News: Gold Racquetball - Week 4
| Date Published |
Author |
| 2/18/2026 12:00:00 AM |
Zeke Churchill |
Ever since the National Association of Racquetball Development gained notoriety in the late 1800’s, the game's chokehold on American culture has been nothing less than extraordinary. NARD helped the game quickly become a national pastime by focusing on education in local schools, and the association found its first superstar in String Swingman, who won his first national final after a 36 hour set game against Anton Von Splatshot. Swingman began touring nationally with NARD and his game and fame only grew and soon he was a household name, further catapulting the sport into the national spotlight and into the hearts of millions. Swingman’s fame, of course, is how we come by the iconic term “swinging string” to refer to a racquetball match. Some of America’s leading cultural figures have endorsed the sport of racquetball, including actor Don Cheadle, popcorn mogul Orville Redenbacher, and even 38th president of the United States Gerald Ford, who said in an early career interview with Lifestyle Magazine “Only really cool people play racquetball in Seward Alaska’s Gold League”
On Monday we had two games rescheduled: Fred v Brad and Jamie v Francisco both pending makeup matches. One game was played earlier in the week; Doyle beating Izzy in two games, and one game occurring during league play. All standings are representative only of games played. Let’s dive in.
Match 1: Mel v Zeke
When I first started working at Sports and Rec there was a palpable excitement surrounding the local racquetball community, a couple of employees stood out amongst the crowd. No one wanted to challenge Mel, not only was she our boss but she is known for being fearsome in the cube. When I saw our names matched up I felt fear in my heart but I also saw an opportunity; if I couldn’t rise through the ranks of Seward Parks and Recreation through dedication and hard work, perhaps I could ascend through a medieval style trial by combat.
A handshake before the match seals the deal and I wonder if Mel knows what she has just agreed to. Game one begins with a flurry of soft passes to test the armor of each player. Mel’s style gives her an edge when it comes to placement and the serve trades hands multiple times. I eventually take a small lead but not for long as Mel comes roaring back. A couple of well placed ceiling shots give Mel a lengthy run in the service box. I am able to eventually pull away and take game one 15-8.
Game two begins, and I sink into my serve. My killshot also comes online and I successfully place my first ever league match rollout on the back wall! Aren’t you all so proud of how far I’ve come? Anyways Mel battles hard and continually takes me off of my center court line, but it’s not quite enough and I pull game two out by a margin of 15-4.
The league win means a lot to me, but much more life altering is the realization that I am now the director of the city of Seward's Parks and Recreation department. My first order of business is to task Mel to do these writeups for the remainder of the season.
Below are your standings after 4 weeks of play, as well as the matchups and times for week 5. Thank you all for your blistering competition, I can’t wait to swing string with you soon.
| Standings W4 |
| Place |
Player |
Wins-Losses |
GW |
Point Differential APG |
| 1 |
Brad |
3-0 |
6-0 |
9.8 |
| 2 |
Jamie |
3-0 |
6-2 |
3.3 |
| 3 |
Zeke |
3-1 |
6-2 |
7.3 |
| 4 |
Doyle |
2-2 |
4-5 |
-3.2 |
| 5 |
Fred |
1-2 |
4-4 |
0.6 |
| 6 |
Izzy |
0-3 |
1-6 |
-6.4 |
| 7 |
Mel |
0-3 |
0-6 |
-9 |
| 8 |
Francisco |
0-1 |
0-2 |
-10 |
| Game |
Date |
Times |
Location |
Visiting Team |
Home Team |
|
| 17 |
Monday February 23, 2026 |
5:00 PM - 5:45 PM |
AVTEC Gym - Racquetball Court |
Fred |
Francisco |
Edit Teams |
| 18 |
Monday February 23, 2026 |
5:45 PM - 6:30 PM |
AVTEC Gym - Racquetball Court |
Doyle |
Jamie |
Edit Teams |
| 19 |
Monday February 23, 2026 |
6:30 PM - 7:15 PM |
AVTEC Gym - Racquetball Court |
Brad |
Zeke |
Edit Teams |
| 20 |
Monday February 23, 2026 |
7:15 PM - 8:00 PM |
AVTEC Gym - Racquetball Court |
Melanie |
Isaiah |
Edit Teams |