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Kelly Kirk played competitive racquetball for over 25
years and enjoyed a great deal of success. She won
state and regional championships and a U.S. Open title.
Later, she was elected to the Minnesota Racquetball Hall
of Fame. As an open player, she took her equipment
very serious.
material, same as that used on the space shuttles, is a
single sheet that covers the blade tip-to-tip and side-toside. We’ve eliminated the soft spot at the throat (where
the blade meets the handle) where other paddles tend
to break. Ounce for ounce it’s the strongest paddle
made.”
She said, “Throughout my racquetball career, I had
access to the best, leading-edge equipment on the
market. So when I started playing pickleball two years
ago, I bought the best paddle I could find and took it
apart. Literally. Piece-by-piece. Was I disappointed.
Epoxy and cardboard. Really?”
U.S. Open Worthy. How do the blades hold up during
competition? Kirk answers, “Dink shots, touch shots,
spin shots, overheads, deep or fast baseline shots, the
blades adjust with your game from the moment you
start using them, helping you compete at the highest
levels.” On a side note, the blades do meet or exceed all
USAPA specifications.
Kirk called up a friend to express her disappointment
with the paddles she tried. When asked what her dream
paddle would look like, her imagination lit up and 30
days later Riverstyks was incorporated.
“I began my pilgrimage to make the best paddle on the
market,” Kirk recalled. She explained, “Light. Durable.
U.S. Open-worthy. Professional craftsmanship. Made
in the U.S.A.” Because of the longevity and consistency
of materials, she prefers not to call her equipment
“paddles,” but rather “blades.”
Light. Kirk recalls, “Like all aspiring players, as I got
better, I bought lighter equipment and found that my
hands were faster and thus my reflexes were quicker. I
could return tougher shots with less effort since lighter
equipment provides quicker reactions.” She added, “Our
blades range from 6 ounces to 9.5 ounces. Most players
adjust to the lighter weights, especially when they
discover all the advantages.”
Durable. Ofte