Dow Bay Area Family Y to Host Paddleball Tourney
(Submitted by: NPA President - Jim Owens)
November 17, 2012
By: MyBayCity Staff
Chad Krager (L) and Randy Wackerle (Both of Bay City) are paddleball All-Stars
Michael "The Wiz" Wisniewski has won more open singles national championships (9) than anyone who has ever played the game.
The 3rd Brigham Classic, formerly the Fall Doubles, will be held at the new Bay City Dow Family Y, November 30 - December 2.
Bay City has been one of the hot spots for paddleball and NPA tournaments since back in the early 1970's. The Bay City area has produced several notable tournament players over the years. Three of Bay City's all-stars are Randy Wackerle, Michael Wisniewski, and Chad Krager.
In 2001, Randy Wackerle was inducted into the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame primarily for his tournament successes and contributions to paddleball. Randy has 11 national titles and numerous smaller tournament wins in both singles and doubles. He also ran a youth program for 30 years, introducing numerous young people to the sport.
Mike Czabala, Bob Groya, Chad Schwall,and Chad Krager all participated in Randy's program, to name a few. The "Wack" also served for several years on the NPA Board of Managers.
Bay City's Michael "The Wiz" Wisniewski has more open singles national championships (9) than anyone who has ever played the game. The "Wiz" miraculously claimed his latest open singles title at age 52 and an open national doubles title at age 53.
In total, "Wiz" has 23 NPA national championships in singles and doubles. He has also been a Board of Managers member for several years. "Wiz" designed and constructed the impressive traveling trophies for the national open doubles and singles champions.
Anyone playing our style of paddleball today owes Chad Krager an expression of thanks. He spent a lot of time successfully securing a deal with Ektelon to produce a quality paddleball after Penn Athletic stopped manufacture of its ball.
Chad has also been one of NPA's top open players over the last several years with 2 national open doubles titles and 6 national titles in other divisions. Chad has made several contributions to the NPA organization. This past year, his proposal for reorganization of the NPA Board of Managers was adopted.
Bay City hosted NPA State Doubles tournaments in 1981 and 1984. Randy Wackerle recalls there were nearly 110 teams in the 1981 tournament.
Four-wall indoor paddleball history runs deep in Bay City. The "Turkey Shoot" -- an annual fall tournament, hit its 44th year this past November 10. The classic Bean Smith Memorial tournament will hit year 36 this coming February.
I encourage you to come join us at the Brigham Classic November 30-December 2 at the New Dow Y.