There is good news and not so good news when it comes to this weekend's Fireball Pro-Am. First some very good news....... The ladies of the WPRO will be playing an official full ranking WPRO Event. Pro Division play will begin Friday, February 8th at 4 PM with the Round of 16. The last WPRO matches are scheduled for 7PM Friday night. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday at 11AM and 12:15 PM with two quarterfinals being played simultaneously. The first semi-final is scheduled for Saturday @ 4PM with the second semi-final to follow immediately after. Finals will be held Sunday, February 10th @ Noon!! Viewing will be FREE OF CHARGE for all WPRO matches. RacquetballOnline.TV will be present and streaming the event live for all to see.

The bad news is probably a little obvious. Unfortunately we will not be holding the amateur portion of the Fireball Pro-AM with this event. Due to the late start and difficult timing with National Doubles being next week, we were not able to acquire enough entries to justify having a scheduled event. However, we at Ektelon Racquetball are 100% behind this event for next season's WPRO calendar and will come up with the best date to host one of Arizona's largest amateur tournaments in conjunction with a WPRO Event. Thank you to those players that did sign up for the event. I will be sending out an email blast to that group separately with information about your entry.

COME PLAY RACQUETBALL WITH THE PROS!!!

With the amateur portion of the tournament now not taking place, there are courts available to play on throughout the weekend. Beginning Friday at 4PM, ASU will open courts to the local public, allowing players to get great practice time on the courts being used for the National Doubles while catching some of the WPRO Round of 16. A staff of Ektelon players will be on hand to coordinate the court usage. This court space resumes on Saturday morning at 9AM where local players are once again invited to play on the ASU courts. Play for amateur players will be available all day through the end of the semi finals. There will likely be WPRO pros ready to accept any challenges from local players. Don't miss the opportunity to challenge one of the best players in the world!! Sunday, February 10th brings much of the same as the courts will once again be available beginning at 9AM leading up to the 12PM WPRO Final.

THURSDAY NIGHT WPRO PRO-AM DOUBLES

Spots are still available for the Thursday night WPRO Pro-Am Doubles, which will pair a paying amateur player with a top 16 WPRO Pro for a one night round robin doubles event. The price for a spot is $200 and you can contact Frank Taddonio at (602) 885-1857 for more information. Play begins Thursday, February 7th at 7PM.

Thanks again to those players that did sign up. I look forward to getting started early for next season's Fireball Pro-Am as it's Ektleon's promise to bring a great WPRO and amateur event to the greater Phoenix area.

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