I AM thrilled to say that Tryout Tuesdays are back! Since taking on this job in March last year, I’ve had the immense privilege to see just how great Jersey’s sporting community truly is, so what better way to immerse yourself further than by getting stuck in and giving everything a go.
A lot has changed in this series’ hiatus, and I am excited to get out there and experience these sports for myself. I’ve been involved with and competing in local sport pretty much my entire life, so this really is a passion project to bring this series back and I plan on leaving no stone unturned in my quest to try every available sport the Island has to offer, starting with racketball.
Let’s learn a bit more about the sport
Racket sports are taking over Jersey’s sporting landscape at the moment, with many of these games experiencing immense growth recently. Padel courts are consistently fully booked, pickleball is surging in popularity and squash is acquiring new members at a rapid rate.
Although racketball doesn’t hog the limelight, it’s grown to become one of the Island’s most popular racket sports, with the Fairway Racketball League drawing up to 70 players throughout their winter sessions.
There are 55 players battling it out across seven divisions in the current session, and it only looks to get more action-packed going forward.
Racketball offers a more accessible, beginner-friendly option opposed to the high-speed game of squash, as Racketball Ouest League Organiser, Gordon Burgis, detailed the game’s benefits.
“Racketball is a very fun and easy game to play,” said Burgis, “especially for beginners, as it’s played on a squash court with a bigger racket and bouncier ball, allowing just a bit more room for error.
“With the bouncier ball, rallies can go on and on, making for an exciting match as well as a great workout. A normal game can take up to 45 minutes, so it’s great for cardio and generally good for the body as a whole, because you’re constantly on the move to keep rallies going.
“It matches any racket sport, but what you find with racketball is it’s a very easy game to pick up. For the amount of time you put in, you get a lot of benefit from it.
“Racketball is very inclusive, our league is mixed and is truly open to all, with players from 15 years of age all the way to 80. There’s a lot of older squash players who have had injuries and didn’t think they’d be able to return to court, but racketball has allowed them to keep playing.”
Moulded from the roots of the USA’s racquetball, Ian D.W. Wright created the game we know now as racketball, which brought with it some key differences.
In the British version of the sport, the ball is smaller, denser and less bouncy, played on the substantially shorter and wider dimensions of a squash court, and contact with the ceiling is out of bounds.
The sport has grown substantially over the years to now be played across the globe, especially where squash is played. Nations include Australia, Bermuda, France, Germany, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Ireland, Sweden and parts of North America, showing its international reach and appeal.
That growth has seemingly rubbed off on Jersey, as Burgis continued: “We run a league at Les Quennevais, which is very popular. We started with about 15 people at the very start, which was 13-14 years ago, and we’ve grown a lot. Last year, we had 87 people playing within the league.
“We’re going for the magic 100, and the Jersey Squash and Racketball Club are building great squash and racketball leagues as well as doing a lot for junior squash development, which is fantastic.”
The racketball league set-up is in good hands. Burgis carries a huge amount of passion for the game, stemming from his own experience.
“I played squash for many years,” Burgis reminisced. “I’ve been a member of the squash club for nearly 45 years I think. At one point, I was dealing with a severe knee injury and I was really struggling with squash, and that’s when Nick Taylor – who was the squash and racketball development officer at the time – suggested giving racketball a go.
“At first, I wasn’t really too up for giving racketball a go, but my wife, Elaine, had started having a few games and was really enjoying it, so I played a match with her and it was almost a revelation. It was amazing! I was able to play on court with my injury and I could manage it while playing three or four times a week.
“I love the competitive aspect, I’ve been competitive in every sport I’ve ever done. It’s great to have a good run and workout for 45 minutes, as well as having that sense of competition which keeps me coming back.
“Aside from playing, I’ve also taken my level one and two coaching diplomas, so I do enjoy showing people the game, especially beginners and intermediate players. I love helping them with their game, allowing players to enjoy racketball more, get better and understand the rules more.”
