5th Operations Group commander racks another win, advances to region racquetball tournament

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Jose Davis
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
BISMARCK, N.D. --  The 5th Operations Group commander, Col. Troy A. VanBemmelen, competed and won the state level racquetball tournament in Bismarck, N.D., March 23-25, advancing to the next round of competition.

The racquetball tournaments are all a part of, and an eventual lead up to, the USA Racquetball Nationals and United States Olympic Team Qualifiers in Fullerton, Calif.

Racquetball is played in a 40-by-40-by-60 feet room where the object of the game is to serve a ball correctly to an opponent in the attempt to force the ball to bounce a second time, before the opponent can hit and return the ball to the front wall of the court. This goes on until one player reaches 15 points, winning the game thereafter.

VanBemmelen has been playing for 34 years, practicing an average of two to three times a month and always making the time to keep his racquetball skills keen and sharp.

"The sport is much more strenuous than it looks," said VanBemmelen. "It helps me stay fit both mentally and physically."

The state level tournament was held at Capital Fitness Club of Bismarck. For singles, there were 12 entries; and for doubles there were six team entries.

VanBemmelen won the singles tournament, as well as the doubles tournament with his partner Roger Mazurek, the Minot YMCA director.

VanBemmelen has played in many other tournaments in the past at both the professional and amateur level, but he also admits age is becoming a factor.

"Since I have been playing for as long as I have the skill to hit the shots really never goes away," said VanBemmelen. "The hard part is maintaining that level of capability throughout the entire tournament. Age is beginning to take the aerobic and stamina side of the sport out of my body, and the younger players can have more in the gas tank than I do near the end of the tournament where the competition generally gets tougher."

Apart from the game itself, VanBemmelen finds further value in the sport in relation to his role as an Air Force leader.

"It truly is a strategic game with a lot of skill required to play at my level." VanBemmelen elaborated. "As a stress reliever it's a big plus; nothing beats crushing a little ball to take out frustration from a long day at work. You can beat up on something and get a workout doing it."

VanBemmelen and his partner will now advance to the regional level, competing against other racquetball players from different states.