"A wall is a beautiful thing."

So says Art Hotchkiss about the wonders one can do with the sides of a racquetball court.

Within those walls at Renegade Fitness of Waterford, the winner of a racquetball match between Hotchkiss and Mike Conroy on Friday afternoon was about to be determined. Conroy won the first game 15-14, while Hotchkiss won the second, 15-11.

A couple times in the third game, Conroy hovered around the front of the court only to have Hotchkiss bounce the ball off the wall to the back, rendering Conroy unable to get to it in time. And Hotchkiss kept Conroy moving. He beat Conroy, 15-8.

"He's a master," said the 67-year-old Conroy.

Hotchkiss, who lives in Noank, will be the youngest participant in his age group for the 33rd International Racquetball Federation World Senior Racquetball Championships this coming week. He is turning 80 on Monday, the same day he is flying to Albuquerque to participate in the 80+ division of the tournament.

Hotchkiss is the kind of soon-to-be-octogenarian who would make a younger man think, "I hope I look like that when I'm his age." He is a testament to those who are adamant that exercise will keep one looking young.

Russ Palazzo, who has been playing against Hotchkiss for about 30 years, recalls that sometimes at tournaments, Hotchkiss would joke, "I gotta go down and play the damn teenagers." Palazzo asked Hotchkiss what he meant. He said the reply was, "I gotta play these 70-year-olds because there's no one in my bracket."

"He's a true warrior," Palazzo said. "You couldn't find anyone with better sportsmanship than Art."

Palazzo, who at 66 has five national titles in his age group, said he nicknamed Hotchkiss "Art the Dinker" because he has so much control. "Dinker" is a tennis term for someone who hits the ball lightly but with such precision that the opponent is backed into making a mistake.

Hotchkiss said he started going to Albuquerque for the IRF championship 15 or 20 years ago, after regionally competing, and has gone five or six times since. In 2007, he placed first out of seven competitors in the 70+ category, with 210 points.

In 2013, he won both the national championship in Tucson and the international championship in Wisconsin for the 75+ group of the National Masters Racquetball Association.

He refers to the shirts he gets from tournaments while traveling as his "$1,000 shirt wardrobe."

He looks forward to seeing the same people in his age group at tournaments, who come from California, Arizona, New York and Florida.

"I have observed that most of the hotbeds of racquetball are in an area where military people usually retire," Hotchkiss said.

A fan of the YMCA

Hotchkiss grew up in Seymour, Conn., and got his bachelor's degree in zoology at Yale. He graduated from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and then practiced dentistry in the U.S. Air Force for three years, with the Alaskan Command.

Once he got out of the service in 1966, Hotchkiss moved to Westerly and joined the dental practice of Albert Spicer. He went on to practice dentistry for 37 years, retiring 15 years ago.

Also upon his return from Alaska, Hotchkiss joined the Ocean Community YMCA in Westerly and started playing squash there, and then one-wall racquetball. He started playing racquetball at Spock in New London and won its first open contest.

"There's no better drug than adrenaline, and when you get into racquetball or any competitive sport, you get so hyper," Hotchkiss said.

He said the YMCA has played a big part in his life. Hotchkiss also has played volleyball there, and he has served on its board.

Tim Babcock, vice president of operations at the Ocean Community YMCA, noted that Hotchkiss has been a longtime donor. While many YMCA locations have converted their racquetball courts to other spaces, Hotchkiss has helped keep the sport alive in the area, Babcock said.

He has known Hotchkiss for 20 years and has played racquetball with him.

"You get schooled. You learn a lot," said Babcock, 46. "He has a combination of finesse and power, so he's tricky to play, and he doesn't miss much. But the beauty of Art is that he will teach you along the way."

Babcock said with a laugh that even though Hotchkiss gives pointers during matches, "it doesn't seem to help against him."

Hotchkiss tries to play racquetball four or five times a week, between a Tuesday night league at the YMCA and early-morning matches.

"If I didn't have racquetball, I'd be a couch potato," Hotchkiss said, "because I just wouldn't be conscientious enough to do the machines and stuff."

The most important part of his racquetball career, he said, is the camaraderie formed over the past 40 years.

"Anyone who wanted to be a (prima donna) would soon be cut down to size by the friendly insults that are rarely held back by men who just want to 'enjoy,'" he wrote in a message. "Our social life outside the court was most often breakfast rather than a drink after playing."

And Hotchkiss says he gives younger players hope that they'll still be enjoying racquetball at 80.

e.moser@theday.com