Liz Velazquez

USAPA Ambassador

Great Smokey Mountains, NC

Liz Velazquez is a naive of Columbia, South America. She and her family immigrated to the United States in the early 70's. She attended the University of California, Davis, majoring in social/cultural anthropology and in her last year at the University she was awarded a grant by the National Science Foundation to participate in a study of the migration to the United States by Mexicans and the effects immigration had on a family and their socio/economic conditions. She worked in social service assisting Cuban refugees and in real estate assisting financially challenged families. Her dream was to create a sanctuary for struggling children and their families, to provide educational, spiritual, motivational and recreational activities. And her dream became reality.

Liz is the founder of a 30 acre campground in the Smokey Mountains of Western North Carolina called the Mountain View School Campground and Sanctuary. Additionally, she founded Light On The Mountain, ........."a not for profit organization whose purpose is to empower, educate, nurture and love abused, neglected and disadvantaged children and adults........ We offer several programs for the youths and one of those is pickleball. We feel it is a great way to bridge the gap between adults and young people and also to help them build self esteem, confidence and fitness. We are sponsored by private as well as public donations. We appreciate donations, so if you know of anyone interested they can contact me at 828-498-2999."

Memorial Day weekend was her official Grand Opening of the Campground and Light on The Mountain with Pickleball demonstrations scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. "It was a smash (sort of speak). We had lots of adults and children playing pickle ball, in fact, even the band members joined in to play. It was incredible.! We had lots of visitors and most of them went back home to tell their friends about pickleball. Most of them had never heard of the sport. One person from Portland, Oregon, commented, "I can't do tennis but I can definitely do pickleball". One of the band members was from Louisville, Kentucky and he said he had never heard of the sport either and was going back to contact the Louisville group."

"As you will see from the pictures, we have a great facility and are looking forward to sponsoring tournaments from this area".

""Kids played with adults and asked us if they could come over every weekend. The place was alive with energy, laughter and fun".

" I love pickleball and the benefits it brings to community and specifically kids, so I will do as much as I can to promote it..................we look forward to creating a large pickleball group. The news of pickleball at our location is spreading and there is another community center that heard about it and will probably put courts in and start promoting it. We are looking forward to having tournaments here also and with that group. I look forward to being an active member in the pickleball community".

For more information on programs and the campground you can visit: www.thelightonthemountain.org and www.camponthemountain.com. We invite any pickleball players who may be visiting the Smokey Mountains to come to our campground and enjoy a zesty game of pickleball.

Swing On,

Liz

More pictures of the Grand Opening available in our Photo Gallery.

Atlantic South Ambassador teaches Pickleball in the Empire State

Hey all you pickleball players down in Venice/Sarasota, Florida....want to know what your local ambassador is doing up north?

Jack Beck, who spends his winters with us down here in the Atlantic South Region, is back in his home town in New York State. But he's still playing pickleball and spreading the word about our great sport.

Yes........Jack made the news again! Here is a link to a recent article in The Saratogian, the newspaper serving the Saratoga Springs, NY region. Enjoy the article.



Reader's View: From ‘Pickles’ to the game of pickleball
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009

Kings Point Pickleball Clinic

On Saturday June 20th, the Kings Point Pickleball League hosted a training clinic for their members. League leader and event coordinator Louann Dubendorf encouraged both the novice and the advanced players who wanted to improve or take their game to the next level to participate. She posted the information to her website as well as in the display case that everyone passed on the way to the courts each day.

When you live in Florida, summer time weather can play havoc with your pickelball schedule. You do what you can to play between the sweltering heat and the afternoon thunderstorms. Today, despite the forecast for temperatures soaring into the high 90's with the heat index well over 100 the serious pickleball lovers showed up for their training!

A few players showed up early and took to the courts for a few games before the clinic started, but just shortly after 8:00 am, the instructor Rich Donald, USAPA Ambassador, New Tampa, Fl, took the group to the courts. Rich did a great job adjusting his material to make sure everyone could benfit, as the group was very diverse as far as skill levels.

Here, Rich talks to the group about the importance of the "ready position" and the benefits of making a habit of returning to this position after every play.

Rich talked about the differences in hitting ground strokes and volleying at the the non-volley line. After covering the proper stance and proper paddle position he showed them how to return the ball when volleying at the non-volley line showing them how to "punch" the ball instead of "swinging" at the ball as in a groundstroke. After working with each one individually, the group took to the courts for a little practice.

Another area that the group spent a good deal of time on was the "dink" shot. Rich made his way down the line, coaching individuals , demonstrating the proper arm movement to achieve the ideal height and drop of the ball close to the net.

