The West Coast pros got together to preview the next generation ... by lining up the firstborn sons of IRT regulars Jason Mannino, Adam Karp and John Ellis.

All of these cute little fellas were born last summer, and it will be awhile before they’re in a rookie season. And we can’t tell from the photo, but at least one of them just might be a lefty ... 

Pictured L-R: Jason & Jennifer Mannino with Jason Albert Mannino, Jr. (6/18/02); Adam & Angela Karp with Damon Adam Karp (8/6/02); and John & Jennifer Ellis with Julius Aaron Ellis (6/26/02). Photo courtesy Adam Karp.

Headliner “Shawn-Puffy” Royster re-recorded the racquetball rap he introduced in Memphis, at the U.S. OPEN Party with the Pros. In it, he busts a rhyme on each of the top IRT players, and administrators, for a few minutes of fun at their expense. Will it go platinum? Will it become a collector's item? Want a copy for yourself? 

Send $15.00 (postage paid) to: Shawn Royster
1849 South Bentley Ave., #104, Los Angeles, CA 90025.
Be sure to include 
your shipping address!

IRT emcee Shawn Royster was highlighted in a people & places segment in the September/October issue, citing his emergence on late-night-date-show television, and his greater Hollywood aspirations. Now those aspirations seem a little closer to reality after he made an outstanding showing on Fear Factor and landed a “part” in an upcoming film starring Ben Stiller, Brian Brown, and Jennifer Aniston.

Shawn auditioned for Fear Factor in the summer of 2002 during an open call at Jay Leno Studios. “There was a huge line forming at Jay Leno Studios and after getting through the line they just do a quick interview,” he explained. “I got called back for another interview after that and another one after that. There were about three on-camera interviews, in all, after getting through that line.”

After all of the interviews, Shawn learned that he had been chosen as a contestant and filming would be in October. The airdate for the show was January 27 and Shawn had to keep the results secret until then.

He started the show off hot with the first challenge. Contestants were set on top of a huge, spinning wheel that forced them to keep their balance, running, while the wheel rotated. The first few contestants stayed on the wheel less than a minute, but Shawn easily surpassed that mark. “I knew all I had to beat was 41 seconds to advance to the next round so after I beat that I started talking some trash,” he said. “I stared saying stuff like ‘Who is gonna beat me?’ and ‘I am never going to fall off of this thing.’” He never did fall off of the wheel and they finally stopped it after nearly two minutes.

The hardest part of the contest for Shawn was eating a pizza, but it was no ordinary pizza. If you have a weak stomach, skip to the next paragraph. No, really ...  The pizza “crust” was made of hardened cow bile and the “sauce” was coagulated pig blood. Toppings included outdated cheese and live, yes live, worms. “It was nasty, man.”

He got through that and soon the field was narrowed down to two finalists, Shawn and another contestant. The final challenge involved shackling the contestants’ hands and feet followed by lowering them into a pool of water with three keys. One of the keys unlocked their hands, the other their feet, and the last key did nothing. Shawn’s opponent hit the jackpot on his first two tries and quickly freed himself and swam out of the pool. The first key Shawn tried didn’t work either lock so he proceeded to the next key to unlock his hands and finally his feet and swam to the surface, just seconds behind the other contestant, and was eliminated. “I was kind of disappointed with the last challenge,” he said after the show. “All of the other challenges involved some type of mental or physical challenge and then they end it with something that was more luck.” The winner received the big bucks, and Shawn got zip, “not even a t-shirt.”

Shawn’s next gig was more lucrative when he was hired as the technical professional for a scene in the new John Hanberg (Meet the Parents, Zoolander) film starring Brian Brown (Cocktail, FX) and Ben Stiller (Meet the Parents, Zoolander, Something About Mary). Brown portrays a wealthy but eccentric older man that lives an extreme lifestyle and Stiller is a life insurance agent with doubts of offering coverage to Brown.

Shawn was called in to help with a scene involving Brown playing racquetball as part of his extreme lifestyle. “I think that it is really cool that they used racquetball to show that he lives an extreme life,” Shawn said. “They grouped us together with other sports like skydiving and bungee jumping. It will be really good to show that our sport is a tough sport that has a lot of physical and mental demand, not some sissy sport.”

Shawn was responsible for helping direct the players movements during a racquetball game and helped with their stroke mechanics and game situations. The director then asked Shawn if he wanted a part in the film and he was given a line even though Shawn heard that “it might get cut” from the film. Even if his line is cut, Shawn sees it as no big deal. “When the movie comes out I will be able to go to the theater and see scenes and movements that I created on screen,” he explains. “I think it is great exposure for our sport and it was awesome working on a film like that.”

