TOURNAMENT RECAP BY SARAH WARHAFTIG

Talk of Texas

Post-Event Interview with Tournament Co-Director & WPRO #16 Keely Franks
By Sarah Warhaftig

The best women racquetball players in the world gathered in Dallas to kick off the 2009-2010 WPRO season. The Landmark Fitness Club was rocking September 24th-27th with a stellar tournament. Pro players, amateur players and spectators were treated to a high class, well run, memorable tournament. Keely Franks and her father Mike Franks were the masterminds behind the event. Starting in April their visions of a Tier 1 Stop were accomplished and it looks like a yearly Dallas Texas Open has been set. Keely Franks, the number 16th player in the world, not only organized and directed the tournament she also played in two divisions, not an easy feat for anyone knows the amount of work that goes into running a tournament, especially a pro stop. I had the pleasure of speaking with her, and sharing her passion for women’s racquetball, the Texas Open and the future of the sport.

What was your timeline and vision with directing the first stop of the WPRO season?

Since I started playing tournaments, I knew that eventually I would love to be able to have my own. Last April, Shannon Feaster approached me about having the season kick-off in Dallas. I realized the timeline to get the event organized would leave me with only a few months to plan, but I was truly excited to bring the WPRO to Texas. We had a really quick turnaround and with the right support staff and people supporting my vision, we got the ball rolling in June, just after National Singles. I had a vision that the tournament would truly kick off the season with great southern tradition as we all know the saying around here that “Everything Is Bigger in Texas”, therefore we had to represent and run a first class event. Our goals for the tournament were to truly take care of all the players, if not spoil them a bit, with great southern hospitality including delicious hot meals and snacks for all tournament participants and great prize money and custom-made awards not only in the pro divisions but also in the amateur divisions. Bringing the women’s pro tour to Dallas for the first time in history that we are aware, I wanted them to feel appreciated and taken care of as they have made a lot of sacrifices and have put a ton of time into the sport to get to the pro level.

The pro draw was stacked! Former tour players returned to play in Dallas? Did you expect such a draw?

I was of course excited; however I didn’t expect such a large draw for the first event. I think with all the social marketing tools that are available today like Facebook, which helped to get the word out, as well as Dallas’ central location and large international airport which makes travel generally more affordable and accessible, may all be contributing factors to the large turnout. It was exciting to see former top pros Jackie Paraiso and Kersten Hallander turn out for the tournament as well as great representation from the top players from Mexico and Canada. You could truly sense the excitement in the air from of all the players as they were looking forward to a busy weekend.

The tournament had great sponsors. How did you manage the support and how did you select them?

First of all thank you to all of the sponsors; we could have not done it with out you! Special thanks to Ektelon whose obvious vision of racquetball is shared and thank you to Scott Winters for making the trip to Dallas. McCourt and Sons Equipment and One Source Cooling love the sport and were ready to step up. KO Trading, Tina Joslin & Donna Cannon were also a huge help not only with the unique custom-made belt buckle awards by KO Trading, but with all the fine details from the flower arrangements to the Texas Open blankets for the pros to the delicious cake enjoyed by all after Saturday’s meal. I feel like Tina caught my vision for the event and was extremely gracious in helping me pull it off. Finding sponsors can be challenging, it helps when they can see and share the same vision and passion for the sport as we do, whether it be racquetball, or promoting women’s athletics in general, our sponsors were fantastic from the start.

Texas is known for its true southern hospitality. How did this translate into the tournament?

 

I really wanted the pro players and amateur players to feel special and ‘spoiled’. We provided transportation for all of our pro players who needed it, a player’s lounge for them to relax stocked with snacks and drinks and a ping pong table of course, a player’s gift bag with special custom Texas Open gifts, and the sense of pride for being part of the tournament. The food was fantastic all weekend long, and we wanted the tournament to finish just as strong as it started.

Besides playing racquetball you own your own company, eMedia EFX. Website design is your specialty how did you utilize your other crafts for the tournament?

I was able to get a website up early to help promote the tournament and continue to provide information for all the players and spectators planning on attending. I wanted the website to really be the main communication tool, and let it be the portal for other future Texas Open Pro/Am tournaments for years to come. We had a large WPRO draw board on display which was created by one of our committee members, Darjon Bittner. The pro draw board was a creative way to display the pro draw with each player having their own magnet with their name and photo to easily identify them by and advance them to the next round as the tournament progressed. I am excited to have already been approached by several other tournaments in Texas to help them with promoting their event and hope that I can bring some new fresh ideas and creative concepts to help them promote their event.

Trophies were true Texas belt buckles manufactured by KO Trading (TrophyTack.com). What a great idea, where did it come from?

 

During one of our first committee meetings we decided we wanted to provide a memorable prize for division champions and runner-ups. We wanted to offer an award to players that would be unique to the event and location and something players would be proud to display to their friends and family (if not wear for all you cowboys and cowgirls out there). The design of the buckle was great, and of course who in Texas doesn’t wear one right?

We plan on hosting the WPRO Texas Open Pro/Am for many years to come in Dallas, so the challenge will be to see who wins the most belt buckles! No sandbagging allowed!

The Landmark Fitness Club was a great venue. Can you talk about the selection process?

 

The Landmark Fitness Club was a great host all weekend long; I knew from the beginning that the Landmark would be the best fit for the Inaugural WPRO Texas Open. The only downside of the facility is it only has 6 courts, but it is the only facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that has an exhibition court with 3 glass walls which created an ideal setting for spectator viewing on the main court. With 6 available courts, we limited the number of participants this year to 150.

We wanted to keep the Inaugural Texas Open in 1 location for the first year to keep all the players and fans together which I feel like provided an optimal environment for players and fans to witness all the amazing matches that were on display as well as the excellent hospitality provided throughout the event. With the Westin Park Central Hotel connected to the Landmark Club, this truly made the location the perfect set-up for all of the out-of-town players who came from Colombia, Canada, Bolivia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and all over the United States.

How hard is it to be the tournament director and also play two events?

I knew going into it that it would be challenging, but I had to figure out a way to balance both. I was able to block out “my directing duties” for about a half hour before most of my matches to try and just focus on playing. I didn’t set my expectations high for my performance as I was more concerned about making sure the event was running well and that all the players were being taken care of. Thankfully I had a wonderful staff and friends to help out throughout the tournament who all did an excellent job from start to finish.

Best match of the tournament?

 

Wow! I saw a lot, if I had to pick one I would have to choose the WPRO Round of 16 match-up between current #1 in the world, Paola Longoria of Mexico versus former #1 player in the world, Christie (Van Hees) Huczek of Canada who currently resides with her husband, Jack Huczek in Trophy Club, TX. This match was the most anticipated and talked about match of the tournament with Paola ultimately capturing the win in the 5th game tie-breaker 11-9. Paola went on to advance to the semi-finals where her run ended with another 5 gamer against Kerri Wachtel (Cincinnati, Ohio) with Kerri coming out on top 11-9 in the 5th.

Finish the statement Women’s Racquetball……….

Is a growing sport, with great progress and potential! Current and up and coming junior players are helping increase exposure for the sport. With technology and the internet today, the tools and resources are out there to help promote women’s racquetball worldwide and continue promoting and growing the sport. Women’s racquetball is on the rise and I am excited to be a part of it in any way that I can…

Advice to tournament directors...

It’s all about the players! Take care of the players and they will take care of you! Listen to your player’s needs and wants and do your best to accommodate them and they will keep coming back and bring their friends with them as well.

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