THE exciting new sport of racketlon is coming to East Lancashire.

The sport, one of the fastest growing in the world, is a combination of table tennis, badminton, squash and tennis.

And the first ever Lancashire Open will be held in Blackburn later this month.

The increasingly popul-ar sport originated in Finland and Sweden in the mid-1980s with the first tournament held in Britain in 2002.

Since then, it has taken off around the country with English Rackleton, the governing body, staging a series of ranking events.

Now the inaugural Lancashire Champion-ships will be held at Blackburn Northern Sports Club and Pleckgate High School on Saturday, February 26.

Dubbed the raquet cou-sin of the triathlon and declathon, racketlon is a combination of skill and endurance in the four sports.

The Lancashire compet-ition is for men and ladies of all abilities who will compete in elite, advanced and amateur categories.

“It’s a new sport to the area and is very exciting,” said event organiser Siraz Natha from the Red Rose Sports Club. “I’ve played in a few tournaments and it is really good fun and a way to test your racket skills in a variety of games.”

Siraz is hoping to attract 32 entries, men and women, who will compete in three different categories depending on skill and experience.

“We are inviting players who have played at county standard in one or more of the sports to begi-nners who just fancy giving it a go,” he added.

The format sees players play in each other in table tennis, badminton, squash and then tennis.

After every two points, the serve goes to the other player (at the score of 20-20 or above, the serve changes every single point).

In tennis, the server has two changes - first and second service - just as in normal tennis.

All other aspects of the game are regulated by the rules of the individual sports.

The winner of a racketlon match is not the one that wins most sets but the one that scores the most points in total over the four sets.

“The beauty of racketlon is that you could narrowly lose three of the sets, but win one by a bigger margin and ended up as the victor.

“It really is a test but, at the same time, gives everyone a very good chance of winning.”

All competitors must bring rackets and refreshments as they could play up to three games on the day.

Entry fee is £15 and for further details, contact Siraz Natha on 07950 827404 or Iqbal Bhai on 07970 216334.