With his eyes focused intently on a ball no bigger than his fist, Jake Huff took two steps to his right and set his feet. Almost instantly, the Cortez resident’s racket flashed to deliver a crushing kill shot into the lower left corner of the back wall.
For Huff, the kill was one of several winners delivered during the ninth annual Cortez Splat Racquetball Tournament, which took place at the Cortez Recreation Center, Jan. 15-18.
Thirty-five players hailing from Cortez, Farmington, Durango and Pagosa Springs participated in the four-day tournament.
“It’s a really good tournament, and we have a good amount of locals that play, and we’re able to play against people from different towns,” said Huff. “A hometown family puts it on and makes everything happen.”
The hometown family to which Huff was referring are longtime Cortez residents Mark and Jeri Winkles, who began organizing the tournament nine years ago. Mark Winkles said that the tournament was small in its infancy, but has grown over the years.
“The tournament encourages new players to play and it joins new players with experienced players,” he said. “(Racquetball) is a growing sport in our area, and we get to see some real high quality racquetball (at the tournament).
Among the tournament winners were Pagosa Springs resident Todd Ormonde, who claimed the Open Division title, and Cortez resident and city manager Shane Hale, who claimed the Men’s B Division title.
Huff finished first in the A Bracket, which he said was extremely competitive.
“There were a lot of good players in the A Bracket,” said Huff. “I was glad to come out on top.”
In addition to the prizes won by division winners, racquetball equipment and other prizes were raffled off to the tournament’s players. The prizes were available thanks to donations made by numerous local sponsors.
“If it wasn’t for the city and the sponsors, (The Splat) wouldn’t be the tournament that it is,” said Mark Winkles. “A lot of sponsors donate money and time.”
As for the tournament’s future, Mark Winkles said that he hopes to again organize it next year. In the meantime, he encouraged anyone that might be interested in the sport of racquetball to stop by the Cortez Rec Center.
He added that anyone interested in learning more about the sport could contact him at 970-739-4504.
“(Racquetball) is kind of a dying sport because it’s not a good spectator sport because it’s so fast,” said Mark. “It’s a great sport though, and it’s a lot of fun. I would encourage anyone who is interested to give it a try.”