2019 HEAD UK-Racketball Series

The 2019 HEAD UK-Racketball Series

The UK-Racketball Series is entering into it’s 10th year in 2019.

In 2018 we tried to introduce some new parts to the Series. We trialled doubles at some of our events and created a points scoring system so that players at every event earned points towards a final series ranking and prize giving. The Series finals were another new addition and proved to be a great success. National Doubles and The Nottingham Open Singles running side by side in the last event! Stephen Widdison claimed the overall Series Title with 2855 points for a full break down of the finishing positions follow this link - http://www.uk-racketball.com/2018-series-rankings.html

This year we will once again keep the best from previous years and add to it with some new ideas, hopefully the 10th year will be the best yet! Doubles at events will be rolled out to incorporate all events and the point scoring system with series finals will remain. Most sponsors have pledged to continue their support for 2019 and we are on the look out for more to make the prizes even better.

New to 2019 we are renaming our events as Regional Championships. The Series this year is set to start on the 2nd of March. Instead of the Broxbourne Open it will be renamed the East of England Racketball Championship. The format will be the same but hopefully the new names will reflect the quality of the competition and the prestige of the event.

See below for information on how this years Series will run and for dates and venues.

2019 UK-Racketball Series - Dates and Venues

E1 - East of England Racketball Open - 2nd March - Broxbourne
E2 - North East of England Racketball Open - 13th April - Hallamshire
E3 - North West of England Racketball Open - 4th May - Bowdon
E4 - Inter-Counties - 8th/9th June - Nottingham
E5 - National Racketball/Squash57 - 6th/7th - Edgbaston Priory
E6 - London Racketball Open - 10th August - Bexley
E7 - West Midlands Racketball Open - 7th September - Leamington
E8 - South West of England Racketball Open - 28th September - Devon and Exeter
E9 - South East of England Racketball Open - 2nd November - Chichester
E10 - UK-Racketball Series Finals/National Doubles - 7th December - Nottingham

2019 HEAD UK-Racketball Series Information

Entries to be restricted to 60 per event
Entries will once again be restricted this year. I know that this will mean that at some events people will be disappointed about not being able to play but we feel that at some of the venues the events were simply to big to run as well as we would have liked.
We hope that this will help us to release the draws and schedules earlier and make the day run smoother.

UK-Racketball Series - Points Mean Prizes!

Points are earned from every event that you play. These are the same points as the National Rankings points but are accumulated over the course of the tournaments and start again from 0 the following year. If you play in 2 events then you can only earn points once. To have a look at last years Series final standings and the players to beat follow this link - http://www.uk-racketball.com/2018-series-rankings.html

Top End Racket - Free entry into Series next year - HEAD Bag- HEAD Shoes - zip top HEAD UK-Racketball Series Winner - wristbands - balls - string - grips
Top End Racket - Half Price entry into Series next year - zip top HEAD UK-Racketball Series Second Place - HEAD Rucksack - wristbands - balls - string - grips
Top End Racket - Half Price entry into Series next year - zip top HEAD UK-Racketball Series Third Place Finish - wristbands - balls - string - grips
HEAD Bag - Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series wristbands - balls - string - grips
HEAD Bag - Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series
HEAD Rucksack - Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series wristbands - balls - string - grips
HEAD Rucksack - Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series
Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series
Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series
Long Sleeve warmup top top 10 finisher HEAD UK-Racketball Series

UK-Racketball Series Shirts Now Optional
A small change for 2019 will be the cost of our tournament t-shirts. For a number of years we have managed to keep the cost of t-shirts to only £5.00 a shirt. Last years competitors might have realised that the shirts were costing far more than that to produce and print. We have taken the decision this year to pass on the cost to our participants and this is going to cost £8.50 per shirt. We have however decided to keep the shirt as an option, anyone who feels like they already have plenty of tournament shirts does not need to book one.

These shirts produced by IPro sports are very high quality, quick dry material with a sublimated print on both the front and the back. They are almost certainly the best value £8.50 shirts that you will ever purchase.

Membership
Join UK-Racketball as a member and play in all of our events (except Inter Counties) for a cost of only cost £80.00 for the year. For more information regarding membership follow this link - http://www.uk-racketball.com/series-membership.html

Membership Benefits
You can enter all 10 events for FREE including the Racketball/ Squash57 Nationals at Edgbaston Priory in July and the UK-Racketball Series Finals and National Racketball/ Squash57 Doubles at Nottingham in December.
You will receive a free UK-Racketball Series shirt and a UK-Racketball Nationals shirt.

How much does membership save me???
When deciding on whether you want to become a member or not the important thing to consider is how many events you are likely to play. If you entered all 9 singles events, the Nationals and National doubles this would cost £165.00 to purchase your t-shirt for the Series this will be an additional £7.80, the total comes to £172.80. If you are planning to play 50% of the events this year joining as a member will be very good value. If you are planning to play more than 50% becoming a member will be very, very good value.

Don’t forget to email through your entry
If you are a member of UK-Racketball and would like to play in an event don’t forget to email us early to reserve your space. As we are now restricting entries it is important to do this as soon as you are aware that you will be playing in an event. All entries will be done on a first come, first served basis.

Entry List, Draws and Schedules Release Dates

This is another major change but something that we hope will make the event run smoother.

Friday – 8 days before the event - All events will close on midnight the Friday before the event so almost exactly a week before the event.

Sunday – 6 days before the event - An entry list will be released on www.uk-racketball.com on the Monday before the event. If you have entered the event then please check on the Monday that your entry has been received and that you are on the list. If you should be on the list but are not then please email Mark Fuller [email protected] as soon as possible.

Tuesday – 4 days before the event – Draws and Schedules will be released on www.uk-racketball.com

Tournament Rules
Register at least 15 minutes before your scheduled match time.

Winners referee the next match on the court they have just finished on.
You must be ready to referee by the time that the next players have finished knocking up, if not then the UK-Racketball forfeit comes into effect and you will have to referee the next 3 matches on that court.
When refereeing please write the name of both opponents and the grade on the score sheet.

All matches are best of 3 games, unless best of 5 is indicted. Tiebreak at 10-10 with the game going to the first player to be 2 points clear.

Spirit of the UK-Racketball Series – All our events are competitive but they are also fun. Lets should be lenient, strokes only rarely given.

Grades

It is important to remember that UK-Racketball Series events are designed to be inclusive. Although the A grade does attract the best racketball players in the country the events really are for players of all ages and abilities. We have never had a competitor who felt they were not good enough for an event in which they have taken part.

A Grade – County, national or good club player
B Grade – Regular club player
Women’s – All ages and abilities, these events have a great range of players which makes for a fun and competitive day.
Over 40’s – For players over the age of 40
Over 50’s - For players over the age of 50
Over 60’s – For players over the age of 60
Beginner – This is for players who have recently started racketball. Players who have previously played squash to a high level and have now started playing racketball may be better off in the A or B grade. To maintain a fun atmosphere for this grade, only trophies will be awarded to the winners however there will also be a reduced entry fee of just £10.

If you are unsure which category to enter please feel free to contact Mark Fuller directly on 07846 067505 or email us at [email protected] we will be happy to advise you.

If entries to a category are not sufficient grades may be merged, however all participants will always be informed in advance and will have a choice if they would still like to play, this has never happened in the last three years.