Rich also spent some time on both the defensive and offensive lob and " the third shot", or the return of the return of serve. He also stressed that to improve your level of play it was important to set up a schedule to practice and not just play games. He shared with them drills for practicing dinks, offensive lobs and "the third shots" that they could do either before or after daily game play.

Here's the Kings Point crew with Rich (front row, white shirt) posing for a group picture after finishing their training session. What a great goup. They worked hard today......but I think they had a good time too!

And as a "Thank You", Rich went home with a new T-shirt!

For more information on the Kings Point Pickleball League go to http://www.gotpickleball.com/

and for this T-shirt and more visit http://www.thepickleballbug.com/

Click Here for more great Pictures of The Kings Point Pickleball Clinic

Sometimes it's better to read about the success of a pickleball clinic when it's written by the people who attended.......Read this article on the Kings Point Website

Kings Pointe Pickleball League Clinic

Freeman and Harrison Finish First

No. 1-seed wins mixed doubles
The Villages Daily Sun - Sunday June 20, 2009
By STEVE DAY, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — Bill Freeman and Deb Harrison did what a No. 1-seed is supposed to do in winning The Villages Advanced Pickleball Championship mixed doubles Friday at Bacall Recreation Center.

Click the article title above to read the full story:

Below are additinal links to tournament and player articles by Daisy Moon, Daily Sun.
Pickleball mixed doubles championship begins

Playing in tournament with cast on one hand

Villages couple are partners in life and pickleball

No. 4-seed pickleball team upset

A Message from Our Regional Ambassador

South Atlantic Region - Alabama, Georgia, N & S Carolinas & Florida


Update and State of the State:

Most have not herd from me that much! That is too say USAPA is still in it's infancy and growing. I believe we all are working to grow the great game of pickleball in our own locales - building players, hosting demos, clinics, teaching, volunteering in school recreation classes, social and entertainment events etc. etc.

The remainder of 2009 and looking ahead 2010 & 2011 should prove to be banner years not only for the growth of the game itself but also for USAPA. With the advent of new and broader leadership within our organization, I foresee the coming together of a great pickleball nation. Lead by those who produce, tabulate and communicate (e-news letters, blogs, web sites, THE COMPUTER AGE) we begin to read and get to know each other and how we are all attempting to achieve similar goals together.

Most importantly, we need to THANK - our current Board of Directors and the many volunteers that got us to where we are today, THANK YOU!

The time is now, "Changing of the Guard" to step forward, bring to the table or let me interject a thought - take the table to the players. My thoughts, with the economy being what it is and the finances slim, we need to become more creative in our efforts (ie: pull together - CO EVENT, PLAN GEOGRAPHIC EVENTS CONJOINTLY TO CUT COSTS AND TRAVEL EXPENSE, DO MORE OVER THE NET, AND USE EACH OTHER FOR IDEAS AND EXPERIENCE)

We can do this and it will be both fun and challenging. Observing how we operate today, we need only to capitalize on getting to know each others strengths, where, how and when we should reach out to support each others efforts thus making our tasks simpler and cost effective.

My message: "In these times, may we do away with ceremony and titles and all work together growing this great game of pickleball, taking care to see we meet our neighbors needs and become more independent. One of the keys to all this is communication! Todays technology makes it a breeze. Contact Richard and Donna Donald (rddonald2@verizon.net) and I am confident our future will take off. Experience and Good People make up this sport."

Bye & Bye, I ask that we all give Dick Manaserri our complete support and attention for all he is attempting to do for USAPA. His selfless efforts and talented organizational mind should prove well to serve and unite this wonderful pickleball USAPA organization which we are!


Proud to be your regional - Greenie

MIXED DOUBLES IN PICKLEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP STARTS THURSDAY

By MEGAN BLAKELY, DAILY SUN
Wednesday June 17, 2009

THE VILLAGES — Thursday marks the beginning of mixed doubles competition in the second annual Villages Advanced Pickleball Championship.

If last year’s tournament is any indication, this competition should be both fun and fierce, according to recreation facilities manager Lynda Feustel. Play begins at 7:30 a.m. at Bacall Recreation Center



Click the title above to read the complete article.

The Villages, Fl - Doubles Championships Complete- Winners Announced

Cornell, Gee take title after 3-game match
By KEITH PEARLMAN, DAILY SUN

Cornell and Gee defeated Mark Stemerman and Greg Hanson in another three-game marathon 11-5, 9-11, 14-12 to claim the title in the second annual tournament held Friday morning at Lake Miona Recreation Center.

No. 1 seeds Harrison and Bluemling defeated Mari Staun and Kathy Mantel 11-4, 11-2 in the semifinals, while No. 2 seeds Bock and Day advanced after an 11-5, 11-1 victory over Christine Crenshaw and Missy Taylor.

