Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 10/23/17- The World Players of Handball are thrilled to present the 2017 Tucson Memorial/Race 4 Eight 7 Stop #2, benefitting JR WPH. The Memorial will be held November 10-12, 2017 at the Tucson Racquet Club, located at 4001 N. Country Club Road, Tucson, AZ 85716.
The Tucson Memorial was created to honor our handball friends and family that we’ve sadly lost in the last year. This year’s Memorial will honor handball legend and icon David Chapman and WPH ESPN film crew superstar Ben Manning. “It’s with a very heavy heart that we honor Dave and Ben this year, two members of our handball family that lost their lives at such a young age,” stated WPH Development Director David Fink. “We will hold a special ceremony for Dave and Ben on Saturday night and ask people to share their favorite stories and memories of Dave and Ben before and during The Memorial.”
The Memorial has become the most prestigious and well-attended tournament in the country, complete with all of the top men’s and women’s Small Ball and Big Ball pros and more than 200 junior, amateur, and skill level players. “This is one of the tournaments in which we spend all year preparing,” stated WPH Executive Director David Vincent. “We take a lot of pride in playing host to The Memorial in our back yard and we want our players, their families, and our fans to enjoy a spectacular weekend of handball in Tucson.”
WPH Executive Director & Ben Manning in Minnesota circa 2016
The Memorial will kickoff with opening ceremonies on Thursday night, November 9, featuring the Manning Cup, a special team competition named after Ben Manning to determine the best 4-Wall handball city in the world.
Thursday will also feature a special “stand by” qualifier starting at 4 pm, in which players will compete for up to two spots in Friday morning’s qualifier. Want in? Well, the main qualifier capped out at 44 players days ago, but you can join us by emailing info@wphlive.tv before the deadline. If you are wanting to get into the qualifier, then this will be your last chance.
Ivan Burgos aims to be the youngest WPH Qualifier in History
The R48 qualifier will kickoff on Friday morning, with a full draw of R48 hopefuls from across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Ireland competing for eight spots in the R48 Memorial main draw. The second event of the R48 VII season will start on Friday afternoon, with the R48 Elite 8 challenging the eight qualifiers from Friday morning, while the Women’s Race 4 Eight will start its fifth season on Friday afternoon, with the game’s best women’s players in action. WPH Outdoor stars will compete in singles and doubles brackets starting on Friday as well. The game’s top men’s and women’s stars will also team up in a special mixed doubles competition on Saturday night. With more than $55k in total prize money, expect to see the best from the game’s best. The Memorial will also feature dozens of junior players, as well as the top age level and skill division players in the Southwest and beyond.
The Memorial will not require an entry fee, but the WPH asks that players make a donation towards JR WPH and growing the game of handball. Since 2013, JR WPH has hosted more than 4,000 junior handball clinics and tournaments, including more than 1,000 clinics already in 2017. The mission of JR WPH is to provide young people with the opportunity to develop sportsmanship, integrity, discipline, life skills, and a physically active lifestyle through handball. To make a donation, kindly send a check to WPH, 3561 E. Sunrise Dr. Suite 125, Tucson, AZ 85718, send via paypal to extremehandball@cs.com or make a credit card donation here
For the Memorial entry and tournament info, go here
For a full preview of the Race 4 Eight 7 season, go here
WPH RACE 4 EIGHT: The World Players of Handball’s Race 4 Eight 7 Powered by ESPN features seven stops, culminating with WPH R48 7 The Player’s Championship. Similar to Nascar’s Nextel Cup and the FedEx PGA Playoffs, players earn points in the Race 4 Eight’s first six stops to qualify for the season-ending Player’s Championship and bonus prizes. Atlanta, GA hosted the first stop of the season, followed by the upcoming Tucson Memorial, Missoula, MT, Las Vegas, NV, Houston, TX, and New York City, NY. Salt Lake City, UT will host the Aces Player’s Championship for the fourth time to close out the R48 7 season.
For more information on the WPH Race 4 Eight 7 season, please contact World Players of Handball Executive Director David Vincent at wph@race4eight.com or World Players of Handball Development Director David Fink at fink@race4eight.com. For more information on the World Players of Handball, please visitwphlive.tv
Log onto wphlive.tv, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, or follow the WPH on Twitter @dfwph and @wphlive for all of the handball news from on and off the court! The World Players of Handball is a non-profit foundation aiming to grow the game of handball through innovation and inspiring the next generation of players through junior clinics with Certified WPH Coaches, junior tournaments and the Race 4 Eight and WPH Outdoor tours.