A MESSAGE FROM IRF PRESIDENT OSVALDO MAGGI

A very special greeting to the international racquetball family!

The IRF officially confirms that the 2018 IRF World Championships will be competed in the city of San José, Costa Rica, August 10-19, 2018.

This is the first time in my many years as a leader that the IRF has had to change the venue of the IRF World Championships. In 2018, for different reasons, multiple venues that have found they could not host the World Championships. When China met challenges as intended host of this year's World Championships, Juan Manuel Gutiérrez of Cali, Colombia, came forward to host.

I wish to share what happened in the city of Cali, Colombia, where I worked closely with Sr. Gutiérrez. For many days, he was told that he needed to improve and maintain security at the courts. However, we really never felt security was an issue. On the very day that Sr. Gutiérrez was waiting for the final meeting to authorize going ahead with hosting the World Championships, the eight courts where we have enjoyed so many great IRF and PARC tournaments were being secretly demolished. We deeply regret the situation in which Sr. Gutiérrez has been placed. Under his leadership, we are sure that we will soon be able to return to Cali to compete at new facilities that will undoubtedly be created.

Just three days after this devastating news, the IRF was given the opportunity to hold the World Championships in both Costa Rica and Bolivia. This is thanks to the efforts of Marcelo Gómez from Costa Rica and Gonzalo Alcoreza from Bolivia. My sincere thanks to both and to their Federations for taking charge of a difficult situation and offering to organize a World Championships in just two months.

We have decided on Costa Rica as the venue. One of the main reasons for this is that some countries and IRF staff had already purchased their flights to Cali, and rebooking tickets to Costa Rica is easier and less expensive than to Bolivia.

In the face of these unexpected difficulties, the IRF and I appreciate your patience and support. We will work hard to ensure that the World Championships are a success, and we look forward to seeing you in San José.
With sincere regards,

Osvaldo Maggi
President
International Racquetball Federation

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