Racketball also has a social side, with the league set-up meaning that players have to contact each other individually to set up matches, helping “build friendships”.
This sport looks as if it has all the tools to continue growing and propel itself to a new level of popularity, but more courts are needed to ensure this, with the loss of Fort Regent’s facilities clearly being felt.
Former Jersey Squash and Racketball president Andrew Lewis described the proposals to open up more facilities: “Ideally, we’d like two additional courts here at Les Quennevais, as well as a new racket sport centre elsewhere, which is modern and easy to teach in. Our current facility is three different buildings, which is hard to manage from a safeguarding perspective.
“We’d like the site to not just be for racket sports, as with moveable walls we want it to be a multi-purpose facility, so that it can be used at all times. We are prepared to raise some of the funds for this, but we need government support in terms of the vision for the location, which they have indicated they have.
“The sport is now struggling as it grows, because we’ve lost public courts. These new facilities will raise the bar of the talent we can develop, as well as greatly affecting our tourism and economy through being able to host more events throughout the year.”
My turn to give it a go
Since working with Mr Burgis on several projects over the course of my tenure at the Jersey Evening Post, one thing I know is that he doesn’t do things by halves. So I wasn’t at all surprised to see a grand roster of players ready to welcome me when I arrived at Les Quennevais’ courts.
To say I was excited would be an understatement, as I had caught the competitive bug of the sport through completing a small taster session a couple weeks before.
Through picking up the techniques bit by bit, improving form and engaging in longer rallies, the improvement I made in such a short space of time almost wowed me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not as if I’ll be knocking on the professional circuit any time soon, but it’s fair to say I was hooked.
So, with my new-found love for the game, I was keen to prove that I could not just play, but compete with these guys. After brushing off a little rust through not playing for a couple of weeks, I was back into competitive mode. First up on the list of challenges, after a little warm-up, was a doubles contest, where I played alongside Andrew Lewis, Ayite Ajavon and Guido Riva in an intense affair.
After each side, consisting of two players, nominates its servers, then the order can be decided. It starts with the server, then receiver, then server’s partner and then receiver’s partner, following that loop until the point is won.
There was some confusion and a fair few mix-ups at the beginning, but we all managed to find our feet rather quickly. However, playing rallies was a different story, as the other three’s superior experience was fully exhibited, showing that there are levels to this game.
Despite realising that my youth didn’t really give me any sort of upper hand, I dug deep and tried to lock in on the rallies.
I have to be honest, I must have looked a bit frantic out on the court as I was sprinting everywhere to get the ball back. It really was a workout! However, the more I played the more comfortable I got on the court, allowing me to surprise myself with some good shots.
What surprised me the most was how supportive the other players were, especially knowing that I was a beginner. They were happy to make any helpful suggestions they could, all of which incredibly constructive, allowing me to improve as I went.
All of that was a bit of a practice round for the main event. With JEP’s legendary photographer Dave Ferguson on-site, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to face him for the title of the office’s best racketball player.
I was confident in myself after playing some okay racketball, up to that point, but knowing Dave had a background in squash put me on high alert. This wasn’t going to be easy.
It would have been silly to underestimate him, as the match was a thriller. We went point-for-point, trading big shots to see us go all level at 10-10, meaning that the winner must win by two points.
There was no end in sight. First Dave would go ahead, then I’d pull something out of the bag to draw level, before then gaining an upper hand of my own. Although I thought the serve would see me victorious, Dave wasn’t finished as he smashed a huge shot to make it level again.
That gave my adversary a second wind, as he went ahead before then finding that all-important second point to seal the match after an entertaining final rally.
He might be the JEP’s top racketball player, for now, but with the positive experience leading both of us to join the league, it’s only a matter of time before part two is upon us.
If you’d like to give this exciting sport a go, then please send an email to racketballo@gmail.com, where you can organise a taster session or go straight into the league.
