Sweet Sport with Sour Name

Shout out to The Pickleball Community --

A CBS news reporter and crew visited The Villages approximately 1 month ago, met with many resident players and observed how the sport is taught and played in The Villages. They filmed various pickleball activities to be aired on CBS


Below is the segment that aired on the CBS Early Show on Friday December 17th.
Sweet Sport with Sour Name - Inside the Pickleball Craze -

MP PICKLERS ENJOY RALLY TALLY IN SUN CITY

What an absolutely perfect day for a pickleball tournament. John and Bonnie, Chris, Karen, Cindy and Rich and Donna represented Meadow Pointe at the Rally Tally Tournament held at Kings Point in Sun City Center. Don was registered to play, but as you all know a recent alergic reaction put Don in the hospital instead of at the tournament. We really did miss having him with us, especially his partners John and Donna!!

Because of the extremely large number of participants and only three courts, the game scoring was changed from the traditional 11 point win by 2, to rally scoring to 13 points win by 2. Rally scoring means that a point is won on every volley regardless of whether you serve or not. Chris thought it would be a good thing to implement at home to reduce wait time between games when there was a large turnout to play.

That is Louann,in the green shirt welcoming players as they arrive to check in.

Each player received a goodie bag upon check in complete with a fruit drink, granola bar, crackers and other goodies.........

Each player/team wore their name tag with their team number. Above is the team play rotation for the opening doubles event. Men's and Woman's doubles were played in the morning, followed by mixed doubles in the afternoon. John, Karen and Cindy only played in the doubles, while Rich, Chris and Donna stayed to play mixed in the afternoon. Donna had to find a new partner!

Above, John waits for his number to be called and Bonne (who was our cheering spectator for the day) settles in. She will soon shed the sweatshirt and work on the "suntan" as she enjoys some really good competition today.

John and his partner take to the court. John and Don were supposed to be partners, but Louann found Mike, a Kings Point player to partner up with John. Both of these guys played some very good, close, competitive games!

Karen and Cindy take to the courts and prevail over Kings Point playes Ellen and Shirley.

And Rich and Chris take to the court for their first game. Both of them started out a little shaky - but had no problem pulling out a win!

Here's Donna playing doubles with her partner, Sally from Torrey Oaks RV park in Bowling Green. They lost their first match - ending up the day with 2 for 5....... No medal today - but lots of fun trying!

Rich and Chris - on their way to the Gold (Blue Ribbon). They won 4 of their five matches. The only loss? Tell you ...........in a minute.

Karen's son Zachary came along today and had a ring side seat to watch the competition and cheer on his mom..........

Meadow Pointe against Meadow Point..........Rich and Chris next have to face John and his partner Mike for their only loss of the day. John and Mike prevail in this game!!

Another shot of some of the spectators/players waiting to play.

That's Chris looking on in the back as John goes for a tough shot and makes a great return.

Rich and Chris win the final game to take the Gold.

Karen and Cindy show off the Blue Ribbons they took for first place in their woman's doubles draw. Great Job!

Rich plays in the afternoon with his mixed doubles partner, Nancy Meyer from Ft. Myers. They took the Bronze (Third Place-White Ribbon). Congrats!!!

Chris and his mixed doubles partner, Louann, win the gold (Blue Ribbon) against second place winners Bruce (Wauchula) and Jane (Kings Point). This was the playoff game for the gold.

Donna teamed up with Don (from Kings Point) and took the gold in their recreational draw.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE MEADOW POINTE PLAYERS. WE ALL HAD A GREAT PICKLEBALL DAY!.

TO OUR PICKLEBALL FRIEND , D O N

YOUR

HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE COURTS SOON!

A Little Refresher on the Rules

Pat Zwloenski sent this to most of us and I thought it was worth posting for everyone to see. We all know the rules - but these may be a couple that we forget when we bring in new players. Thanks for sending this Pat!

The latest Rules are found at the following cite: http://www.usapa.org/officialrules/pbrules.html

Among the rules of interest to me were:

Serve Under hand defined: Rule 4.A. 1. "Arm must be moving in an upward arc and the paddle head shall be below the wrist when it strikes the ball.

Rule 4.D.Serves foot fault:
"When the ball is struck the servers feet shall not:
1. touch outside the extension of the outside lines;
2. touch outside the extension of the center line
3. touch the court, including the baseline.( notice this says "when the ball is struck" it appears that after the ball is struck, your momentum can carry you into the court. He is absolutely right!! Once you hit the ball you can move inside the line - but most players know that to stay back after the serve is the best practice.

