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Date: 9/12/2023
HOLYOKE — In an effort to grow the game in an area where it was once very popular, the New England Handballers Association Inc. will be hosting the Jackson Park Doubles Handball Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The free event being put on by the nonprofit organization is open for all ages and the only requirement is having a doubles team of two players. This sport of handball, also known as wall ball, is a sport in which players use their hands to hit a small, rubber ball against a wall such that their opponents cannot do the same without the ball touching the ground twice or hitting out-of-bounds.
To sign up, contact Nancy Ortiz at 508-574-1526 or send an email to nehainc747@gmail.com. Players must check in at 11 a.m. and matches will begin at noon. A rain date is set for Saturday Sept. 23.
CEO and founder of the New England branch of the country’s handball association, Will Ortiz, lived and grew up in and around Holyoke and it was the community that introduced him to the sport. By the early 1990s, Ortiz was a young adult and started helping run tournaments in the area as well.
“Handball was extremely popular at that time, but I noticed after the late ‘80s it was kind of wavering as far as popularity. The diehards were still playing it but some of the other players were maybe getting older and life took over, so it started diminishing a bit,” Ortiz explained.
Eventually Ortiz’s life also had some changes and he ended up leaving the Paper City and moving to Worcester. He still was in love with the game, however, and was able to find a new community later on in the Handballers Association of America. Still, Ortiz found himself often coming back to Holyoke to see family and friends and when he did, would see the landscape of the sport continue to change, including the repurposing of a former court.
“We advocated strongly to try and get it up and running again, make it more usable, make it more inviting,” Ortiz explained.
Ortiz said he began trying to bring small tournaments back to the city and has had a few in the past. He added he has always seen positive support from the Parks and Recreation Department, which made him want to pursue growing the sport back up in Holyoke even more.
“It died down there [in Holyoke], and it was actually one of the most played sports in the city other than basketball,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz added he has often put on free clinics for the sport and to introduce children to handball.
Now the upcoming tournament at Jackson Park will be the first of its kind at the park since Ortiz was a teenager, he believes.
The history of the sport in Holyoke is connected to the city’s history with immigrants, according to Ortiz. He explained when Irish immigrants began moving to Holyoke, they brought the love for the sport with them, as the sport originated in Ireland.
“It’s humongous in Ireland, they have the best players in the world,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz also added Springfield and other communities in New England have similar experiences in how the game came and grew in popularity in these different pockets of the region. He said many people also moved to Holyoke from New York City in the ‘70s and many people from the city played and knew the game due to the city landscape providing unlimited potential courts to play handball.
“I think it was really that culturally, the New York City people moving in were bringing in handball,” Ortiz said.
He explained that many reasons could be cited for the fall in popularity for the sport, but when it had a community that played and cared for the sport it became a great deterrent, like many sports and physical activities can be for people.
Ortiz said the sport is appealing to all ages and called it a “lifetime sport” for its ability to attract and retain players of all ages. He compared this appeal of the sport to the appeal many have for pickleball, but added handball can become as intense as a player can take it.
“One of the benefits of handball is it can be more intense and physical and you don’t need so much equipment. You basically just need your hands, a wall — you can choose eyewear — and a ball,” Oritz said.
While the tournament will be free, Ortiz said NEHA Inc. is always seeking donations to help bring in clinics and tournaments and sometimes to assist in court projects in different communities to spread the love for the game. If interested in donating, visit https://www.nehainc.com/donation.html.
Ortiz’s wife Nancy is the co-founder of NEHA Inc. and teaches in the Worcester Public School district. Oritz credited his wife for her work within the foundation and added she has been working with her school district in creating a curriculum in the sport for students to learn in gym class.
Ortiz said he hopes this tournament will be another step forward in bringing attention and support back to the sport in Holyoke, just as he has been trying to do in other communities through NEHA Inc.