these divisions is a bit baffling to me. If R2Sports has you ranked at #3,601 or higher, then you should play in the D.
I think. The chart looks a little bit backward to me. I’ll also be playing a double’s division, which looks like it should have 15 teams (30 players). So again we should get one match per day. With four different locations, it can be challenging to get to the place you need to be at the right time. The shuttles between the locations worked well for me last year, except during regular rush hour. Fortunately, all of my own events last year were at the same location, the Fridley Lifetime Fitness. All of the pro events are at the Life Time Fitness – Target Center, downtown next to my hotel. I’ll be spending some quality time there when I’m not playing.

The weekend after I return, there will be an event at Recreation ATL, the 2014 HOPE for a Cure Breast Cancer Shootout. I will likely volunteer some time at that event, not sure exactly how at this point though.

The weekend after that is the 2014 Garnet and Gold Classic in Tallahassee, Florida. That’s just beyond the limits of what I’m willing to drive by myself. Since the participant list isn’t public, it is very hard to commit to attending. At the time of this writing, I am not planning on playing there.

Then the 2014 IRT ATLANTA OPEN Singles and Doubles Championship USAR Sanctioned Racquetball Tournament that I am sponsoring will happen the weekend of November 1st and 2nd. We already have players committed to attend and play from 4 different states. Join us there, if you can!