Non-volley Rules that clarify my erroneous prior understanding: Most of us refer to the non-volley area as "The Kitchen". Rule 9.C. " momentum carries hitting player into the "kitchen" even after the ball is dead(bounces twice on opponents side.)
I always thought that once the ball hit twice on the opponents side you could let go and fall into the kitchen. Rule clearly say "No".Simply can not fall into "zone" even after the ball is dead.
Rule 9 D. Can't be in the "Zone" jump up after a return ball , hit it in the air and land out side the "zone"(acrobatic ability). Both feet have to be outside the zone , on the ground, prior to hitting a return volley.

Rule 12 J. 2. Hitting ball between top wire of the net and the bottom wire is a fault( ball must go over the net, but this seems in conflict with the following rule:

Rule 12. K. If a ball hit at an angle bounces in to the receiving court and the receiving player can hit it around the post, BELOW the net level into the opponents court, it's GOOD.( what happens if you hit it on the near side of the post, but between the net wires? doesn't sound fair, but...)

(Just think of the space between the top and bottom wire as an extension of the net - may help to better understand the rule)

I didn't note the rule number, but its specifically stated that it is a Fault when your ball hits the POST and bounces into the opponents court. Your fault.

Some very good reminders!

Monday night at MPII -

A good goup of players out on the courts for Monday night play under the lights at MP II.

Waiting for a court to open up are (left to right) Ken, Suzi, Steve, John, Pat and kneeling in the front - Chris and Liz. John (Gardner) was a guest player at the courts tonight, visiting from Rochester, NY. John plays with a group there and was instrumental in getting a venue for the National Senior Games Championships which were recently held at the Main St. Armory in Rochester.

The guys finish their game. Richard, Don, Rich and John. Richard is the newest MP pickler.........

And the ladies smile after their game - Bonnie, Marilyn, Penny and Rene.

Linda stopped on her way home from work to visit with the group and watch hubby, Don play.

And Mark stopped by to harrass the group, or may just his wife Renee!! Just kidding! We miss seeing Mark on the courts playing - but the knees just don't want to cooperate

Good Games and lots of fun tonight!

GRAB A PARTNER AND HEAD FOR SUN CITY CENTER PICKLEBALL

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

AND TO REGISTER

Seating is limited, so bring along your lawn chairs.

Doubles and Mixed Doubles Round Robin Competition.

Register By November 10th

Video from Wall Street Journal

VIDEO:Move Over, Tennis, Pickleball Is Here!
2 min
A fast-growing sport, pickleball is taking active-adult enclaves by storm. WSJ's Anne Tergesen got a look at how the game is played.
online.wsj.com -

We Will Miss You - Bill and Judy!!!!!

Rich and I got an e-mail recenly from Bill Wilcox and Judy Paul. It was good news and bad news.

The GOOD news is that Bill and Juday are still in NY, but recently bought a place at The Villages According to Bill - "it's nothing fancy or expensive. We bought in Orange Blossom Gardens We played a lot of pickleball there in March and April and decided we needed to try this place and see what we think. Almost kind of silly to buy a house just to play pickleball, but that's what we did!.......Almost all the people we met were very friendly and were fun to play with.

Everyone at Meadow Point looks for these two to be back and playing in December (AND THIS IS THE BAD NEWS!), but this year they will be playing at The Villages. Bill says that driving an hour each way to MP three times a week was kind of a killer - but " a nice group of people to play with."

Bill and Judy - congrats on the new place - enjoy your pickleball at The Villages. We Will Really Miss You!! Hope you come and visit some time!!!

Update on Support Our Troops

Following is a response from Ruth Ann on our recent shipment to our troops. Don thought it a good idea to share with all of our generous pickleball players!!

Thanks Don, just a little tidbit for you. I was at the warehouse on Saturday helping with Christmas boxes to be sent and this fellow and his wife came in looking for Bob. He proudly said he came personally from Gainsville to thank Bob and the volunteers for the boxes of treats sent over to him and all his fellow military friends. What a treat that was for me. He will be deployed again soon, but I had to thank him for what he does for us here in the USA. It brings a big lump to your throat to meet them in the flesh.

Ruth Ann

PS if anyone wants to see what goes on at Bob Williams warehouse, they can go to http://www.ourtroopsonline.com/ there is a a great video of it.

Barbeque and Pickleball

Don Bass reports (and sends us these great pictures!) We had a great cookout on Labor Day. Thanks to Renee, Mark and Penny for organizing it.

