Game variations
How many people can play racquetball at once?
Racquetball
Four wall paddleball Charlie Brumfield Andy Hawthorne (racquetball) Honduras at the 2011 Pan American Games Oregon Racquetball
Four_wall_paddleball-The_game Charlie_Brumfield-Professional_sports_career Andy_Hawthorne_(racquetball)-Personal Honduras_at_the_2011_Pan_American_Games-Racquetball Oregon_Racquetball-Oregon_Racquetball_Association
Paddleball can be played with two players (singles), three players ("cut throat"), or four players (doubles). The rules of paddleball are similar to indoor racquetball, and both sports are played on the same court. The most-significant differences between paddleball and racquetball are:  Paddleball players play with a solid paddle, rather than a strung racket. A paddleball is slower (and slightly larger) than a racquetball. Paddleball games are played to 21 points, instead of 15 or 11 (as in racquetball). There are other minor differences, but racquetball players tend to pick up the sport quickly and many players are good in both. Marty Hogan, Charlie Brumfield and Bud Muehleisen, for instance, each held national open titles in both sports; Hogan held both national open titles during the same year. The differences in the paddle and the ball make for longer rallies than in racquetball, and use more of the court. As a consequence paddleball tends to be more physical, and contact between players (while discouraged) occurs more often than in racquetball. Playing the sport at the highest level requires an advanced degree of fitness and endurance, similar to that required by squash. The official governing organization for paddleball is the National Paddleball Association (NPA), whose website is the official source for current rules and tournament schedules. 
Brumfield began as a handball player until a dislocated finger prompted him to take up paddleball in 1964. His play came to the attention of Bud Muehleisen, who was the dominant player in the sport at the time, and the two became lifelong friends. Brumfield won his first National Paddleball Association (NPA) paddleball singles championships in 1969, ending Muehleisen's streak. This led naturally to a career in racquetball—or 'paddle rackets' as the sport was known at the time—a sport that Muehleisen was promoting on the West Coast. Muehleisen edged Brumfield out in a close tie breaker during the finals of the first national racquetball championship in 1969, a time when racquetball was still strictly an amateur sport. The rivalry between Brumfield and Muehleisen helped to bring the sport of racquetball of age in the early 1970s, and Brumfield won the first professional racquetball championship in 1972, a victory Brumfield ranks amongst his most important. Brumfield won back-to-back national racquetball singles championships in 1972 and 1973 (winning 20 consecutive tournaments), then again in 1975 and 1976. He continued playing world class racquetball for the next 10 years. However, the official ball became much faster in the latter part of Brumfield's career, and this did not suit his game style. In 2003, Brumfield's contemporary, Jerry Hilecher, said: "With a slower ball, I don't think anyone would have been able to compete at his level. With a fast ball, he would be one of many close to the top." During the late 1970s, Brumfield's major rival was Marty Hogan. This rivalry fueled the great popularity of the sport at that time, and was even the subject of a 1978 Leroy Neiman painting which was widely published in poster form. Brumfield and Hogan were the first players to have earned fame and large incomes from the sport, and their stature as professional athletes capable of earning endorsements outside the sport has not been equaled by anyone who has followed them in the sport. Brumfield has also won numerous national racquetball open doubles titles—first with Muehleisen in 1969, then in 1973 with Steve Serot, and finally in 1975 with Craig McCoy—as well as outdoor national racquetball doubles championships with Muehlheisen and Serot in 1974 and 1975. According to Muelheisen, the team of Brumfield and Muelheisen never lost a game—let alone a match—in national level competition play; a feat not since equaled by any regular racquetball partnership. In an interview with "Apex" magazine (a Handball/Racquetball/Squash publication, Summer 2008), Muehleisen said that no team ever scored more than 13 against Muehleisen and Brumfield in tournament play. Games were played to 21 in those days, making this achievement all the more impressive. Brumfield, it should be noted, denies that he and Muehleisen were undefeated, and attributes Muehleisen's failure to remember the occasional loss to a particular fondness for those days. But Brumfield has never cited a specific defeat that he and Muehleisen suffered, and there are no official records to verify such a loss. Brumfield also won the outdoor national racquetball singles championships in 1974 and 1975 in his only attempts at that title. He and Hogan are the only players to ever win the triple crown of singles championships in indoor racquetball, outdoor racquetball, and paddleball. Brumfield also won the triple crown of doubles championships, a feat unlikely to be repeated. Marty Hogan has described Brumfield as both the best doubles player, and the best outdoor player ever to play the game. In 1988, Brumfield became the sixth person inducted into the Racquetball Hall of Fame. After leaving the racquetball circuit, Brumfield returned to paddleball where he is a perennial force to be reckoned with. The slower ball in paddleball once again favored his game style and natural abilities. He has won numerous NPA age group titles in paddleball, both in singles and doubles. In March 2008 he won his most recent national singles title by defeating Andrew Mitchell in the Master's (45 and older) age group. In April 2009, at age 60, Brumfield (with partner Jamie Lawson) won his most recent national doubles title, also in Men's Master's. Brumfield has won several Golden Master's (55 and older) doubles titles with Eric Campbell (another former racquetball pro), and at age 55 he won the 2004 Senior's (35 and older) national paddleball doubles title with Mike Wisniewski, giving nearly 20 years to some of his younger opponents in that age group. Brumfield plays occasional exhibition matches with reigning open singles champions including Kelly Gelhaus, Chris Crowther, and Aaron Embry. Steve Keeley described Brumfield as the second best paddleball player of all time (behind Keeley himself). Brumfield is also a member of the NPA Board of Directors, and is the founder of Paddleball Nation, a group of paddleball players in Southern California. Members of Paddleball Nation have won more than half of the paddleball national championships since its inception in 2003. The dominance of Paddleball Nation in national competition was the subject of the lead story, entitled "Racquetball and Brum get credit for success of Paddleball Nation", in the NPA's Fall 2009 newsletter. 
Born in Clinton, Iowa, Hawthorne grew up in Champaign, Illinois, close to a racquetball club. But he learned to play from his uncle on a family vacation, and then continued to play when he returned home. Hawthorne is married, and met his wife Tracy at Baldwin-Wallace College as he was looking to recruit women for the racquetball team there. She continues to play racquetball competitively. Hawthorne has been sponsored by Ektelon throughout his career. 
Honduras has qualified two male athletes in racquetball. 
 Association. The Oregon Racquetball Association (ORA) is the state governing body for USA Racquetball, the national governing body of the sport. It has a board of directors and is responsible for sanctioning tournaments throughout the state. Tournaments are held at various athletic clubs and contain divisions for many skill levels and age/skill levels. The Open division is considered the top division of play, followed by Elite,A, B, C & D. Divisions are offered for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles and mixed doubles. 