Rocky Ruiz hadn’t picked up a racquetball racquet in so long that he couldn’t recall the last time he played. “It’s been many, many years,” said the former Pacific Missile Range Facility ordnance worker who retired in 2010 after 42
Rocky Ruiz hadn’t picked up a racquetball racquet in so long that he couldn’t recall the last time he played.
“It’s been many, many years,” said the former Pacific Missile Range Facility ordnance worker who retired in 2010 after 42 years on base. He used to be a regular on the court back when it first opened here in the heyday of the booming sport in the mid-70s.
“It was really popular back then with the sailors – they all used to play,” he reminisced. “But, it wasn’t a great court. It was all cement – the floors, the walls – it got hot in there like a sauna.” Without air conditioning, the walls sweat as much as the players and sometimes affected the play of the ball.
The lone, free-standing building near the fitness center that served as the court hadn’t changed much in almost 40 years – until major renovations to improve it began last fall by Manu Kai contractors. The refurbished facility was unveiled with a local version of a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday with PMRF Commanding Officer Capt. Bruce Hay presiding over a lei unwrapping.
With the re-opening, the Navy court is once again the only racquetball facility on Kauai, following the shuttering of the five courts in 2010 that were part of the Kauai Athletic Club, said Philip Eliana, arguably Kauai’s top racquetball player.
Ruiz came back for the event by invite of Eliana, who offered a free clinic and demonstration after the grand opening for about a dozen players of all levels.
“Rocky was my mentor out here – I learned from him,” said Eliana, who has won 10 national medals since 2010, including the Hawaiian State Doubles Championship, and is the current U.S. national champion of the Military Racquetball Federation in the over-50’s, single division.
As Ruiz surveyed the shiny wooden floor and nodded approvingly at the temperature-controlled environment, one could almost see a glimmer of longing toward coming out of his self-imposed retirement.
“It’s beautiful,” he said. “It looks like a genuine racquetball court now.”
The contrast also wasn’t lost on George Evanoff, one of the current crop of regulars who had been waiting since October to get back on the court.
“It’s a real court now,” he echoed Ruiz’ assessment. “Before, half the ceiling was open to the rafters and there’d be birds up there, and the ceiling leaked, so that created a water hazard. The walls were bowed outward in places and the big skylight windows created a lot of glare from the sun.”
But while Evanoff and others are grateful to again enjoy the sport, for Eliana having the court back is more than just a recreational outlet. It’s the only place on island that he can train for this year’s MRF Nationals.
“This is the only court here,” said the 55-year-old Air National Guard member, who has been a part of the 14-person Air Force national team the past three years – the only Guard player on the primarily active duty roster. “I’m fortunate to be able to train here.”
Prior to using the PMRF facility, Eliana was a regular at the Kauai Athletic Club, where he organized the annual Garden Island Classic racquetball tournaments.
“Today is even more special by having Rocky out here,” Eliana said. “He’s a racquetball legend on the West side and inspired me to get to where I am today. Even though he was 10 years older than me, he used to whip me all the time and made it look easy. He made me a better player.”
By the end of the ceremony, it didn’t take much coaxing from those gathered to convince Rocky to lace his shoes, don some goggles, pick up a racquet for the first time in “many, many years” and return to the court in a friendly match with his one-time protégé to break in the hardwood floor.
• Stefan Alford is PMRF public affairs officer.
