PICKLEBALL SCRAMBLE

MeadowPointe pickleball players Don Bass and Rich and Donna Donald participated in the Holiday Pickleball Scramble at the Torrey Oaks RV Resort in Bowling Green on Saturday December 20th. The event was coordinated by Jean Mulder, USAPA Ambassador from Holland Michigan and a Florida RV Snowbird wintering at Torrey Oaks. In the spirit of the holiday, she planned a fun filled day of pickleball, mix and mingle and good food!

A total of 30 pickleball players from Torrey Oaks, the Tanglewood Pickleball Club in Sebring, the Kings Point League in Sun City Center and the Picklers from neighboring Thousand Trails RV Park in Wauchulla came to enjoy the day.

Players drew numbers to determine play rotation. Each game was played with a new partner against opponents in both men’s doubles and woman’s doubles. Scores were recorded for individuals based on wins/losses and game points. Prizes for the top scores included Torey Oaks Pickleball T-Shirts and Holiday Canisters of goodies and chocolate and everyone received a goodie bag to take home. Check out the Cryptic Carols below and see how many you can figure out. These were in the Goodie Bags!

Here's a picture of the winners. Donna took thirdplace in the ladies doubles!! Back row is Marcel LeMieux from Quebec, Richard Rivard from Torrey Oaks. Front Row with Donna is Sally Michalski from Thousand Trails Peace River and Al Goldberg from Tanglewood.


The cost of admission for this event was one h’ordeorve to share. We ended the day in the beautiful courtyard near the pool enjoying a vast array of food and beverage, and sharing pickleball stories on a perfect Florida day!

Click here to see pictures from the Scramble
http://picasaweb.google.com/donna.donald612/TorreyOaksPickleballScramble#

CRYPTIC CAROLS

During this festive season, we all begin humming our favorite Christmas songs. Most of these songs are well-loved and have been around a long time. However would these songs be recognized under different titles? See how many you can identify.

1. Small City in Judea
2. Colorless Yuletide
3. Singular yearning for twin anterior incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Loyal followers advance
6. WEATHER: cloudless. ARRIVAL TIME: 2400 hours
7. Far off in a feeder
8. Aray the corridors
9. Bantam percussionist
10. Monarchial triad
11. Nocturnal noiselessness
12. Redman en route to borough
13. Initial Christmas
14. Frozen Precipitation commence
15. Proceed and enlighten on a pinnacle
16. The quadruped with the vermillion proboscis
17. Query regarding identity of descendent
18. Delight for this planet
19. Give attention to the melodious celestial beings
20. Hence arriveth Kris Kringle
21. To decry matriarchal osculation of Yuletide anthropomorphism
22. At the Zenith of the habitat
23. Endocarp vesicated in a conflagration
24. Jehovah dulcify blithe chevaliers
25. The dozen festive 24 hour intervals

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

A Few of the Meadow Pointe Picklers

Back Row: Pat, Mary, Karen, Brad and Bob.
Front Row: Suzi, Ed, Ruthann, Steve, Renee and Marilyn

Very Front Row: Don Bass??? Is that Don Bass???

Here's a few of the MeadowPointe Picklers..................Out for a few games on Friday night. Sending their Holiday wishes to everyone.......I THINK THEY'RE REALLY SINGING PICKLE BALLS (see the song below!) Leave it to Don to find a way to take the picture and be in it at the same time. Is that REALLY Don Bass??

LADIES OF THE GOLDEN PICKLEBALL

Let me introduce you to some of the ladies that I play pickleball with every day down here in Sebring.

From left (back) Linda Kramer, Judy Goldberg, Louise LeMieux, Joann Bath.

Seated: Beverly Podgorski, Barb McKinney and Me!

Missing is Kathy Hughes - she took this picture, so you'll see her in the picture below.

These are just a few of the ladies that I play with each day down here, but this group not only plays together, we party together. Linda Kramer started it all, inviting us over to her house in November for a ladies night out. After ping pong and darts, wine and lots of food, we became the Ladies of the Golden Pickleball, and decided to meet each month and to work togehter to improve our game of pickleball.

