2012-13 IRT Tournament Schedule

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) has released its schedule for 2012-13. There are 14 Tier 1 or Grand Slam events on the schedule for next season, which is up from 12 this past season. The season will kick off in Kansas City on September 13th with the Novasors Kansas City Open.

Eleven of the twelve events of 2011-12 are back for 2012-13, including the two Grand Slam events: the United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis and the Pro Nationals in Fullerton, California, which will again end the season.

The three new events are the Lawler Sports Pro-Am in Terre Haute, Indiana, which returns after a one year hiatus, the New Jersey Open, and the Denver Pro/Am. The Lawler Sports event will be the second one of the season running from September 27th to 30th, with the New Jersey Open in December and the Denver Pro/Am in March.

There will be five events in 2012 and nine in 2013, so you know that they aren't equally spaced. The season starts with a burst: three events in four weeks, with the third being the US Open. Then there's only one event in November and one in December, although that will be the first IRT event in December for several seasons.

The new year starts off quickly with back to back tournaments on opposite coasts, as the California Open happens the first weekend of 2013 and the Cactus Salon New York City Pro/Am is the following weekend.

There will be a three week break before the Salt Lake City Pro/Am, and another three weeks until the tournament after that, which will be the San Diego Open. Then in March there will be two events: the Florida Spring Break Pro/Am and the Denver Pro/Am.

There are no events in April, but the IRT season comes to a close with another burst of events as there are three events in May: the Stockton Pro/Am, the Party With The Pros and Pro Nationals.

It's the International Racquetball Tour, but the international part will have to come from the players rather than the venues as all the events of 2012-13 are scheduled to happen in the USA. Of course, that could change over the course of the season, but for now you racquetball fans can plan your seasons accordingly.

2012-13 International Racquetball Tour Schedule 

September 13-16 - Novasors Kansas City Open - Kansas City
September 27-30 - Lawler Sports Pro-Am - Terre Haute, Ind.
October 3-7 - United Healthcare US Open - Minneapolis

November 1-4 - Red Swain Shootout - Davison, Mich.
December 13-16 - New Jersey Open - Fairfield, N.J.

January 3-6 - Coast to Coast California Open - Canoga Park, Calif.
January 10-13 - Cactus Salon NYC Pro Am - Long Island, N.Y.
January 31-Feb 3 - Salt Lake City Pro/Am - Salt Lake City, Utah

February 21-24 - San Diego Open - San Diego
March 7-10 - Florida Spring Break Pro/Am - Tampa, Fla.
March 21-24 - Denver Pro/Am - Denver

May 2-5 - Stockton Pro/Am - Stockton, Calif.
May 16-19 - Party With The Pros - St Louis
May 22-26 - Pro Nationals - Fullerton, Calif.

(note: Grand Slam events in bold; Tier 1 events in normal font)

Follow the bouncing ball….