Don't Get Comfrotable

Two weeks ago I decided to join a gym and get rid of some of these unwanted pounds.
Years ago I was active on the local Racquetball scene. For some reason or another I got out of the habit of playing.
As luck would have it some of the people that played at the gym I am now a member of are still playing. It was easy to get back into the game a few weeks ago.
I want to make sure you do not get the wrong impression, I am by NO means good at the game. I am getting better with every game played, but am not where I would like to be.
I am not sure if you even know what racquetball is, so I will explain the game.
Racquetball is a lot like tennis but with walls...
First the court in an enclosed room that has some markings to indicate certain rules.
The game can be played with up to four players, with a minimum of two. If there are four players you are playing what's called teams.
When you are playing with three people it's called cut-throat. If you play with two people you are playing against each other.
According to Racquetball rules on Wikipedia the game is explained as,
Play begins with the serve. The serving player must bounce the ball on the floor once and hit it directly to the front wall, making the ball hit the floor beyond the short line; otherwise the serve counts as a fault. The ball may touch one side wall, but not two, prior to hitting the floor; hitting both side walls after the front wall (but before the floor) is a "three wall serve", and a fault. Also, serving the ball into the front wall so that it rebounds to the back wall without hitting the floor first is a long serve, and a fault.

Other fault serves include a ceiling serve in which the ball touches the ceiling after the front wall and serving before the receiving player is ready. Also, the server must wait until the ball passes the short line before stepping out of the service box, otherwise it is a fault serve.

If the server hits the ball directly to any surface other than the front wall the server immediately loses serve regardless of whether it was first or second serve.

After the ball bounces behind the short line, or passes the receiving line, the ball is in play and the opposing player(s) may play it.

Usually, the server is allowed two opportunities (called first serve and second serve) to put the ball into play (two serve rule), although elite level competitions often allow the server only one opportunity (one serve rule).

After a successful serve, players alternate hitting the ball against the front wall. The player returning the hit may allow the ball to bounce once on the floor or hit the ball on the fly. However, once the player returning the shot has hit the ball, either before bouncing on the floor or after one bounce, it must strike the front wall before it hits the floor. Unlike during the serve, a ball in play may touch as many walls, including the ceiling, as necessary so long as it reaches the front wall without striking the floor.

Hinders

Due to the nature of the game, players often occupy the space their opponent(s) want(s) to occupy. This may result in a player hindering their opponent's ability to play the ball. Such occurrences are termed either hinders or penalty hinders. A hinder is a replay of the current rally, while a penalty hinder results in the player who caused the avoidable obstruction to lose the rally. A type of hinder is a screen in which the player is unable to see the ball prior to it passing the opponent.

The difference between a hinder and a penalty hinder (or formerly an avoidable hinder) is that in the latter case a player has missed out on a clear opportunity to make a rally-winning shot due to the obstruction by the player's opponent, while in the former case the opportunity missed would not clearly have led to a winning shot. This difference is almost always a judgment call by the referee (if available).

There is also a "court" hinder in which some part of the playing field caused the ball to bounce untrue. Often this is the door frame or (recessed) handle or a flaw in the floor or walls. In this case, the rally is replayed.

Scoring

Points can only be scored by the serving player or serving team in a doubles game, and points are the result of winning a rally that began with a successful serve.

During play, a player loses the rally if any one of the following occurs:

1. The ball bounces on the floor more than once before being struck.
2. The ball does not reach the front wall on the fly.
3. The ball flies into the spectator's gallery or wall opening or strikes an out-of-bounds surface above the court's normal playing area [cf. Rule 2.1(a)]
4. A slow ball strikes another player without the estimated velocity and/or direction to strike the front wall.
5. A ball struck by a player hits that player or that player's partner.
6. A penalized hindrance [cf. Rule 3.15].
7. Switching racquet hands during a rally.
8. Not using a racquet wrist-safety cord.
9. Touching the ball with either the body or uniform.
10. Carrying or slinging the ball with the racquet.

Under USA Racquetball rules, matches are best of three games with the first two games to 15 points and a third game to 11 points, if necessary. USA Racquetball rules do not require players to win by two, so a match score line could read 15-14, 14-15, 11-10. Racquetball Canada matches are also the best of three format, but require a winning margin of at least two points.

International competitions run by the International Racquetball Federation are like the USA Racquetball scoring system: two games to 15 with a tie-breaker to 11, if necessary, and win by 1. However, the men's and women's pro tours play matches that are the best-of-five games to 11 points, requiring a two-point margin for victory.

Game variations

Racquetball games can be played with two, three or four players, with doubles or singles matches being most common. Two player games are called singles or "one-up" (1 vs. 1 for the entire game), while four player games are doubles with two pairs playing against each other (2 vs. 2 for the entire game). Tournament competitions have divisions for singles or doubles or both.

Three-player games are most commonly called

"Cut-throat" and sometimes "Ironman" (2-on-1 for the entire game) where each player takes turns serving to the other two, who play as a team against the serving player. Another 3 player game is "California," or "In-and-Out" where play is 1 vs. 1 with the third player remaining in the back court out of play while the other two play a rally; the rally winner then serves to the player who was sitting out, and the rally loser stays out of play. Another 3 player variation is "Sevens" in which one player plays against two players as a team, with the game being played to 7 points; if the two player team gets to 7 first, the game is over, but if the solo p

layer gets to 7 first then the game continues to 14; if the solo player again reaches 14 first, then the game continues to 21, where the game ends regardless of whether the solo player or the two player team reach 21 first.

To make all of that make sense, the game comes down to, being enclosed in a 40 foot by 20 foot room with up to four people that have racket's. Your primary objective is to bat around a ball until someone scores 15 points or until there is blood drawn.

Racquetball is a high intensity game that will have you sweating

within a few minutes.

There are some people that are really good at this game and can guide ball where they want it to go. I am not there yet but am working on it. I will keep you posted as to the weight loss aspect, once it arrives.

I know this is quite long and if you've made it this long I thank you for reading...

-W