A lot of long term veteran MP Picklers in the crowd.But it's great to see some new faces. Judy ( with the visor) played with us for a short time a while back but is now a regular!!!

And this group always welcomes players of ALL AGES! That's Karen and her son Zachary. Zach has football practice most nights, so he and Mom can only join the group to play on Mondays right now. I think we should get Zach's football team on the courts - what about you??

The group moved to the pickleball courts after the barbeque, but it started to rain after just a few games. Probably a good thing! After all that good food!

The group met to play again Wednesday evening, but these late afternoon storms are putting a big hurt on play - The sky opened up before the first game! We'll try again on Friday!

Thanks for the pictures Don.

Continuing Support for our Troops

To our generous Pickleball players

I just want to update you on your generous donations over the past few months.

I went to the post office today and was able to ship TWO (2) packages to our service people overseas. It was busy in there so I didn't take the time to write down the names the service people who will receive the packages this time.

I am sure they will be very happy when they receive the packages.


Thanks to everyone who contributed, whether it was pocket change or dollar bills . . . YOU ARE GREAT!


Don Bass

Labor Day Barbeque

Hello Pickleball Players,

It was Penny's idea to get together for a labor day barbeque at Meadow Pointe Two.

Enter the same gate as you would to go to pickleball but continue to end at playground and make a left. There are tables and a barbeque. We will meet by 4:30 PM on Monday for the barbeque and then we will play pickleball. Please RSVP if you are coming. Everyone will bring there own meat for the barbeque and rolls if you are having hamburgers, sausage or hotdogs. Also bring a drink. We all will bring a covered dish to share. Hope to see you there.
We will probably play pickleball at MP 2 on Monday. The rest of the week Wednesday and Friday at MP one at 6:30 PM.

Renee

MP Players Enjoy The Game With The Funny Name!

For you MP players that do not receive the Meadow Point II Monthly Newsletter, let me share with you the article as it appeared in the August 2010 Outreach

Meadow Pointe II Community Development District - 5
AUGUST 2010

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in our country today. In 1984the USAPA (USA Pickleball Association) was organized to perpetuatethe growth and advancement of the game nationwide and the first official rule book was published. The game captures your interest because it can be played by all ages, requires little equipment or cost and is easy to learn. Pickleball is an exciting game that is played on a badminton size court with the net lowered to 34 inches at the center.

It is played with a perforated plastic ball, similar to a whiffle ball, andwood or composite paddles. While easy for beginners to learn, it can develop into a quick, fast-paced, competitive game for the experienced player. There are three unique facets of the game not found in any other racquet sport; the underhand serve, the doublebounce rule and the non-volley zone. Like tennis it can be played as a Singles or Doubles game, but points are earned only when serving. The game is played to 11 points. Rich and Donna Donald are Meadow Pointe Residents and Local Ambassadors for USAPA. Back in 2007 they With everyone’s the game had attracted more than 50 players to our courts ranging in age from 17 to 70! At first we had to bring our chalk or tape and put lines on the tennis courts before we could play. But the popularity of the sport was quickly recognized by our Board Members who agreed to have permanent lines painted onsome of the tennis courts.

Our Meadow Point Pickleball players have fun both on and off the court and you can often find
them at the local Pizza Parlor, once they finish playing on Friday nights. They play every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings rotating between the courts at MPI and MPII. Our players range from 14years old, to Senior Citizens, so everyone is welcome. Anyone reading this article can play - and we would love to have you come and join our group. We get exercise,
have some friendly competition, make some great new friends and have a lot of fun. However, we must caution you THE GAME IS ADDICTIVE !!

If you are interested in learning to play or learning more about the game, please contact Renee Glassman at 813-907-7521 / rglassman@tampabay.rr.com or Don Bass at 813-907-5562. They have extra paddles and balls to get you started.

To see how popular pickleball is inFlorida and the Atlantic South Region,visit: http://www.south.usapa.org/

Play Pickleball in International Waters

First Annual Picklecruise to Bermuda.
May 15-22, 2011
Holland Ammerica Cruise Lines


A very special THANK YOU to San Diego County, CA Ambassador, Audrey Phillips, for coordinating this '11 PickleCruise to the Magic Isle of Bermuda

8 Days/7 Nights on the Deluxe Holland America

ms Veendam

Up to three pickleball courts will be available day and night for your pickleball playing pleasure!

Tell all your pickleball friends that Pickleball is going International!

