| Ektelon Donates Portable Outdoor Court To The Military Racquetball Federation (MRF) First usage at MCRD-USO Family Day Event |
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on photo to see slideshow from the eventMRF-EKTELON portable court a hit at Marine Family Day
Saturday July 25th, 2009 - Military Racquetball Federation (MRF) and the USO joined together for its first ever Outdoor Racquetball demonstration at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot (MCRD) in San Diego, CA. The USO hosted a one-day Family Day by the Bay for 300 some military family members, where they enjoyed a day of entertainment of local bands, picnic activities, water sports, and an outdoor racquetball demonstration. MRF Co-Founders Steven Harper and Peggine Tellez, and Jack Hughes (MRF's National Program Director) along with several other racquetball players demonstrated the sport of racquetball in front of service members and their families.
This idea came together on hosting an outdoor exhibition 5 weeks prior to the event, when Steven Harper (LCDR, Ret) was introduced to Mr. Bobby Woods on the possibilities of working side-by-side with the USO. The idea became a reality when Ektelon donated a portable outdoor court to MRF. The Director of San Diego Downtown Center USO, Ms. Sara Pagano worked diligently to ensure all logistical matters were approved by the base Commander to host this type of event.
Over 60 family members and guests signed up and got on the court to hit the ball around and understand the fundamentals of the game. Peggine said, "This is what growing the sport is all about." Jack Hughes promoted the sport by displaying several demo-racquets for families to try and he answered related racquetball questions. Jack stated also, "having an event like this is best way that racquetball is going to grow." MRF's aim is to grow and promote the sport by bringing the sport of racquetball to military family members, here state-side and abroad. Steven concluded that, "the only way we will grow the sport is to invest in the future, that's why we are in this business."
The one-day exhibition was a huge success. MRF received many accolades for their efforts by the base and the USO. There will definitely be more activities of this nature, where outdoor exhibition will be placed on military bases for new-comers to give the sport of racquetball a try.
