Posts filed under 'Racquetball Photos'
I finally got a chance to spend some time taking racquetball photos at the 2009 Sunset Athletic Club Turkey Shoot Pro-Am this past weekend! Felt good to be back in the “Double Donut Dog House” (check out the area behind the front wall window if you get a chance), and I ended up with ~1000 shots or so. This turned out to be a GREAT event with several of the top pros, and I look forward to seeing what Paul Maduell can put together for next year. Oregon would be the perfect spot for an IRT Tier 1, so I’ll definitely keep my fingers crossed. Best photo courts I’ve shot on (*slight* exception to the IRT portable court), bar none!!
Photo Gallery – 2009 Turkey Shoot Pro/Am
November 23rd, 2009
by Geoff Thomsen
In case you didn’t notice, the Double Donut Photo Gallery is now back online. For some reason, my web host www.1and1.com likes to strip some important PHP information out of particular file every month or so. Unfortunately, I this causes my galleries to crash. I then have to go lookup what the code is from their hosting FAQs, download the file, edit, and upload. So annoying. I also don’t always notice when the galleries go down right away, so feel free to send me a note if you notice some weirdness.
August 26th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Russ Mannino was kind enough to share some his Racquetball Trading Cards. He was even kind enough to share them 6 times 
I really dig old school racquetball memorabilia, and think cards like these would be a great addition to the USA Racquetball Museum. Based on the description below, I’m not sure whether these are for sale through Russ’ online store, or if he is just showing off some cool stuff from his collection.
COLLECTIBLE RACQUETBALL TRADING CARDS
Some of your favorite players before they became famous. This limited edition was printed in 1992 and only forty eight of each player were made.
Ruben Gonzalez…..Sudsy Monchik…..Jason Mannino…..Malia Bailey…..
Chris Cole…..Elkova Icenogle…..Eric Storey…..John Ellis…..Kaye Kuhfeld
Tim Sweeney…..James Floyd…..James Mulcock…..
PLUS, OLYMPIC TEAMS THAT INCLUDE, Allen Engel, Heather Dunn, Sudsy Monchik, James Mulcock,
Rusty and Elkova Icenogle, Eric Muller, Doug Ganim, Tim Sweeney, Chris Cole, Malia Bailey, Jackie Paraiso, Mike Bronfield, Robin Levine and Michelle Gould.
www.racquetballgalaxy.com
August 26th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
The uploading of photos from the 2008 USA Racquetball National Singles Championships is underway! I’ve got photos up from the Men’s final featuring Rocky Carson and Jack Huczek, as well as the Women’s Semifinal with Kristen Bellows and Rhonda Rajsich (get well, Rhonda!). I’ll keep adding photos over the next several days, and you can either periodically check back at www.doubledonut.com, subscribe to my feed, or follow my updates on Twitter to know when new photos have landed.
The latest updates are in the 2008 National Singles Photo Gallery.
There were also a few other photographers in Houston taking photos. Julian Gomez, from 801Creative in Salt Lake City, was helping me with USA Racquetball duties, and Adam (Aaron?) Clark, a local player from Houston, was sharpening his skills with his new camera. I’ll be in contact with Julian to see if he intends to post anything online, and Adam has already added some photos to the Racquetball Group on Flickr. As always, the photo situation on the courts at the Houston YMCA is VERY challenging, with low light, dots on the glass, and lights that cycle resulting in color shifts in all the photos (not to mention that racquetball is one of the hardest sports to shoot!). Hats off to anyone who gets decent shots (of which Adam and Julian both accomplished!!).
If anyone else at the event has pictures you’d like to share, I’d HIGHLY recommend posting them to www.Flickr.com, and then adding them to the Racquetball Group on Flickr. In fact, I’d recommend adding ANY racquetball photos to that group so the world can see!!
June 11th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Through some discussions with Mike Boatman, I learned that the IRT was distributing IRT Pro Player Trading Cards at the 2008 IRT Pro Nationals in Chicago! It looks like the top 10 players were included, but it’s not clear if they are intended to be for the 2007-2008 season or if they are more of a “one time thing”. These cards will apparently be sold through the IRT Store, however they weren’t listed on the site at the time of this post. I’m very curious to see the details (like cost and how many are available), so if anyone has an inside line, please comment below! I was able to get some proofs, and here they are:
May 30th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Just getting underway chugging through the ~3,200 photos (hmm, am I slacking this year?) from the 2008 USA Racquetball National Singles Championships. Rather than take forever to process all the shots and then post in a big batch, I’ve decided to post them as they come. To kick things off, I’d like to introduce Ruben Gonzales and Thomas Fuhrmann in the Men’s US Team Qualifier, round of 32.
