JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - A team of racquetball players who practice and train at the Fitness Center on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall recently returned victorious from the National Masters Racquetball Association (NMRA) International Tournament 2014.
The NMRA is a not-for-profit organization of male and female racquetball players between the ages of 45 and 90. Each year, the organization holds a national and international tournament. Held July 16-19 at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., the round-robin international tournament hosted teams from Japan, Guatemala, Canada and the United States.
Teams were split into two divisions and after playing all other teams in their respective divisions, the teams' total points were tallied to determine winners. All matches are self-refereed by the players and depend entirely on the players' integrity and sportsmanship, according to the NMRA website.
Fort Myer's 18 team members emerged from the tournament with a fair amount of hardware.
In doubles competition, Fort Myer players took home five gold medals, three silver medals, four bronze medals and two fourth-place medals. In singles competition, the team won two gold medals, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
Leon Jackson, a Fort Myer team member and the secretary of the NMRA, has been a member of the NMRA for seven years.
"The biggest takeaway from the tournament is a shared sense of communal pride in knowing that we all trained hard together and against each other to the betterment of all," he wrote in an email to the Pentagram.
Fort Myer players competed in singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches and frequently ended up in heated competitions against other pairs of their own teammates, Jackson said.
To prepare for the tournament, the team practiced regularly and held a mock tournament with the team's coach, retired Air Force Maj. Curtis Alatorre-Martin.
Players who train at the Fort Myer Fitness Center have been a part of the NMRA for nine years, said Jackson.
Fort Myer's medal winners include:
1. Lars Cole and Kelly Goddard: Gold in Mixed Doubles (45+)
2. Leon Jackson and Scott Kramer: Gold in Men's Doubles (50+)
3. Gladys Leonard and Sallie Bennedict: Gold in Women's Doubles (50+)
4. Carmen Alatorre-Martin and Patrick Gibson: Gold in Mixed Doubles (55+)
5. Tyrone Gilmore and Jon Barlow: Gold in Men's Doubles (55+)
6. Mark Baron and Steve Conn: Gold in Men's Doubles (60+)
7. Carolyn Hollis: Gold in Women's Singles (50+)
8. Scott and Gladys: Silver in Mixed Doubles (50+)
9. Patrick and John Winnings: Silver in Men's Doubles (50+)
10. Sallie and Mark Baron: Silver in Mixed Doubles (55+)
11. Dave Kovanda and Frank Taddonio: Silver in Men's Doubles (60+)
12. Frank Taddonio: Silver in Men's Singles (60+)
13. James Weathers and Roger Rossi: Silver in Men's Doubles (65+)
14. Wayne Toyne and Price Thomas: Bronze in Men's Doubles (70+)
15. James Weathers: Bronze in Men's Singles (65+)
16. Steve Conn: Bronze in Men's Singles (60+)
17. Lars Cole and Tyrone Gilmore: Fourth place in Men's Doubles (50+)
18. Roy Hare and Carolyn Hollis: Fourth place in Mixed Doubles (50+)
For more information about the NMRA, visit www.nmra.info.
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