Rick Simeon et Jan MAcko, joueurs de Deerfield Beach, finalistes en double paddle
Article publié sur le site de
IFBTUSA
IFBT-USA’s Oktoberfast Beach Tennis Tournament was
a great
success! This was the first IFBT event to be held in the USA,
with a full tour on the way. Some of the best teams in the
world
participated over the weekend of Oct 24-25, with 6 different
categories. The World Cup event included representation from
Puerto Rico, Italy, France, Peru, Ecuador, Czech Republic,
Columbia, Venezuela, Germany and the USA.
During the event, athletes from all over the world took part
in
the extreme action sport which is known to combine the sports
of Tennis, Volleyball and Badminton into one. The excitement
took place on standard sized Beach Volleyball courts,
measuring 8x16 meters, with the net set at the height of five
5’
7”. Slightly depressurized tennis balls and beach
tennis
rackets (or paddles) made out of graphite were used. The
players battled it out from sunrise to sunset participating
in
various categories that were offered such as a similar
version
of Beach Tennis that is played with a regular tennis racket.
However, for this version, the net was raised to 5’10. The
rules
remained the same in all categories offered, which included:
1
set match with 7 game set, tennis scoring (15, 30, 40…) but
no
ad on deuce, the ball cannot bounce on the sand, only one
serve allowed and lets always count, therefore if the ball
touched the net on a serve- they played it out!
Prior to the event, Instructor Certifications were given by
Gianni Bellettini, President of the IFBT and creator of the
sport
Beach Tennis. Amongst those certified to teach Beach Tennis
in the USA were: Adrienne Cerra, President of IFBT-USA, Rick
Simeon, VP of IFBT-USA and Beach Tennis Gold Medalist
World Champ, Miguel A. Hernandez Zapata, President of Beach
Tennis Puerto Rico, Nidia Ramirez, Dania/Hollywood Beach
Representative, and Johnny Lafontante, Fitness Instructor and
Beach Tennis Representative.
The weekend commenced with morning rain on Saturday, and
then quickly cleared to become a beautiful, sunny weekend
with temperatures in the 90’s. The level of play was
excellent as
the players competed for ranking points, cash and prizes. In
addition, during the event, IFBT-USA raised funds to support
the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure of Breast Cancer
and also sent out a special thank you to the City of
Deerfield
Beach, all the foreign teams who traveled to participate and
all
the sponsors who helped make the event possible.
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