Jason Mannino defeats Shane Vanderson in a five game final!

The Players Championship of New Orleans Recap

The IRT season usually began it season here in New Orleans but after mother nature brought Hurricane Katrina thru this great city last year this would be a rebuilding year for this event just like the rest of the city, Tournament director Al Schof and his staff gave it their all to keep the spirit of the event alive and that they did. Top ranked professionals #4 Jason Mannino and # Shane Vanderson were there to showcase their skills for the fans. A large draw in the pro division, which also included University of Alabama students Agustin Tristan, Shane Karmelin and the Crockett brothers, showed why the IRT has a bright future of rising stars. Mannino would push his way thru the main draw and eventually meet Vanderson in the finals. Both players gave it their all diving and blistering some great passing shots showing why they are two of the best in the world at this sport. Mannino would come out on top in this one to take the title.

On behalf of the IRT and its players, we would like to thank everyone that came out to not only support this event but also to sponsor it. These are tough times in the Big Easy but sometimes in life a great sport like racquetball can give everyone a little breather from real life itself.

Here are a few comments about the event from Jason Mannino and Shane Vanderson

I just wanted to drop a quick note to publicly say thank you to all the contributors in New Orleans. As usual, you can't beat that N.O hospitality. On the heals of a disaster, with another Hurricane on it's way, the people in N.O were just as positive as they could be. 100 people watching matches, cheering as if the racquetball event was just the outlet they needed in order to help deal with the past years events. I can't tell you guys how many people I spoke to that had lost their homes. Some of the sponsors lost their homes, and other valuables, and still found the money to support the event. I don't really know what to say to that.

It's hard enough to pull an event off with ideal conditions, but for Al to be able to do it in the wake of Katrina is simply inspiring. I appreciate all the work that was put in by everyone to make sure racquetball in N.O is not lost.

I was honored to be a part of it.

See you guys in Memphis, and thanks for inviting me to attend.

Jason

The New Orleans event was a great event this year. They had amazing food as usual, things ran on time, and the club looked fantastic as always. The event had a good draw. It was good to see the University of Alabama their working on their games during the first week of school.

I will say that I stayed with a buddy of mine in Law School at Tulane and he showed me around the city and it’s easy to see why they couldn’t have a full event this year. But Al and his staff assured Jason and I that next year things would be back to normal, and all the pros would be in town! Right now, there is only about 40-50% of the population back. I visited Bourbon St. and many of the Bars and Restaurants where closed in the middle of the day. There are just piles of rubble around the city that has still yet to be picked up. It was truly a humbling experience.

The New Orleans event has always been one of my favorites. I think Jason and I put on a great finals for everyone to watch, and I think I can speak for everyone saying that the event was great, but everyone is looking forward to getting back to normal with the tournament, and with the city first and for most. Thanks again to Al and staff, and all the sponsors that help bring some of the pros this year. There is no doubt in my mind that next year will be better than ever!

Shane