A designated
regional qualifier

Nearly 100 women from as far away as Alaska gathered to enjoy the Florida sunshine, southern hospitality and plenty of competition in the 14th Annual Women’s Senior/Master Racquetball Championships at the Orlando Fitness and Racquet Club in late January. The weather was perfect as players arrived early to check out the courts with doubles play on Thursday, thanks to organizer Andee Glansberg. It was a great chance to get used to the courts, renew old friendships and catch up on the past year.

At the players’ meeting to go over the format and draws, several additional contests were announced. Former FRA President Laura Brandt, who works for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, explained that this is the 100th Anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System and that the first such refuge was established at Pelican Island in Florida. Laura conducted a research project by having all players mark a map with pins showing which refuges they had visited, and promised a prize for the player who had visited the most refuges.

Top-ranked Florida players Susan Pfahler and Karen Bouchard organized a silent auction of racquetball equipment and apparel with the proceeds going to the Florida State juniors program and the Women’s Senior/Masters Racquetball Association (WSMRA).

Round-robin play in all age groups began early Friday morning. The tournament committee kept everything running smoothly and on-time — a definite necessity with only 10 courts for over 400 matches! The tournament desk was manned almost non-stop by “iron-man” Joe Trimble during the entire weekend. In the age groups with flights, the quarterfinals were played on Saturday afternoon before the banquet with seeding determined by flight position, while play continued into Sunday for divisions with one flight.

As usual, the banquet was the highlight of the weekend, and a chance to have some fun, let off some steam and generally raise … the roof. After a great dinner, Susan Pfahler announced that over $1000 had been raised through the silent auction! Laura Brandt announced that we had collectively visited over 80 of the 540 wildlife refuges and Jane Bentley won the prize for having visited 20 of them. Karaoke followed and many hidden talents were revealed, including how much dancing and singing can be done by women who are still “in training” for the big match!

Sunday dawned with a full schedule of semis and finals in the 40’s, 45’s and 50’s as well as continuing round-robin play in most other age groups. By noon on Sunday the winners were decided and as the players left, most vowed to play next year, when the tournament will be held in the San Francisco Bay area.

Lots of praise was generated by the event: Jean Heckman of Florida, returning after several years out of the tournament said “I had forgotten how much fun it is to be on the court and to be with all my friends. I really missed it.” Felicia Mann, playing in the tournament for only the second time after being a tournament director the previous year said: “ I had a great time and I am hooked for life. I will be back!” Players also expressed their appreciation to local tournament committee members Mike Mojer, Jean & Joe Trimble, Kassi Herr, Terry Sprosty and Randy Forrest, along with club owners Merrill and Sherri Brick, for their support of women’s racquetball.

By Sunday afternoon, all the champions had been crowned. In 35+, Solanna Taragan of California beat newcomer to the tournament, Anthnita Dickerson of Michigan, by total points in their round robin flight. In the 40+ division, three-time winner Debbie Tisinger was out of commission with an injury, which left the division wide open for a new champion. That final featured a match-up of two New York players, with Cheryl Miosi defeating Lorraine Galloway in the title. In the 45 final, two Florida players, Susan Pfahler and Jean Trimble, met after advancing out of the largest division, which needed three preliminary flights of play to set up the medal round. Both players had already contributed more than their share to the tournament, Jean as a director and Susan as auction coordinator, but they still brought plenty to the court, even though they must have been exhausted. In the 50+, Debbie Chaney of Indiana, playing in the division for the first time, defeated Terry Rogers of California. In the 55+, Merijean Kelley of California defeated Jackie Jones of Florida by total points to take her first win in the 55+. The 60+ top standings were a repeat of last year with Sharon Hastings of Oregon taking first over Mildred Gwinn of North Carolina. Other winners were Jo Kenyon (FL) over Naomi Eads (MO) in the 65+, Lola Markus (IL) over Reta Harring (WI) in the 70+ and Mary Low Acuff in the 80+.

Next year the tournament will be held in Burlingame, California (the San Francisco Bay area), the weekend of January 16-18, 2004, under the direction of Terry Rogers (650/349-9533). This is a level five tournament (and regional qualifier for 45+ players). For the best in racquetball competition, fun and friendship, plan to attend and bring your friends. For more information or to join the WSMRA, please contact Kendra Tutsch, 7562 Fellows Road, Lodi, WI 53555 (608/592-2497).