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WSF proudly presents |
Dear friends of the World Sports Festival !
a long winter season finally started and we will definitely prepare in the best possible way for the upcoming year. It is not always easy to motivate yourself for a sometimes exhausting and hard training. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to set attractive targets that are worth fighting for and accepting these struggles. Especially with young athletes it is essential to offer concrete perspectives they can work towards.
The costless Racketlon tournament of the WSF maybe such a motivator: in addition to the special disciplines which are already part of the Festival (Tennis and Tabletennis) two new sports (Squash and Badminton) complete all four elemnts of Racketlon.
Participants of the Racketlon tournament actually receive points for the official FIR (Fédération International de Racketlon) world ranking list.It’ll for sure be a special challengefor all atheltes – no matter from which kind of racket sport they come from – excitement and fun will surely be part of the games.
Jointly responsible for the Racketlon tournament is one the most successful Racketlon players in history, the Austrian Christoph Krenn.In his remarkable career he won (beside many tournaments all over the world) the the world championship title in singe and double in 2009. Actually Krenn is leader of the world ranking.
Interview with Christoph Krenn
1. - Racketlon has a very short history. Are there leagues, how many countries already have an active Racketlon community?
The international Racketlon Federation has now 30 official member countries. There are many more countries with Racketlon activities, tournaments and players.
2. - Tennis, Tabletennis, Badminton and Squash are the components of Racketlon. In which sport do most athletes have their roots respectively is there a form of sport where it’s easier to become a good Racketlon player?
It’s really hard to say from which sports they come from. Maybe the easiest way to learn the other 3 sports is having roots in tennis or table tennis. These forms of sport are technically more sophisticated. .
3. - How does Racketlon develop in Austria?
Great! 2003 there was the first tournament in Austria with eight participants. Today we have the Babolat Austrian Trophy with 9 tournaments in all 9 states of Austria. Aditionally there are 30 national ranking tournaments, children-, student- and beginner courses as well as company tournaments. Actually there are more than 1.000 athletes in 27 clubs in Austria.
4. - At the World Sports Festival 2012 Racketlon tournament it’ll be possible to collect points for the world ranking list for the first time. Where do most of the participants come from?
We‘re expecting participants from Austria, Germany, Czech Republic and Hungary. In the past young athletes from England and many other countries joined the World Sports Festival.
5. - How does Racketlon develop in questions of youth? Is there some kind of specialisation, or is there no „pure“ Racketlon education?
Meanwhile there are many young athletes training many years for a Racketlon career. The 20 year old Joey Schubert is some kind of pioneer for the young generation – he’s been doing all four sports for seven years and has now reached the world elite class. He is the actual number 2 of the world. At the world championships in November the U13, U16 and U21 rosters were full. Although it could of course always be better I really can’t complain about the Racketlon development in Austria.
6. - You accomplished nearly everything that is possible in Racketlon. What are your next goals?
Sport is always a mixture of ups and downs – you can’t win every tournament or title. Since 2009 I’m number 1 in the world rankings – I want to remain top as long as possible. To achieve my goals I need to proceed winning matches and titles.
