Subscribe

News

Ashaway renews sponsorship of Swain

September 13, 2016

Ashaway, RI — Ashaway Racket Strings has renewed its sponsorship agreement with racquetball great, leading coach, and racquet manufacturer Cliff Swain, according to Ashaway Vice President Steve Crandall. The Hall of Famer, who currently coaches Maria Jose Vargas, Jose Rojas, and Coby Iwaasa among others, strings his increasingly popular Cliff Swain brand racquets with Ashaway PowerKill® 17, and has just signed an exclusive online sales and distribution agreement with Lawler Sports.

Ashaway-Cliff-Swain.gif

“We could not ask for a better ambassador for our racquetball strings,” said Crandall, “or better marketing partners than Cliff Swain racquets and Lawler Sports. We’re very pleased to see these two legends of the sport working together and are sure that this new Ashaway, Swain, Lawler relationship will be ‘win-win-win!’”

After the most winning career in racquetball history, Cliff retired from the IRT after the 2006-07 season, but has stayed active in doubles and outdoor racquetball. In addition to his professional coaching work, Cliff continues to play WRT events, and is also very active with youth leagues, teaching lessons and hosting clinics. Cliff introduced his own Cliff Swain Signature Series racquet in 2014. It features compressed graphite construction, displacement channels to improve in-plane stiffness, and a large 107 square inch string bed that maximizes string deflection and increases the sweet spot by 20%.

“The racquet business has been growing at a really healthy, steady pace,” said Cliff, “and I think the timing is perfect now to have an online store help with sales. I’ve known Rex Lawler and Ian Titus at Lawler Sports for a very long time and I think it’s a great fit. I know the three of us — Ashaway, Lawler and myself — are going to work really well together.”

Founded more than 25 years ago by legendary stringing technician Rex Lawler, Lawler Sports is a major online and mail order racquetball products company. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Lawler Sports offers a huge online catalog of Racquetball, Pickleball, Tennis, Squash, and Badminton equipment. The company was recently acquired by long-time stringer, Ian Titus. Ian has been with Lawler for seven years, and when Rex decided to semi-retire, Ian decided to forego law school to take over the business. “It’s probably one of my better decisions,” he said.

A long-time fan of Cliff, Ian is very excited to begin marketing the Cliff Swain Signature Series. “Cliff’s racquet is really top notch,” he said. “It’s engineered by the best designers and is one of the best racquets on the market. I’m a racquet tech junkie and I’m excited because I know this is a great frame.”

“But the big thing for me is that Cliff gives so much back to the sport,” he continued. “I think Cliff going out and doing his clinics is really good for the sport, especially with his history and still being a top player. I wish other people would do that. So I want to support him any way I can. If more people were like Cliff, racquetball would be a lot more popular!”

Ashaway Racket Strings are made by Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co., the only U.S. manufacturer of string for squash, tennis, racquetball, and badminton. Operated by the Crandall family since 1824, Ashaway has been making racquet strings since 1949, and is responsible for several important technical innovations. Ashaway has been the Official String of USA Racquetball for more than ten years, and is also the Official String of Professional Tennis Registry. Ashaway Line & Twine Mfg. Co. also makes braided products for medical and industrial applications. For more information visit ashawayusa.com