2020 HEAD UK-Racketball Series

The 2020 HEAD UK-Racketball Series

The UK-Racketball Series is entering into it’s 11th year in 2020 and has run 82 events since it's founding in 2010.

2019 was an incredibly successful year for the UK-Racketball Series. This year will run at exactly the same venues and on the same Saturdays. This will be the first time ever that we have managed to keep full continuity for the tour and shows the strength of the sport that no clubs wanted to leave.

The Series will run on the same format. Eight one day regional events taking place throughout England. The flagship Racketball event of the year the National Racketball Championships taking place once again at it's traditional home at Edgbaston Priory. Inter County Racketball to run over one weekend in Nottingham and encompass Open, Over 50's and Women's. The Series will culminate in the finals at Nottingham on the 5th of December with both the East Midlands Regional Singles and National Racketball Doubles taking place on the same day.

Performances at events will once again count towards both the National Racketball Rankings and the UK-Racketball Series Rankings. 2019 was the closest end to a Series that we have ever had with only 110 points separating the top three. Ian Graham came out on top with 1905 points to secure his place among UK-Racketball Series Champions.

NEW TO 2020 we are introducing an Over 70's category to the Series. It's been 8 years since we introduced an Over 60's category which has now become our most popular category. Demands for an Over 70's were becoming deafening from the Over 60's. This is another positive step forward for the game.

Most sponsors have pledged to continue their support for 2020 and we are on the look out for more to make the prizes even better.

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

2020 UK-Racketball Series - Dates and Venues

East of England Racketball Open – 29th February – Broxbourne
North East Racketball Open – 18th April – Hallamshire
North West Racketball Open – 16th May – Bowdon
Inter-County Championships – 6th/7th June – Nottingham
Racketball/Squash57 Nationals – 10th/12th July – Edgbaston Priory
London Racketball Open – 8th August – Bexley
West of England Racketball Open – 5th September – Leamington
South West Racketball Open – 26th September – Devon and Exeter
South of England Racketball Open – 31st October – Chichester
UK-Racketball Series Finals – 5th December – Nottingham

2020 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/2019-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 Optional
Tournament shirts are optional so 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 - £80 for entry into all UK-Racketball Series Events
The membership price for 2020 has remained the same as in 2019 at £80.00. Last year we had a record number of Series Members with 30 signing up! Join UK-Racketball as a member and play in all of our events (except Inter Counties) entries are simple to make with just a quick email. 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 £8.50, the total comes to £173.50. 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. Remember that entries for one event only open when the previous event has closed.

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
Over 70's - For players over the age of 70 (this is new to 2020)

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.