photos - Military Racquetball Federation

PRESS RELEASE: 21 FEB 2013
THE MILITARY RACQUETBALL FEDERATION ANNOUCES BRAD BULECHEK (US ARMY) CHAMPION OF THE
INAGURAL RRC TEAM CHALLENGE
15 FEB 2013, Tempe, AZ: In conjunction with the USA Racquetball National Doubles Racquetball
Championships the Military Racquetball Federation (MRF) hosted their first Racquetball Rehabilitation
Clinic (RRC) Challenge, in which 11 disabled service members and wounded warriors, from three
surrounding southwest areas. Teams from San Diego, CA, San Antonio, TX, and Prescott, AZ came to
compete in a regional tournament. These brave service members recently completed an 8 week RRC
program where they learned the basic fundamentals of racquetball and now had the chance to bring
their skills to compete against fellow graduates. The event was a huge success not only for the
competing players but for those who were exposed to and intermingled with the service members.
Because of this tournament the MRF was able to raise the awareness of what service members have to
endure when they return home from the battlefield. This effort was possible thanks to the team that
put all this together: Steven Harper, Jack Hughes, Terry Rogers, Darold Key, and Jerry Northwood. Their
countless hours of working with USA Racquetball to secure a portion of the court time for a two day
period gave these service members the opportunity to play several matches in a pool play format. At
the conclusion of the competition, Brad Bulechek (US Army) of Prescott AZ, was crowned the 2013
champion. He just completed the 8 week clinic program and will be transferring to the Flagstaff area to
reside. Brad said having this competition was great and he really can see a difference in his overall
outlook on life because of his completion of the RRC program. These efforts were brought to the
attention of Neil Keene of Ability Dynamics (a local Arizona prosthetics manufacturing company) who
secured two major TV stations to capture and air segments of the competition on both “Good Morning
Arizona” News Channel 3 and KSAZ Fox News 10.
The MRF solidified a strong partnership with USA Racquetball by meeting and discussing further goals
with the Executive Director, Mr. Steve Czarnecki. Our visions are the same, to promote the sport of
racquetball while using it as a new form of rehabilitation for those service members returning home
from war. Throughout the weekend, there were some true heroes who shared their personal stories
with the audience. One soldier shared, “racquetball saved my life by allowing me to release pent up
anger and frustration”. While another service member proclaimed that “racquetball brought me and
my wife closer together. My wife is supporting what I’m doing and can see an improvement in my
attitude and outlook on life.”
Thanks to our sponsors; RacquetWorld, E-Force, Ektelon, and the USOC for their financial support to
make these clinics possible. If you are interested in supporting the MRF and disabled service members,
please contact us at (www.militaryracquetball.com) for more detailed information on how you might be
able to assist in your local area.