Sunday, October 31, 2010

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!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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!Posted by Picasa

Sunday, October 17, 2010

GRAB A PARTNER AND HEAD FOR SUN CITY CENTER PICKLEBALL


Seating is limited, so bring along your lawn chairs.
Doubles and Mixed Doubles Round Robin Competition.
Register By November 10thPosted by Picasa

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 -