LIHU‘E — On a Saturday afternoon toward the end of May, a group of men gathered at the same court they had for years for the last time. The men came together at Kaua‘i Athletic Club to play the game
LIHU‘E — On a Saturday afternoon toward the end of May, a group of men gathered at the same court they had for years for the last time.
The men came together at Kaua‘i Athletic Club to play the game they loved before they couldn’t anymore. In the coming weeks the athletic club will be moving to a new facility at Hale Kaua‘i in Nawiliwili. While this new facility will sport all new exercise amenities, the KAC Website states, the new building will be lacking one crucial element for the men that grouped together that Saturday.
A handball court.
So on May 26, the 19 men came to KAC to play in one final tournament before the court will be closed for good.
Kaua‘i Handball Association Secretary Clay Hiramoto said he began playing handball on Kaua‘i back in 1991 and over the years dozens of different players have come and gone. He said the tournament was a way to bring back the players of the present and past and reminisce about the games that were played in that court.
“A lot of people that have played over the years showed up for the festivities,” Hiramoto said.
The tournament, which featured a day of matches to go along with beer and pupus, was a success, Hiramoto said. But it was a day that no one on the island really wanted to see.
Hanballers aren’t the only ones who will be affect by the KAC change of venue. The handball courts also double as racquetball courts. Just like handball, Kaua‘i has a diverse group of racquetball players, from beginners to those of national caliber such as Philip Eliana.
Eliana, a Staff Sergeant at the Pacific Missile Range Facility, recently returned from California where he competed in the 2012 U.S. National Racquetball Championships.
While the change of the KAC venue doesn’t directly affect Eliana and his training — he generally trains at the court on base — he said losing the Lihu‘e court could kill the sport on the island.
“I know for a fact that once something leaves it’s hard to get back,” he said. “We’ve seen a lot of sports come here and you think they’re going to take off, but if nobody directs it and keeps it going, it will just drop off.”
In an interview with The Garden Island in April, Kaua‘i Athletic Club CO-owner Scott McFarland said the new venue will offer improved amenities for club goers, but acknowledged the potential loss of the court community.
“There will be a reduction of some amenities and some services, but we will definitely expand a number of services so that a wider range of folks can take advantage of physical activity with the equipment we are putting in the new facility,” McFarland said.
Due to space constraints and the high cost of building, McFarland said building courts in the new facility is currently not an option. He said he has met with members of the racquetball and handball communities and is trying to find a solution.
“Our hope is that we can do that either in the existing location at some point after opening or somewhere else,” he said.
For the time being, Hiramoto said the handballers have a couple options to get their fix. He said there is a wall along the backside of the tennis courts in the Wailua Houselots, as well as a one wall outdoor court in Kekaha.
But before it got to the point where they had to hunt in order to find a court, those 19 players played with each other at the KAC for one last time. They took an after-party back in the Wailua Homesteads, extending a day of handball into the night, before the morning came and it was no more.
• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