Linda and Judy are tournament partners, and have brought home the gold and silver medals to Tanglewood more than once. Louise LeMieux is a USAPA Ambassador from Quebec, and plays tennis as well as she does pickleball. She is also a professional clown!! Joanne Bath, along with Rich and I and Wayne Roswell teach beginner pickleball twice a week. Beverly is the newest player and is quickly taking her play to the next level, attending Rich's intermediate/advanced play clinics. Barb McKinney is also a seasoned player, and she and I along with Joanne really enjoy line dancing.

On December 14th, Kathy Hughes and I hosted our monthly get together with a Sunday Brunch in the Outback. The Outback is the RV section of Tanglewood. The food was great, with everything from Bagles to Chocolate Cake and Mimosa!

We played several games of Monkey Ball Golf. Here' s the picture of Kathy Hughes!! Bob and Kathy are good friends that we met last year Rving in Wauchula. They're parked right across the road from us here.

The pickleball here is great! There is open play every morning at 8:00, Ladies round robin on Tuesday afternnon, Mixed Double round robin on Wednesday afternoon. Monday and Thursday is beginner training and Friday is when Rich does his intermediate/advanced clinics.

YOU HAVE TO COME VISIT US!! PLAY PICKLEBALL AND MEET OUR NEW FRIENDS.

Submittted by Donna Donald

PICKLEBALL AND PIZZA FOR THE HOLIDAYS

WHAT A BETTER WAY TO ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS THAN WITH PICKLEBALL AND FRIENDS.

MeadowPointe Pickleball Players met at the courts as usual on Friday night December 13th. Instead of going home after several games under the lights at MPI, the group made plans to congregate at Marco's for PIZZA and Holiday Cheer.

If you remember, Lorraine Koryus (that's her, front left!), fell on the courts a few weeks back. It was great to see her having fun with the group, since she obviously has not been able to enjoy the pickleball courts! Bob (her husband) says she's done a great job mastering the art of eating pizza with one hand! It was a very cold evening (at least for Floridians)but everyone enjoyed the company.

Info submitted by Bob Koryus , pictures compliments of Pat Zwolenski

FLORIDA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

The Florida State Senior Championship Games were played down in the City of Cape Coral in Lee County. Here is Rich with a group of players who travelled to the games from down here in Sebring.

From left to right: Rich, Linda Kramer, Chuck Keller, Judy Goldberg and Al Goldberg.

Rich pulled a leg muscle real bad in the very first game and was ready to pull out of the games. Fortunately the medical staff was able to work on his leg for about 30 minutes. They taped him up and he was able to finish the day. He and Al Goldberg took the Bronze Medal in the Men's doubles. Al and Judy took the Silver in the Mixed Doubles, and Linda and Judy took the Silver in the Woman's doubles. These are a few of the people we play with every day in Tanglewood.

Here's a link to the article we wrote about the games out on the USAPA website. Hope you enjoy that and all the pictures of the games.
http://usapa.org/south/2008/12/2008-florida-state-senior-championship_11.html

Rich Donald Takes the Gold in Tanglewood Invitational

Saturday November 22nd was the First Annual Tanglewood Invitational Pickleball Tournament. The Pickleball Club there should be congratulated for the outstanding job they did organizing the day especially Jim Hoch and Al Goldberg, who spent months putting this together.

Registration for the games was only $8 per person and that included two hot dogs, chips and soda for lunch. Raffle Tickets were sold throughout the day with more than 15 drawings for cash and prizes. ThePickleball Bug had a great display for players wanting some early holiday presents for their pickleball family.
And our friend from Canada, Louise the Clown cheered on the crowd all day with her Tanglewood Cheer!



It was soooooooooooooo cold when we arrived at 7:00 in the morning to help set up tables for registration and food/raffle tickets. Everyone arrived wearing their warmest winter gear including hats and gloves. But the sun came out to make it a great day for pickleball.

Here's a picture of Rich and his partne Al Goldberg staying warm before their first match.


The double elimination tournament included both men's and woman's doubles. Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were awarded in both the A and B divisions. Congratulations to Rich and his partner for their Gold Medal Finish in the A Division of the Mens's Doubles. Donna didn't medal, but she and her partner Kathy Hughes from North Carolina, had a great time. They took their first match, but lost in the second round.

A representative from the local newspaper did a nice write up in the paper about the game of pickleball and the tournament. Here is some links that will take you the the article, the Tanglewood Website, and to more pictures of the tournament.

