Day 2 of the USA Racquetball XXIX 2017 Junior World Racquetball Championship Blogs has been published by Cheryl Kirk.
Originally published on November 4, 2017.
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US Junior Team — Blog #2
Saturday, November 4, 2017
Greetings from Minneapolis! What a fortunate turn of events that, after a jam-packed day, the time changes tonight and we are afforded an extra hour of rest!
Before Opening Ceremonies this afternoon, the entire delegation arrived at the club at 5:00 pm for group photos. After a spirited exhibition match involving Mauro Rojas (the dad) competing in handball vs. two Mexican junior racquetball players, we commandeered Courts 1 and 2. The World Cup players went to Court 1, the Esprits to Court 2, and the Challenger players were on deck outside Court 2. With everyone’s cooperation, we got those three shots, then we combined the World Cup and Esprit players for another, and finally the Challenger players joined for a mega shot. But wait…the parents…and the grandparents! It was another organized effort by all concerned to grab a photo of these folks who have made it possible (in so many ways) to have this team together here at World Juniors. Missions accomplished! And yes, it WAS nearly as chaotic as it sounds — in a good way!
Opening Ceremonies
The festivities began just after 6:00 pm with the Parade of Nations where all 13 countries participating marched in one at a time to stirring Olympic music. Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, and the USA (last as host country) are in the house!
After the Color Guard entered and U.S. National Anthem was played, several individuals delivered comments to the audience — Marcelo Gómez (Master of Ceremonies), Cheryl Kirk (USAR), John Wilinski (Life Time), Ron Grimes (E-Force), Ms. Li Fu (President, China Racquetball Federation), and Osvaldo Maggi (President, International Racquetball Federation.