Following its August preview in Illinois, the IRT's new exhibition court underwent an 8-week shakedown, under the direction of USA Racquetball National Tournament Supervisor & Director of Club Programs Eddie Meredith. Throughout February and March, the court was constructed in the footprint of an indoor tennis court at the Lynmar Tennis & Racquet Club in Colorado Springs, where it received a thorough pre-launch inspection.

Designed by architect Devin Cannady and financed by Leo & Sue Klimaitis and Pat & Mary Taylor, the new court is constructed entirely of Lucite, for optimum viewing. Another advantage is greater ease and speed in the setup and teardown of the court, making it simpler to bring racquetball to the masses in shopping malls, stadiums and high-traffic public areas. [ more ]

The engineering marvel will be put to its final play-test at the Motorola IRT Pro Nationals grand slam event in Chicago, April 23-27. The 2008 Motorola Pro National Racquetball Championships is backed by renewed sponsorship support from Motorola and Verizon Wireless, and will be held at Schaumburg Tennis Plus, which is owned and operated by the Schaumburg Park District. 

The event plans a Rock-n Roll theme and will include a new IRT Pro Doubles and a CPRT division, along with a charity doubles fundraiser to benefit a local chapter of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. IRT Commissioner Dave Negrete also reports that the semi-finals and finals will air live at www.espn360.com as well as being broadcast on ESPN Classic. Find out more >>