Tanglewood Site - http://www.tanglewoodpickleballclub.blogspot.com/2008/11/no-clowning-around-on-tanglewood-courts.html

News and Sun Article: http://www.newssun.com/news/1123-ct-pickleball

Photo Gallery of Tournament Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/donna.donald612/TanglewoodInvitational112208#

Last Week At MeadowPointe Pickleball

We had a great week playing pickleball.
Now that it is winter all our friends are back to play. We had 14 pickleball players on Monday. It was wonderful. I heard we had a terrific turnout on Wednesday also.

Unfortunately one of our players fell and hurt her wrist. I wasn't there but Lorraine will need surgery on her wrist. We wish Lorraine a speedy recovery and hope that it does not stop her from playing pickleball again.

This Friday we had 10 players and after our game 8 of us went out for pizza. We have a great group of players and hope our group will grow. On Monday we had some visitors that were on vacation in New Port Richey and enjoyed meeting them and playing with them.

If you are in the area of Tampa Bay and want to play with a great bunch of people just email me at rglassman@tampabay.rr.com

We miss Donna and Rich and hopefully they plan on visiting us soon. We hope you are having a great time.

Renee

No Big Surprise!! Pickleball is Keeping Rich Busy in Tanglewood

We miss being with our HOME CLUB in MeadowPoint, but we are really enjoying Pickleball with the Tanglewood Pickleball Club here in Sebring, Fl. Thought I would share this message from Wayne Roswell, that went out to all Club members here and invite you to visit their Club's BLOG @ http://tanglewoodpickleball.blogspot.com/. Wayne is a pickleball player and Ambassador for USAPA in Sebring, Florida and is one of the players that represent the Club on the Executive Board.


"Hi Pickeballers,

Rich Donald, one of new members to our club, has graciously offered to provide clinics for Intermediate and Advanced Players.

Rich is a seasoned tournament player, so he plays at a very high level. He spent the summer at The Villages taking instruction from Richard "MO " Movsessian a top flight tennis instructor who now teaches Pickleball Strategies to high level players at The Villages.
This is an excellent opportunity for the experienced and intermediate player to take their game to the next level.

Rich will be offering his first clinic this Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 11:00 am at the courts. Starting the week of November 17th Rich will be doing his clinics on Tuesdays at 11:00 am. and Friday's at 3:00 pm. to accommodate as many players as possible.

Please pass this message along to players that either do not have e-mail or can't open their e-mail. It will also be posted at http://tanglewoodpickleball.blogspot.com .


Wayne Roswell
Pickleball Promoter P²--

New York Picklers Visit MeadowPoint

People traveling from across the country, or even outside the country, who come to Central Florida can find our MeadowPointe Club in the "Places To Play" section on the USAPA Website. Pickleballers are always looking for a place to play when away from home base. Here is a recent example.

" Hi Donna,

Yes, we did play Monday night - had a great time and met loads of great people.
We were away Wed, so did not make it. I don't know if we will play on Friday - we are leaving Sat morning, so may be going out to dinner with my folks.
If we don't make it, please tell everyone THANKS.
Next time we are here, we will contact you again - it is great to be able to play a little Pickleball while on travel....

Thanks again....Laurie and Darrell"

Laurie and Darrell are from Upstate New York and were visiting in New Port Richey. Our Meadow Pointe Club loves pickleball, and welcomes travelers to join in play when in our area.

Up Close and Personal with Mark and Renee Glassman

It was just over a year ago that we introduced the game of Pickleball to Renee Glassman. She and one other player would meet Rich and I on the courts at least once a week to play. We can remembe when it was only four of us trying to fit time in our schedule. Renee loved the game the first time she played, and has been the leader of our group ever since. Over the last year she has worked hard to improve her game, and she has introduced the game to many of our current players. She is the glue that keeps our group together, making sure that everyone knows when and where we'll be playing every week. Renee joined three other memebers of the Club for a Pickleball Demo at the Bartles Middle School in Tampa. Mark and Renee also graciously opened their home to all of us for a wonderful Pickleball PotLuck last year.

Because of all their hard work promoting the game, we wanted Mark and Renne to be the first people we introduced on our new BLOG. We were going to do our regular story form, but we loved the answers so much the way that Renee responded that we decided to post this as a question/answer...........