Racquetball Photo Gallery: 2008 National Singles
Racquetball Photo Gallery: M32 – Fuhrmann def. Gonzales (13, -7, 9)
May 28th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Eketelon and Head both had their new racquet for the 2008-2009 season on display today. Ektelon had the new Ektelon O3 Speedport RED/CAMO on display, which is a 170g frame available in two color schemes – Either a silver/red or a camo/black special edition. The graphics/paint on both looked great! The camo was a GREAT call, I’m sure that racquet will be in HIGH demand (note to all Team Ektelon players, GET YOUR ORDERS IN EARLY 
). The ports now mimic the square versions seen on the Prince tennis frames, and the frame is tapered down at end similar to the Ektelon O3 Red of yore. www.ektelon.com
Head introduced th “AMP SERIES”, with the Head AMP 175, Head AMP 185, and Head AMP 195. The frames had a big “port” in the lower throat, and felt amazingly similar to the IGS series of a few years back (by the shape of the frame and weight in the hand). If these play anything like my beloved Head 175 IGS, I may have my racquet for the 2008 – 2009 season. www.head.com
May 22nd, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Matches really started going off today at the 2008 USA Racquetball National Singles Champs. The village is bustling with activity as people check-in for matches, look over the auction items, and visit the vendors to check out the newest swag.
May 22nd, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Although Double Donut Studios did not attend the 2008 IRT Pro National Racquetball Championships, veteran racquetball photographer Mike Boatman was onsite. Besides being all all-around great guy and talented racquetball photographer, Mike is an accomplished national photographer based out of Memphis, TN. Here are a few “teasers” – head over to the galleries for the complete 145 photo set.
**** All photos Copyright 2008 Mike Boatman – www.MikeBoatman.com. ***** (please contact Mike Boatman directly for licensing inquiries)
May 11th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
I was able to spend a few hours last weekend at the 2008 USA Racquetball NW Regional Championships at Cascade Athletic Club in Gresham, OR. This was a huge event, featuring over 250 participants from around the Pacific Northwest. The only regional qualifier larger in size was the 2008 IRT Pro Nationals with 305 entrants, which was also a regional qualifier for the Chicago area. There were well over 50 people in just the men’s pro division, and MANY people who flew in from around the US to participate – which, in my opinion, really goes to show just how big the event in Oregon was.
Rocky Carson made a guest appearance on Saturday of the event, to do a pro clinic followed by a few “play the pro” matches. The crowd seemed to be very impressed that the current #1 pro in the world was there to share some racquetball insight.
Be sure to check the galleries for shots of the following players: Jimmy Lowe, Chad Westwood, Taylor Knoth, Dan Darling, Dave Azuma, Grant Stalley, David Laforest, Joey Lakowske, Jeremy White
April 27th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Shawn Royster takes a moment to pose for a shot at the 2008 US OPEN Racquetball Championships:
Shawn is an avid racquetball enthusiast, and also heads up Royster Productions – who is responsible for the majority of racquetball related video coverage around today. He produces the US OPEN broadcasts for The Tennis Channel, DVDs for USA Racquetball, and a variety of other content for Ektelon, World Outdoor Racquetball, and others. When not filming on the court, Shawn is busy with everything from music videos to event hosting (speaking of which, you can check him out MC’ing the USA Racquetball banquet in Houston this year).
February 27th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
Sunset Athletic Club, located in Portland, OR, hosted the grand opening of their stadium court expansion last night. To help kick things off, Shane Vanderson and Jason Thoerner were on hand for an exhibition match and “play the pro”. Also thanks to Mitch Williams for attending (and reffing), who made the trip despite being a little under the weather. We also got a special visit from some of the USA Racquetball staff, who are in town for this weekend’s USAR High School Nationals event.
Paul Maduell, the club’s racquetball director, ensured fun was had by all with free give-aways and refreshments courtesy of Widmer Brothers Brewing Company.
The new courts are SPECTACULAR, with tons of room for viewing matches, movable back walls to convert for squash, and my favorite – photos windows in both front walls! IMO, this will be THE premiere club in the Northwest for hosting big events (now all we need is some prize money for the IRT or WPRO!!).
If you’re ever in town, you’ll also want to take a look at the expansion’s featured artwork – Courtesy of Double Donut Studios! A few of featured photos were blown up to ~8′x8′ and mounted on the walls above the viewing area.
Check out the gallery for all the pics ..
February 26th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
After chugging along, piece by piece, for the last two months – THE PHOTOS ARE READY!!
I’ve got the match galleries completed, and will now work on the “side” photos as time permits. I’ve got some cool shots of the venue, some back stage stuff, as well as some perspectives on the stadium court / players’ village. No guarantees about timelines – all I can say is that more stuff *may* be posted time permitting.
All of you who have been patiently waiting for “special” photos I promised during the event, I am now chugging back through email to make sure everyone gets what they need.
Without further ado, 2007 US OPEN GALLERIES
January 20th, 2008
by Geoff Thomsen
After a long, long, long wait .. the photos from the 2007 National Doubles Championships are FINALLY online. I had some major stuff hit my schedule recently, and unfortunately, updating double donut fell to the bottom of the list. Things are slowing coming around, and I should have more content on here shortly.
Up next: 2007 Portland Open Turkey Shoot Racquetball Championships
Up after that: 2007 US OPEN Racquetball Championships
For now: Gallery – 2007 National Doubles Racquetball Championships
December 11th, 2007
by Geoff Thomsen
Kane Waselenchuk joins Shawn Royster and Woody Clouse behind the Tennis Channel announcers’ table at the 2007 US OPEN Racquetball Championships:
November 17th, 2007
by Geoff Thomsen
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