CLICK HERE for more information and Registration Form

Support the Troops - Update

An Update from Don on our effort to collect postage money to "Support the Troops".

AND---------------- Send in your group Name Suggestions!!

As many of you know one of our members personally contributed (for her Dad) $100 to Support the Troops, Inc. So, she helped to send about 4 or 5 packages all by herself. I found out she also volunteered at their packing facility one day. We have some great people in our little group!

We have been collecting loose change (and bills) these past few weeks and it totaled enough to ship a package so I went to the post office and picked the box on top of the pile and paid the shipping. We paid to have a package shipped to Jeanne Braswell at the Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan.

Thanks to all of you who contributed . . . I am sure Jeanne will appreciate it.

Also, on the box there is a place to put the name of who paid for the postage. So, I proposed a contest to see who can come up with a name for our group, so I can put it on the next boxes we ship.

I Found Rich and Dee!!!!

Looks like our friends are having a great summer. Here they are playing in the 4th of July tournament at the Thousand Trails RV Park in Chesapeake, VA. And here the Championship Winners showing off their coveted prizes!!!
There is a nice story and pictures of the tournament on our friends blog. Click Here and check it out.

Randy and his group get Pickelball Started at Beacon Woods

Remember Randy and his friends from Beacon Woods that came to play with us here in Wesley Chapel? Well -They finally have a pickleball court to play on........Read more below. Found this in the Suncoast News.

By: CARL ORTH The Suncoast News
Published: June 29, 2010

Pickleball fan Randall Schaeffer whacks the ball in a game at Beacon Woods in Hudson.

HUDSON - Pickleball, anyone? A small group of dedicated pickleball players at Beacon Woods hope to popularize that phrase, much like "tennis, anyone? "

Pickleball is sweeping the nation and a few Beacon Woods residents are playing the hybrid game of tennis and badminton. But a few tennis enthusiasts don't much care for the blue court stripes painted on top of the white tennis boundaries on one of the four courts at the Beacon Woods clubhouse.

.....Ryan, a former Beacon Woods board member, took to pickleball even though he had been an avid tennis player most of his life and the father of a tennis champion. Pickleball can appeal to men and women players alike, as well as people of all ages and abilities, Ryan wrote in a note.

Click here for more pictures and to read the whole story:
Pickleball sparks community controversy

How To Get To The Net After Serving

Coach Mo's Pickleball Tip of the Month

The serving team is at a disadvantage because the returning team will be at the net before the return of serve is touched by the serving team.

the serving team must get to the net as fast and as safe as possible to level the playing field.

There are three methods to get to the net:
Click Here to Find out which method is the best!

Pickleball Group to Support Our Troops

Hello Everyone

Last night we had a brief discussion about a voluntary fund raising project for the men and women serving our country overseas.

Bob Williams a local business man accepts donations of various treats that our military people enjoy, but are not available to them because of the area they are deployed to. Bob has a web site at www.ourtroopsonline.com
where you can learn more about what he does. There is even a video from a local news station about what he does. By the way his organization is a 5013C operation.

While Bob is very successful in getting the “goodies” and packaging them, postage is a large expense and he seeks help with it from the community.

In the Wesley Chapel branch of the US Post Office on Boyette Road they have packages all ready to be shipped they just need someone to pay postage. I sent one this week that cost a little under $21.

So, going forward I will bring a collection jar to our games for anyone to donate loose change if they want to. There will be NO pressure or obligation to donate, but if you look at the "Thank Yous" on the web site you, will understand how much these men and woman appreciate these packages.

So, each time the collections total near $20, I will go to the Post Office and select a package and ship it from us.

Just another thought, the opening in the collection jar will actually be large enough to accept bills as well as coins :).

Don Bass

Twelve members of the Meadow Pointe group got together today . . . with their street clothes on instead of pickleball gear. . . . boy everyone looked different!!!

Suzi and Pat organized the gathering at a nearby restaurant called Dunderbox.

Everyone had a great time.

Celebrating Pickleball in our State

Both our Florida Governor and our Tampa, Florida Mayor helped us to celebrate and promote this great game. Both of them signed and issued proclamations declaring June 1st through June 7th

International Pickleball Week

Click Here to Read Proclamation Issued by Florida Governor Charlie Crist for International Pickleball Week.


