LAFD Wins 2023 League The Southern California Handball League came back after a long interlude due to the pandemic. Lake Forest College alumni Ivan Ruiz, Ricardo Palma, and Vic Perez organized a new league that consisted of 5 teams with 10 weeks of play. The participating teams included LAAC, Alhambra, Norco, Anaheim Hills, and LAFD. The appointed team captains arranged a line up consisting of 2 Doubles and 1 Singles team. Every team played against each other twice.
Handball is a long-standing tradition within the Los Angeles Fire Department. A handful of fire stations have courts, which hosts department and city wide tournaments.
The Los Angeles Fire Department started off strong, sweeping their first 3 weeks of play. LAFD won many close tie breakers and remained consistent throughout the competition. Retired Deputy Chief Roy Harvey was named MVP – winning all his doubles matches while defeating pro players. Former world ranked player (#5) and LAFD team captain, Vic Perez also won all his matches. It is the second time LAFD has won the Handball League. Their last league championship was a decade ago in 2013.
LAFD League Roster
Team Captain: FF Vic Perez
C Ryan Chance
CII Alex Garcia
FF Sergio Guzman
Assistant Chief Roy Harvey (retired)
Deputy Chief Mario Rueda (retired)
CII Chris Yokoyama
