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