Drumheller resident Darryl Drohomerski is also a Canadian Raquetball champion.
Drohomerski competed at the Raquetball Canada Championships in Calgary from May 20-24 at the University of Calgary. There were 137 players competing, the largest group since 2019, with players from novice, up to national team calibre players.
He competed in the Men’s 45-plus double category with partner Randy Pentland and came home with gold.
“I am very happy with the results,” Drohomerski tells the Mail.
Drohomerski has been playing for about 35 years, and this was not his first time at nationals. He won the championship in singles elite about eight years ago. This is one step below the international elite level. In the doubles category, he has been playing with Pentland for a few years in a recreational league in Calgary, as well as some provincial tournaments.
Racquetball is an indoor racquet sport developed in the 1950s and had its heyday in the 1980s.
“One of the realities of racquetball, squash and tennis… and pickleball, is the first three sports tend to be harder on your leg joints, so a lot of people gravitate towards pickleball from those three sports, which has helped make pickleball popular, because people still want to play racquet sports, but don’t have to move around as much as in racquetball court,” he explains.
While it may have been surpassed by other racquet sports, Drohomerski tells the Mail racquetball is still strong with a good junior program, with players who are holding their own on an international stage. There are also still active clubs in larger centres.
He often plays in Calgary and also credits the Acme Club with allowing him to continue pursuing his sport.

From reports of loved ones in trouble to get rich investment schemes, there is an unending parade of ways scammers are attempting to separate people from their hard-earned wages.
The Drumheller Legion is hosting an anti-fraud awareness session and has invited the Drumheller RCMP as well as representatives from local financial institutions.
The session is on Thursday, June 20, at 2 p.m. at the Legion and the community is invited to attend.
RCMP Staff Sergeant Robert Harms tells the Mail that frauds are endemic.
“It is a continuous problem, and we deal with it regularly, and people get victimized by it regularly. Unfortunately, solve rates are quite low on them because it is done over the phone or computers. It is difficult to identify involved suspects, not to mention they are in different regions of Canada or in different countries,” said Harms.
He says one of the best ways to combat fraud is education.
“Make people aware and educate them so they don’t fall victim to it in the first place,” he said.
Constable Victor Iliescu tells the Mail they have seen a growth of scam attempts involving bitcoin in the area.
He explains there is a common threat to these scams in that they play on people’s greed, promising incredible returns for something up and coming.
He says the scammers will reach out on social media such as Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, and it appears they play the long game, not asking for money right away but cultivating a relationship.
He likens it to a pig butchering scam.
“It’s a metaphor, they fatten up the pig. They build the relationship, they get the person comfortable with them in the prospect of talking to this person and introducing an investment possibility and how they make amazing returns and so forth,” he explains.
He says the victims are then directed to send money, sometimes it is through a legitimate-looking website. They will provide a secure login, and any money sent will appear as a balance in an account.
“The money may go to somebody’s Bitcoin wallet, where it is very difficult to trace, and it is most certainly international,” he explains. “Sometimes they will send some money back to build that confidence… which gets them to send more money.”
He said they have seen several victims who have lost in the range of five figures through this scam.
While it is impossible to tell if there is a certain demographic targeted he says the victims are often approaching retirement and are looking at ways to build their savings.
The scam doesn’t end there. When a person asks to withdraw funds, the scammer indicates it is possible however, they will have to pay taxes or fees on the funds, attempting a last grab on the person’s money.
“If that doesn’t work, the recovery scammer will reach out to victims,” said Iliescu.
This is where a person reaches out and tells the victim they will help them recover the funds. And the cycle starts all over again.
“The way the bitcoin scams work is they obscure where the funds go, so getting the money back is almost never a possibility, so education is the best way to combat this.”
“If it is too good to be true, that is because it often is.”