Belle Isle Handball 2011 A-B Tournament
Sponsored by DetroitYES.com and Motorvation Drive
Saturday, September 10, 2011 Belle Isle Handball Courts, Detroit, MI
[Pictured above: Rick Leonard drives the ball from the deep back court in the 2010 finals match vs. tournament winners Bill Sidebottom Jr. and Angus McIntyre [middle two players]. Rick's partner was Bob Kozak [red shorts].
Join the fun and competition of our 3rd summer's end A-B doubles tournament on beautiful Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. Well almost. Mother Nature had other ideas this year...
Belle Isle Handball 2011 A-B Tournament Results
Rain forced a last minute change of venue and the tournament was moved indoors to Total Sports in Mt. Clemens thanks to the accommodation of its handball-player owners, the Straetman brothers.
Congratulations to Pete Dembeck and Ron Iles who won a hard fought three game match over runner-ups Kyle Casey and Jack DiGiovanni. Congrats to consolation round winners Pete Brown and Jerry Rynkowski who triumphed over PK Sims and Ken Luchkovitz..
Kyle Casey lines up for one his many kill shots as the ball comes off the back wall.
A scrambling Pete Dembeck, ball well in hand, retrieves a passing shot from the deep right corner.
Partner Ron Iles lines up a shot off the back wall.
Jack DiGiovanni digs a shot in the left court.
Pete Dembeck lines up his trademark overhand fist-killshot toward its low front right corner corner.
Kyle Casey demonstrates his picture perfect has he steps into a kill shot attempt.
Belle Isle Handball 2011 A-B Tournament Results 2011 First Round Pairings
KEN LUCHKOVITZ / PK SIMS II [2nd Place Consolation]
VS
GLENN PARASKEVIN / TONY DESANTIS
HANK KOZAK / STU SHEVIN
VS
PAT OLIVER / MITCH OLIVER
PETE DEMBECK / RON ISLES [1st Place Winners]
VS
PETE BROWN / JERRY RYNKOWSKI [1st Place Consolation]
RICK LEONARD / CHARLEY
VS
CHRIS MONSOUR / LOGAN SIEGEL
BARRY DOAN / ANGUS MCINTYRE
VS
KYLE CASEY / JACK DIGIOVANNI [2nd Place Winners]
BOB BALCH / PAUL
VS
MARK STUTRUD / CARL HARLOW
ED GREEN / MIKE FROELICH
VS
BILL SIDEBOTTOM JR & SR
DAN COSTELLO / BOB PLATER
VS
NIC BOILEAU / LOWELL BOILEAU
WINNER OF ABOVE MATCH
VS
LANNY GREEN / BOB KOZAK
$20 Entry Fee includes T-shirt, food, soft drinks and beer. Special [surprise] prizes for 1nd and 2nd places and for 1st place of the consolation round. How can you beat that?
Teams will be assigned by the "Commissioner" Bob Kozak to create balance – strongest player paired with the weakest player, next strongest with next weakest, etc. All teams will play a minimum of two matches. If a team is eliminated it will play in the consolation round.
We have 20+ players committed already and want you to join. Please do so ASAP so that we can plan T-shirt orders, food and beverages.
Visit the Michigan Handball Association website www.mhandball.org for updates, pairings and starting times.
Updates, photos and results will also be archived here at www.DetroitYES.com/handball.
DETROIT HANDBALL
Detroit handball history stretches back to the 19th Century and has been played on Belle Isle for decades. The original courts were two wooden courts that were just east of the Belle Isle bathhouse. Those were replaced with the current courts built in 1979.
Handball players are doing their part for Detroit too. Michigan Handball activities are led by the Michigan Handball Association www.mhandball.org. [DetroitYES is please to donate the website hosting and management for the MHA]. In the past three years the MHA arranged to have the Belle Isle courts painted and re-roofed at a cost of over $15000 to the organization.
In warm seasons the "3-wall" game is played outdoors. The top local players play at the 6 courts on Belle Isle and the 4 courts in St. Clair Shores. It is a physically and mentally demanding game. A fun-filled, sweat-soaked aerobic exercise always results.
Yep. That's yours truly on Belle Isle courts, on the left using his left, vs. good friend Arnold.
Ready to learn? Show up at Belle Isle after 4 on M-W-F from April through October.
HANDBALL 101
Handball is an ancient Celtic game brought to American primarily by Irish immigrants. Some records show it dating back to the ancient Egyptians. Throughout the Celtic world it had variations, such as Jai Alai played by the Celtic Basque using a wicker sling. Racquetball, which began in the 60's, is simply handball played with a sawed-off tennis racquet.
The essentials of the game are simple. The 2" diameter hard rubber ball is hit, using only the hand, against a front wall and the opposing player has to hit it back against the wall before it bounces twice. The game is to 21. One can only score after winning the serve, as in volleyball.
After that it gets increasingly complex. To begin with, one needs to learn to use one's off hand as you can be sure the other player will try to avoid hitting the ball to your dominant hand. Hence the learning curve is long, arduous and, initially, humbling. The best athlete in the world will lose his first 50 games, probably more, to even old guy like me. Guaranteed. It takes 10-20 years for skills to peak, so you will always be getting better at the game.
In 3-wall game, such as is played at Belle Isle, the 3 walls are a front wall and two side walls. [Technically, as the ceiling is in play, it is also wall]. Other than on the serve, the ball may strike as many of those surfaces as possible in any order and will remain in play, as long as it hits the front wall somewhere along the line -- and doesn't bounce twice. On the serve it must hit the front wall first. In 3-wall there is no back wall, unlike indoor '4-wall' game. Instead there is a back line. If the ball hits the front wall and flies over the back line on the fly the opposing player wins a point or gains the serve, if on defense.
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