Ektelon, Inc. is an American manufacturer of equipment for racquetball.
Originally based in
Bordentown, New Jersey
Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Franklin W. "Bud" Held in 1964 as the first company to manufacture racquetball
racquets
Rackets or racquets is an indoor racket sport played in the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada. The sport is infrequently called "hard rackets", to distinguish it from the related sport of squash (also called "squash rackets").
Hist ...
and
stringing machine
A stringing machine is a tool used to install strings into a racquet through a process called racquet stringing. These machines vary in features, accuracy and price.
Stringing time
Stringing a racquet can take up to an hour for a novice, or aro ...
s, not long after the development of the sport of racquetball by Joe Sobek. Working from Held’s garage in San Diego, California, the company initially set out to build aluminum
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
racquets and a racquet
stringing machine
A stringing machine is a tool used to install strings into a racquet through a process called racquet stringing. These machines vary in features, accuracy and price.
Stringing time
Stringing a racquet can take up to an hour for a novice, or aro ...
. With the development of metal tennis racquets, the old techniques of stringing wooden racquets no longer worked, and Held saw the need for a new machine. Held is credited for one of the first patented designs for a racquet stringing machine. He named the company Ektelon based on a combination of two Greek words: "ektein", meaning to stretch out, and "telon", representing the concept of perfection.
In 1970, Ektelon produced the first experimental racquetball racquet for
Bud Muehleisen
Bud Muehleisen is a dentist in San Diego, California, and a racquetball and paddleball player. A left-handed player, "Dr. Bud" Muehleisen was the first person inducted into thRacquetball Hall of Fame(in 1974, only a year after the Hall of Fame wa ...
, a top racquetball player and early legend of the sport. The company moved into a larger facility in San Diego to begin manufacturing racquetball racquets on a larger scale. Over the years, Ektelon has introduced a number of new racquetball technologies, including the first racquetball racquet made of high-strength aluminum (1971), the first handlaid composite racquet (1978), the first oversized aluminum racquets (1984), and continues to develop new technologies in racquet design such as the elimination of string holes (O3). In 1988, Prince Sports purchased Ektelon and the brand remained prominent among racquetball equipment manufacturers for several decades thereafter.
As a subsidiary of Prince Sports, Ektelon changed ownership and management multiple times before disappearing among the holdings of Authentic Brands Group in 2012. As late as 2015, the Ektelon brand name wa referenced as an ABG property but all manufacturing had ceased, with existing inventory disposed and player programs discontinued by the following year. A Restrung Magazine annual re-cap in 2016 detailed The Quiet Death of Ektelon ' with added insights, and the company website later went dark.
Ektelon involvement in racquetball tournaments
Ektelon sponsors numerous tournaments and tours nationally and internationally, including:
* US Racquetball Association
* National Intercollegiate Championships
* National Doubles Championships
* National Singles Championships
*
Racquetball World Championships The World Racquetball Championships is the top international racquetball competition organized by the International Racquetball Federation (IRF).
History
The first event was held in 1981 as part of the 1981 World Games. The second World Championshi ...
* World Outdoor Racquetball (WOR) Championships
*
International Racquetball Tour
The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is the leading professional racquetball organization for men's competition. It was founded in 1991 and is the successor to previous iterations of the tour by different names. Professional Men's racquetbal ...
* International Racquetball Federation
* Classic Professional Racquetball Tour
* Racquet for the Cure
*
Women's Professional Racquetball Organization The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour is the latest name for the women's professional racquetball tour. It features the world's best players and several events each season - running from September to May - that are mostly played in the USA.
Hist ...
Professional Ektelon Players (International Racquetball Tour - IRT)
Current World Top 100 IRT Professionals
* Jose Rojas
* Jansen Allen
* Charlie Pratt
* Adam Manilla
* Andy Hawthorne
*
Farshid Guilak
Farshid Guilak is an American engineer and orthopedic researcher. He is the Mildred B. Simon Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis and director of research at Shriners Hospitals for Children. He is also on the fac ...
* Dylan Reid
* Ryan Maher
* Marco Bertarelli
Team Ektelon Players
* Nick Montalbano
* Ricky Diaz
* Richard Aal
* Anthony Wong
* Bill Gorge
* Michael Baker
* Yee Cheng
* Steve Cook
* Woody Clouse
* Alex Ackerman
* Ruben Gonzalez
Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour is the latest name for the women's professional racquetball tour. It features the world's best players and several events each season - running from September to May - that are mostly played in the USA.
Hist ...
(LPRT) Players
* Rhonda Rajsich
* Veronica Sotomayor
* Michelle Key
* Jessica Parrilla
Outdoor Pros (WOR) Players
* Craig Clubber Lane
* Scott Davis
* Bill Gorge
* Andy Hawthorne
* Gary Martin
* Son Nguyen
* Mike Orr
* Jose Rojas
* Rick Sandello
* Robert Sostre
* Jesus Ustarroz
* Dillon Silver
* Greg Solis
* Veronica Sotomayor
* Tracy Hawthorne
* Kris Kaskawal
* Michelle Key
* Aubrey O'Brien
Junior Elite Players
* James D'Ambrogia
* Justus Benson
* Lily Berry
* Sam Bredenbeck
* Daniel Rojas
*
Dane Elkins
Dane Elkins (born 1999) is a professional racquetball player. He holds 23 major national junior racquetball championships (12 world outdoor racquetball championships, 8 USA National Junior Indoor Championships (including 6 titles at Jr. Olympics), ...
* Sebastian Fernandez
* Alexis Iwaasa
* Ben Jenkel
* Jonathan Lanford
* Victoria Leon
* Sawyer Lloyd
* Heather Mahoney
* Adam Manilla
* Erika Manilla
* Devon Pimentelli
* Sam Reid
* Chase Robison
* Ricky Diaz
* Kaitlyn Simmons
* Samantha Simmons
* Julian Singh