BORDENTOWN, NJ — Ektelon is proud to officially announce the formation of the World Firefighter Racquetball Association. Developed in conjunction with founders Peter S. Berger and Jeff Weinstein two racquetball playing Firefighters, the global equipment leader has provided its expertise and resources to help grow an organization focused on connecting and providing competitive play to racquetball playing Firefighters and EMS personnel around the world.
In the winter of 2008, Mr. Berger traveled to the U.S. Open Racquetball Championships in Memphis, TN where he sat down with executives from Ektelon including Hank Marcus, who was the creator of the Military Racquetball Federation (MRF). Marcus and Berger quickly realized that there was a potential for an association that would benefit the Firefighter and EMS personnel, which will help them stay healthy — and Ektelon, whose tagline is “Play with Fire” would be the perfect partner.
“All of us at Ektelon are proud and excited to be involved in the formation of WFRA. Any organization created for heroes like firefighters and grows the sport is a great match for the Ektelon brand. Also, the WFRA is a perfect fit to promote our popular Ektelon Fireballs,” said Scott Winters, VP of Indoor Sports at Prince Sports, Inc.
Players can register for the association and will be provided with benefits, including but not limited to, a can of Ektelon Fireball racquetballs, the official ball of the association. A series of tournaments held specifically for Firefighters and EMS personnel will bring like-minded players together and in return a ranking system based on their skill level for singles, skill and age level for singles, and also a skill level for doubles, will be established. All tournaments, one-day shootouts, or other events will be posted on a newly launched, dedicated website. The Web site is www.worldfireracquetball.com. All players will receive ongoing communications and email blasts from the brand new association regarding upcoming events, discounts on products and other features as members.
“This is the culmination of a dream. As a firefighter, this association is a part of what will keep the firefighter and EMS worker healthy, in the long run,” said Peter S. Berger, Founder of the WFRA. “Too many firefighters and EMS workers are dying from heart disease, and this is a way to help lower that rate.”
About Ektelon
Based in Bordentown, New Jersey, Ektelon is a division of Prince Sports, Inc. Ektelon has enjoyed the longest, most successful reign of dominance in the sport of racquetball. Ektelon’s heritage includes some of the top players in the sport’s history including former No. 1 players Mike Yellen, Dave Peck, Ruben Gonzalez, Rhonda Rajisch and Rocky Carson and current world No. 1 Paola Longoria. In addition, Ektelon has introduced more revolutionary technologies and programs to the sport than any other company. Ektelon innovations include oversized racquetball racquets, the Racquet Taper System (RTS), Power Ring racquets and Total Racquet Customization, VisionGrip and O3 among others. For more information please contact us at 800-283-2635 or log onto our website at www.ektelon.com.
About Prince Sports, Inc.
Prince Sports, Inc, based in New Jersey, is a company of racquet sports enthusiasts whose goal is to create cutting edge, functional and technically advanced products that deliver performance benefits for avid players. The Company’s portfolio of brands includes Prince (tennis, squash and badminton), Ektelon (racquetball) and Viking (platform/paddle tennis). The Company has a history of innovation including inventing the first “oversize” and “longbody” racquets, the first “Natural Foot Shape” tennis shoe, the first “synthetic gut” string and the first electronic ball machine. Today, Prince markets leading technologies in racquets (EXO3), string (Recoil), footwear (Precision Tube Technology) and apparel (Aerotech). It has operations on three continents with distribution in over 100 countries. For more information on players, products or programs please visit www.princesports.com.
For more information, contact:
Peter S. Berger — psbparamedic@aol.com or Cell Phone (954) 655-7899
Jeff H. Weinstein — jweinstein@teamektelon.com