Question: You live in Wesley Chapel, Florida now, but I know you are from New York?
Renee: I was born in the Bronx and lived in the Bronx untul I was 11 and then moved to Flushing, Queens. Mark was born in Brooklyn and at an early age moved to New Hyde Park. We raised our family on Long Island after Mark served 4 years in the Navy.

Question: Tell us about your family. Your children and grandchildren. Any chance they will get on the pickleball courts soon?
Renee: We have two sons, Brian and Gary. Both of the children have played pickleball and enjoyed the sport. Unfortunatly they don't have the time with their busy schedules to get out and play. I have two grandson's, Jacob 11 and Sean 7. They have both watched me play but have not attempted to play pickleball. They have busy schedules as well. Also, Sean is learning tennis and I didn't want to confuse him with teaching him picklball. I have a funny story about Sean. This week his class was doing compound words and Sean raised his hand and said a compound word was pickleball. I volunteer in his school and his teacher ran into me and told me the story. She said, Sean I never heard of pickleball therefore it is not a compound word. What is pickleball? He said it was a game his Grandmother played. So, she approached me and said that Sean used pickleball as a compound word and I told him it wasn't. I told her indeed it was. I gave her a history lesson on pickleball and told her to go to the site. She hasn't gotten to the site to date but she does believe Sean now. Never under estimate someone young.

Question: When did you and Mark move to Florida?
Renee: I moved to Florida in Dec. of '99. Mark moved a year and a half later when he retired in June of 2001.

Question: We know you play pickleball in Meadow Pointe. But how else are you are involved with the community?
Renee: Mark and I are very active and committed in our community. I have been a Vice President of the Voluntary HOA in our community since it's inception. I served prior to that as a council rep for Morningside. I activly am on the ARC and Deed restriction committee for Meadow Pointe Two. I have belonged to the NY Club in our community. I volunteer this yea 2 days in our local elementary school. I work in the schools media center one day a week and assit a teacher another day during the week. I also belong to a water aerobics class. Most important of all I am involved with the Meadow Pointe Pickleball Club. I send out the weekly notices of where we play and make sure we have enough players to play during the week. Mark had been a Council Rep for Meadow Pointe for Morningside and then became a CDD Supervisor elect. He won re election for CDD Supervisor and had to step down due to personal reasons two years ago. I am happy and proud to say that Mark was just re elected this past tuesday for CDD Supervisor for Meadow Pointe Two. He also belonged to the NY club and the pickleball club. He had to stop playing pickleball because he had knee surgery. He has to go for his other knee in 2009. He has played a game on an occasion since his surgery. I hope eventually he will be able to play again. He is a great pickleball player (better than I am) and he very much enjoys it. He doesn't come to watch me play because he wants to play the game and is afraid of injuring his knee and wants to wait until he recovers from his second surgery.

Question: We know how much you enjoy the game and how you are always on the look out for new players. Tell us about the people you have introducted to the game. Anything that you want to tell us about how you got people to come out and play?
Renee: I have introduced and promoted pickleball to several people. I just mention that I play a game called pickleball and they are welcome to come and try the game. That it is a great sport and we have a great group that we play with. Donna and Rich introduced Don (Bass) and I to the sport. There are too many people to name. Some were Pat Busbice, Lorraine Greene, Bob and Lorraine Koryous, RuthAnn Cantelmo, Serpil, Coletta, Chrissy and others that I can't recall. Some had to back out of the game for health reasons. We never turn anyone away and encourage what I call newbees to play when they come to watch for the first time. Most people love the game and find it adictive. We have many regulars. The group of pickleball players are a great bunch. We all get along famously. I enjoy playing and I enjoy the friendship. It's a great way to meet new people and it is a great source of excersie.

Question: Is there anything else about you and Mark and Pickleball that you want to share with our readers?
Renee: Pickleball is a great game. Mark originally did not want to come to try the game. Mostly because we never competed with each other in a sport. I coaxed him into trying the game and he was hooked. It is the only activity besides the NY club and Meadow Pointe involvement that we have every been involved in since our children left the nest. It's a great family game and I would encourage and do encourage as many people as I can to try the game.

Thanks Renee for the time you spend promoting this sport. We wish Mark the very best and a quick recovery from the knee surgery. And we hope to see him out on the courts again enjoying the game. Thank you both for your hard work and your friendship.