Spirited Racquetball Ball Club Seeks New Members

There may not be many sports that can rival the competitiveness of racquetball. Playing one on one in an enclosed court brings out the competitive spirit in everyone, regardless of who the opponent is.
The Arkansas racquetball club embodies that competitive spirit.
For those who do not know, racquetball is an interesting sport that is a fast paced mixture of tennis and wall-ball.
Players hit the ball against the wall and it has to bounce back behind the short line, the line behind the server, when the other player volleys it back. Competitors play to a specific amount of points, either 11 or 15.
The club practices in the HPER, where there are courts and free equipment rental for any student that would like to give the sport a try.
The history of the racquetball club dates back only a few years, when now team president Calvin Godwin’s brother founded the club.
“After he graduated, the club kind of fell apart, and so when I got up here last year as a freshman I took over the presidency,” Godwin said.
Since then, the club has been in a rebuilding stage, but has a strong core of members that really enjoy the sport.
The racquetball club is looking to expand its number of members, especially after losing a large number to graduation last year.
The team is down from 15 last year to four this year, but each of the members have some kind of prior experience. Godwin himself has been playing as long as he can remember.
“I’ve been playing my whole life, and one other girl has been playing since high school, and two began playing last year as freshmen,” Godwin said.
“I started playing because my dad got me into it. Ever since I could walk I have been playing racquetball,” he added.
In Godwin’s tenure as the club president, the team has attended five tournaments in Arkansas and St. Louis. The team hosted a tournament in the HPER last year, giving it the title of Razorback Classic.
“I think we brought in 50 to 60 guys from Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas that played in the tournament. We raised a lot of money for that,” Godwin said.
The money raised from the tournament helped alleviate some of the costs of traveling to tournaments, paying for hotels and tournament fees.
As of right now the club doesn’t have any dues, as the main goal at the moment is to increase membership.
If the club can gain more members, it will more than likely be able to host the Razorback Classic again this season.
The club is affiliated with Arkansas Racquetball as well as United States Racquetball Association. They plan on sending members to the 2013 National Collegiate Racquetball Championships in California.
“It depends on how many members we get, but right now we do have enough to send a few members to nationals in California,” Godwin said.
The more the merrier for the racquetball club, as they sincerely encourage any and all students to join the racquetball club. There are flyers for the club in the racquetball courts in the HPER, and students can also check them out on Twitter, @RazorbackRB.