GCHA homepage

Fall
Party

Jim Groom tells Chris Lazarouski
about his favorite hinder techniques

The annual GCHA Fall Party and Business Meeting was held Monday, October 18, 1999 at the Cincinnati Athletic Club in downtown Cincinnati.

As usual, many of the members managed to squeeze in a game or two at their favorite court ("pleasure before business") before the meeting.

The evening at the Athletic Club began with a social hour.

Carl Huether, current GCHA president, presided over the business meeting during dinner. The first agenda item was to introduce the current and continuing members of the Board. They are:

Bill Spring, Treasurer
Jack Dean, Secretary
George Morano, and
Bob Burkitt.

Carl previewed the upcoming Queen City "Turkey Shoot" tournament, which will be held at the Court House on November 5th, 6th and 7th. Information was available at the party; in addition, the Information and Entry can also be found on the GCHA web site.

Handball players
doing what they do best.

Carl next announced that the annual membership dues have been raised to $ 25.00 in order to cover increased expenses of club activities, especially tournaments. If you were unable to attend the meeting, but still wish to be a member of the GCHA, send a check, payable to GCHA for $25.00, to:

GCHA
c/o Bill Spring
1109 Mohawk Drive
Lebanon, OH 45036

This year, membership includes a complimentary edition of the new Ohio Handball Players Directory. Carl passed around a sample copy of the new book, prepared by Jim Krailler and currently in production at Miami Systems, and announced that copies would be available for distribution within the next two weeks. For non-GCHA members, the cost of the directory will be $3.00. Ralph Weil was also thanked for the countless hours he has devoted to this project since its inception.

Ralph then took the floor to announce that he will be involved in planning the upcoming World Handball Tournament and will forward all suggestions to the organizing committee. This tournament will pit the best singles and doubles players from all of the participating countries against one another, as well as provide competition for all ages and levels of play. It will be held in October 2000 in the Chicago area.

In response to a question from the floor, Ralph also informed us that the USHA has assumed exclusive rights to manufacture and distribute handballs. A new batch, matching the Spalding Blue Ace specifications, is currently in production, and the USHA has an ample supply until they arrive. A lighter ball is also under study, as is a "Big Blue" model that will be used to teach handball skills to new players.

Bruce. Bob and Captain Andy

Bruce McCormick gave a brief wrap-up of the summer 3-wall league. The team of John Allen and Jim Krailler won the American League, while George Morano and Don Meyer were victors in the National league. Bruce also entertained suggestions from the floor, and promised bigger and better things for next year.

The meeting ended with formal recognition for two of the GCHA members present.
Bob Burkitt was honored with the addition of his name to the Caples Three-Wall Courts Donor Plaque for all of his extra and ongoing efforts (painting lines. power washing before tournaments, regular cleanings, etc.) to keep the courts in perfect playing condition.

Jim Krailler was also recognized for taking care of many of the tasks (converting and updating data, scanning graphics, page layout) involved in producing the new edition of the Ohio Handball Players Directory.

The evening ended with spontaneous thanks to some of the members not present, as well as testimonials to the game we love.