Click Here to Read Proclamation Issued by Mayor Pam Iorio for International Pickleball Week

International Pickleball Week

Fast Growing Sport Celebrates Worldwide with Week of Activities

Seattle, WA (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 13, 2010 -- The USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) is pleased to support International Pickleball Week, June 1-7, 2010. A court game of angles and strategies, of position and speed, pickleball is enjoying huge increases in popularity with seniors, school kids and families. During the week starting June 1st the USAPA will be holding events throughout the United States to celebrate the sport and introduce it to new players.

The sport of pickleball is really catching on across the world and is particularly popular with seniors. We intend to celebrate the growth of the sport with our fellow players throughout the world, including locations in Canada, Mexico and India.

Start making your plans now for National Pickleball Week - Get out the USAPA Banners and your camera's and share your celebrations!!!

Click here to read the full release:
International Pickleball Week - June 1-7, 2010

Good Questions From Players

Quite often Rich and I get questions about the rules of the game of pickleball. We thought these particular questions we recently received from a friend of ours were worth sharing.

Have you encoutered this before - and did you know how to handle ??

Faye: I was playing doubles, the other team was serving to me. The non-server had his back to me walking toward his position on the baseline when the server went into his service motion. I raised my non-paddle hand and said wait. He was already in the process of serving and continued the serve. The serve was good but I did not return it. He questioned why I stopped the point. I explained that his partner was not in position and it distracted me and I had called a let. (I didn't actually call "Let" but "Wait".)

He had several questions after the game -- just wanting to learn the rules.

1. If I had not stopped play, would his serve have been a good serve? (Even though his partner was not in position.)

Answer: Yes his serve would be considered good. The server only needs to make sure that the person receiving the serve is ready. His partner and the partner of the receiver can be anywhere on the court they want to be.

2. My question: Was I entitled to call the let since his partner was not in position?

Answer: NO. If his partner was distrating you BEFORE he started his service motion, you could hold up you hand to let the server know you were not ready. There is nothing in the rules that says his partner must be back at the base line. His partner can be anywhere on the court, so you can't call a let for him not being in the proper position. The server only needs to make sure that the RECEIVER is ready. If you put your hand up AFTER the service motion began - his serve continues.

3. Pertaining to a different game: He was playing doubles on court A when a player fell on court B. He called a let because of the distraction of the player falling. Was that a legitimate let??

Answer: NO - It would not be a legitimate let even if it was on the SAME court. Play continues even if your partner falls.

MP's Pat Zwolenski brings Boy Scout Troop to our Courts

Story and pictures submitted by our very own Pat Zwolenski....Thanks Pat!!!

Here is a picture of Boy Scout Troop 180 having their Tuesday night meeting at the Meadow Point I Pickleball Courts.

The previous Tuesday, USAPA member and former Scoutmaster Pat Zwolenski, spent time at the troop meeting explaining the history of Pickleball and the rules of the game. Then the next Tuesday they met at the courts and under the watchful eyes of Suzi Zwolenski, Pat Zwolenski, Steve Long, and Chris Atkinson played Pickleball.

There were a few boys who really excelled and challenged Steve and Chris to a game after the other Scouts had left. Although they played very well, they ended up losing to Steve and Chris. Steve and Chris will be presented Troop 180 paperweights to thank them for their support.

Here is a pictue of Boy Scout Troop 180 with their Meadow Point Pickleball Friends. Steve is the one hidden behind one of the boys and holding paddles up like Mickey Mouse ears over two boys.

Sounds like some of these guys are pretty good players- Please invite them back to Meadow Pointe any time......Keep them practicing and we'll set up a Troop 180 Round Robin!!!

Meadow Point Players Medal in Heartland Games

On Friday and Saturday, March 5th and 6th, the Heartland Senior Games were played at the Tanglewood Community in Sebring, Fl. Rich competed in both the Doubles and the Mixed Doubles competition. He played with Stan Michalski, an RV'er at Torrey Oaks in Bowling Green. They won there first match easily, but then lost. This was a single elimination - so they did not medal.

In the mixed doubles - Rich and his partner Linda Kramer, from Tanglewood were the favorites to win. Their medal match was great - a real nail biter. They lost the first game, but came back and took the next two. Here they are with their Gold Medals.

Donna did not play in the mixed doubles, but finished with the Bronze Medal in the Ladies Doubles competition, with her partner Karen Wolf - an RV'er from Peace River in Wauchula. This was Karen's first time competing in a tournament.

It was a great tournament. We all had a great time. Here is a link to more about this Tanglewood Event!!!!

Heartland Senior Games

Rich will be playing again in the Fit for Life Games in Punta Gorda, and both of them will be competing in the Good Life Games later this month in Seminole. Watch for results!!!!!