David Fink (L) w/Steve “Gerbil” Hamrick (R)
Tucson, AZ, WPH Press, 6/7/17- The World Players of Handball Foundation, a 501(c)3 Non Profit, would like to thank The Tucson Handball Community, led by the commissioner, Scott Cleveland, for their second consecutive substantial cash donation to Junior WPH (and it’s initiatives), this past month, when Tucson Handball League-Night raised over $2,500 in cash with the Draw the Joker contest.
Each of the past several weeks, at the Tucson Racquet Club in Tucson, Arizona, Scott Cleveland’s league-goers participated in handball singles and doubles competitions; where the commissioner and his generous helpers kept stats all spring long, provided a running ledger of wins & losses, organized times and schedules, plus… added some great camaraderie, laughter, food/drink and fun times in the clubhouse. In addition, Cleveland’s-Crew spearheaded a way to give back to handball through a weekly raffle …pinned, Draw-The-Joker. “I got involved because the amazing duo of Joan & Charlie Wicker retired from running a similar program and a group of us didn’t want it to go away!” says Cleveland (League-name: Long-haul, a moniker given to him by Doug Clark & his handball buddies, as Cleveland works as a manager for a trucking firm). “Bob Durazo and the late
Long-haul, Scott Cleveland
Mike Ebner started the current league. I inherited this crazy night from them. I guess you could say we currently run the TRC Handball League3.0.”
As for the fundraising campaign, that too was pioneered by Scott Cleveland and Jeff Healam; creating weekly interest and excitement for all of the participants; while, generating funds for JR WPH to thrive in Tucson and beyond. TRC handball league staple, Steve Hamrick, pulled the Joker last month after more than two months of drawings (…and financial participation from the whole handball community), scooping a pot of $2500 and donating half to JR WPH in the process (pictured alongside Scott Cleveland).
Last May (’16), Jim Verhaeghe drew a whopping $2,636 when he nabbed the joker; then donated his half-winnings of $1,318 to Junior WPH. Jim, a longtime racquetball player (45+ years), made the transition to handball after watching the game after his Racquetball workouts; then took a chance and bought a pitcher of beer one night and the rest was history, “Someone gave me gloves and some one else gave me inside liners and told me to start with the big ball and move up. Well, six years later, I am in the greatest league any one could play in. I sometimes help Scott the commish [Long-haul] of the league, run it when he is not there.” Verhaeghe continues by pointing out that he still plays racquetball; plays handball three times a week; helps run local handball tournaments. “… Not bad for learning the game at 65.” Verhaeghe has been named Conflicted Jim [jokingly] by the Tucson Handball Bunch, for his crossover play between racquetball and handball and has become a staple in the clubhouse.
“Draw the Joker,” brain trust, Jeff Healam
Conflicted Jim’s legend of clubhouse league-night attendee grew from Staple to big-time-winner last May when he drew the joker, then purchased a round of beers for everyone in the building. “The Draw the Joker game was the brainchild of Shutter-boy [Jeff Healam],” adds Scott Cleveland. “We introduced it to our Tuesday league night two years ago and it has been a great success. Both Jim and Steve have enjoyed winning pots of over $2,500.00 apiece and the best part is …half of the pot splits with JR WPH!
The Tucson League-Night runs from September through the end of the following May at the local Tucson, Arizona, handball hangout The TRC and welcomes out-of-towners to come and participate. Long-haul continues, “We never say NO. If a traveling guest wants to play, we will get them into the mix. That’s the great thing about this particular league set-up. Of course, they are in charge of picking up the beer tab, so…”
“I have no doubt, from all the out of town players we get in the winter, that this is the best, biggest and most competitive fun weekly league anywhere in the world,” barks WPH BOD and multi-National Champ, Doug Clark. “I think a large part of the success goes to Long-haul [Scott Cleveland] for his hard gut-wrenching hair-pulling work in putting the games together and then dealing with the typical last-minute changes, no-shows and no-calls.”
Junior WPH performing daily clinics all summer
“We are so grateful for the efforts of Scott Cleveland and Jeff Healam for organizing the Joker drawing, plus Steve Hamrick for donating half of his winnings to JR WPH and the rest of the TRC handball league for participating,” stated WPH Development Director David Fink. “With the donation raised from the TRC league, JR WPH will coach 25 handball clinics per week during the 10-week TRC Summer Camp and host additional summer junior handball clinics in California, Pennsylvania, Mexico, and across North America.”
The Joker drawing to benefit junior handball is a great way to create excitement on weekly handball nights and can be held in any city in which handball in played. For more information on how to hold a Joker drawing to benefit junior handball, contact WPH Development Director at fink@race4eight.com or email the WPH at info@wphlive.tv and they will put you in touch with Mr Cleveland, Jeff Healam, et al.
Keep an eye out on juniorhandball.org, as new clinic opportunities and recaps pop up weekly. Want to coach a clinic or a junior handball program? Need more information regarding junior handball? The Junior WPH group spans multiple countries, continents and oceans with clinics happening daily. We can help! Contact WPH Development Director David Fink at fink@race4eight.com
To enable Junior WPH to continue to host junior handball clinics and tournaments across North America with Certified WPH Coaches, the World Players of Handball invites you to make a tax-deductible donation today in supporting the growth of the game. 100% of the donations received by the WPH go towards junior handball development. Donate on-line here, or send your generous gifts through PayPal (extremehandball@cs.com) or by mailing checks to: WPH, 3561 E. Sunrise Dr. Suite 125, Tucson, AZ, 85718.