Racquetball Courts
Online Reservations
In order to allow you to better manage your Racquetball experience at the NS YMCA we have provided you with the online reservation system. Follow the steps below to get signed up for a court today!
- Click the link to the right to access the reservation page
- Find the day you would like to reserve
- Make sure the time you want is available (reserved slots are marked with a red box and check mark)
- Select your preferred court by clicking 'Court 1-3' on the left side
- Select the time you want, enter your name and a password to make changes, then click 'Reserve'
- Click OK on confirmation page
- Refresh your browser to see the reservation
- If you need to change your reservation, just click the check mark, enter your password, and change or delete
A Little History
Joe Sobek is credited with inventing the sport of racquetball in the Greenwich YMCA, though not with naming it. A professional tennis player and handball player, Sobek sought a fast-paced sport that was easy to learn and play. He designed the first strung paddle, devised a set of rules, based on those of squash, handball, and paddleball, and named his game, paddle rackets.
In February of 1952, Sobeck founded the International Paddler's Racquets Association (IPRA), codified the rules, and had them printed as a booklet. The new sport was rapidly adopted, and became popular through Sobeck's continual promotion of it; he was aided by the existence of some 40,000 handball courts in the country's YMCAs and JCCs, wherein racquetball could be played. Read more
In 1969, aided by Robert W. Kendler - the president-founder of the U.S. Handball Association (USHA) - the International Racquetball Association (IRA) was founded using the name coined by Bob McInerney, a professional tennis player. That same year, the IRA assumed the national championship from the National Paddle Rackets Association (NPRA). In 1973, after a dispute with the IRA board of directors, Kendler formed two, other racquetball organizations, yet the IRA remains the sport's dominant organization, recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the American national racquetball governing body.
In 1974, the IRA organized the first professional tournament, and is a founding member of the International Racquetball Federation (IRF). Eventually, the IRA became the American Amateur Racquetball Association (AARA); in the late 1990s, it renamed itself as the United States Racquetball Association (USRA). In 2003, the USRA again renamed itself to USA Racquetball (USAR), to mirror other Olympic sports associations.
Kendler used his publication ACE to promote both handball and racquetball. Starting in the 1970s, and aided by the fitness boom of that decade, the sport's popularity increased to an estimated 3.1 million players by 1974. Consequent to increased demand, racquetball clubs and courts were founded and built, and sporting goods manufacturers began producing racquetball-specific equipment. This growth continued until the early 1980s, and declining in the decade's latter part when racquet clubs converted to physical fitness clubs, in service to a wider clientele, adding aerobics exercise classes and physical fitness and bodybuilding machines. Since then, the number of racquetball players has remained steady, an estimated 5.6 million players.
Currently, the International Racquetball Tournament (IRT), the Legends Tour, and the Women's Professional Racquetball Organization (WPRO) handle professional games. As a sport, racquetball is televised a few times yearly, with the greatest game being the U.S. Open championships, in Memphis, Tennessee. In 2005, the Pro Nationals racquetball tournament was added to the roster of professional games. It is currently held in Chicago, Illinois and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