Click the Title Above to read the complete article from The Villages Daily Sun, June 13, 2009

Sun City Hilton Head Pickleball Club - A Club Determined

Sun City Hilton Head (SCHH) is a 4,300 acre Del Webb/Pulte Home Community in Bluffton, SC., with approximately 6,800 homes and 13,000 residents with anticipated growth to 8,200 homes. The community also boasts a 4.5 acre Community Recreation Campus featuring the multi-million dollar Magnolia Hall theater, a brand new croquet court and expanded bocce ball courts………….and 4 pickleball courts.

John Huber, USAPA Ambassador, is a resident of SCHH and the current president of their Pickleball Club. For the past 6-7 months the Pickleball Club has been directing efforts to convince the developer and their Community Association Management Board (CAM) to help with land acquisition and court construction costs for four more courts. Finding a place to play the game they love has been a long “court” battle that’s not over yet.

Pickleball was first introduced to the community by John and Darlene Prest early in 2005 on a makeshift court shared with the basketball players.

By January of 2006 club membership was up to 145 and they were still playing on the makeshift court. Club president Brad Buck began negotiations with Del Webb/Pulte Homes. They agreed to build three new courts. This was great news; membership was increasing fast. The new courts opened in December. The club continued to use the courts despite the fact that the overall court length was too short, the paint was flaking off, there was no fencing to prevent balls from running into the lagoon and after just a few months the courts were cracking from the water pressure below and from very poor construction. Before the end of the year, safety concerns resulted in permanently closing the courts. The club now had to use two temporary courts shared with the basketball players near the softball field and a short time later two more temporary courts were set up in the parking lot of the old sales center.

In the meantime the club had petitioned the builder and the CAM for four new courts; club membership had surpassed 500. They were successful, and on August 29, 2008 the four courts were opened for play.

Today, a club membership 865 strong, continue their quest, hoping for the completion of four more courts during 2009. With the current economic conditions Del Webb/Pulte Homes will not build additional courts. The club has secured the land but needs to raise $65,000 to complete the construction. A membership pledge drive has raised nearly $45,000 and the club continues with fund raising efforts for the remaining $20,000. They are even selling T-shirts and sweatshirts printed with the slogan “Four More Courts”. They continue to receive and solicit donations to complete their mission.

Despite the “court” situation the SCHH Pickleball Club was successful in getting their club chartered. They have progressed from scheduling court time manually to a web based process. Under Joe’s leadership they successfully hosted the inaugural Beaufort County Senior Games in 2007, and again in 2008. They implemented “Meet and Play” for new players and thanks to Phil Worley and his committee, the 2008 Fall League Play was organized. And would the club have accomplished all of this without some FUN!!! Kudos to Jean Paul Fauser and his committee numerous social events filled with food, music, dancing, prizes, raffles and plenty fun were planned, including Summer Socials and the inaugural League Banquet where the League Championship awards were presented.

Truly an amazing group of people – a club dedicated, a club determined.

There are so many individuals who played a significant role in the building of this club and the pursuit of courts. Here is a link to that complete story as prepared by Joe Huber.


History - SCHH Piclkleball Club

Three New Ambassadors - Georgia and South Carolina

Meet Jim Hisman

USAPA Ambassador, Charleston, SC.

Jim is originally from upstate NY, born in the Catskill Mountains, and worked in the I.T. field in Binghamton, NY for 37 years. When he retired, he relocated toSummerville, SC in 2007 and moved to Del Webb Charleston at Cane Bay in 2008. In his earlier years, Jim was an avid golfer and softball player. Now he plays pickleball.

The Del Webb community where he currently lives, is a brand new community just northeast of Charleston and has just over two hundred homes already sold" the plan is for over 1,000. Already they have recruited 40 members for their pickleball club.

Jim tells us, "Del Webb had two pickleball courts just newly completed and nobody knew anything about the game, so a few of us organized a Pickleball Club at the start of this year and it has been growing ever since." The club is all ready looking into the possibility of more courts as we will need them as our community grows.

The club has been concentrating on learning the game and the rules and they really love the game. Jm says "We have started with two competitive divisions and two novice divisions in the doubles ladder leagues and we are just getting ready to launch our challenge ladder leagues in Men's and Women's Singles, Men's and Women's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles."

Sounds like this club is making some great progress. We look forward to hearing more about their fun events and ladder league play.



Meet

Tim and Laura Statum

USAPA Joint Ambassadors
Jefferson County, Al


Tim and I live in Graysville, Alabama and are Joint Ambassadors for Jefferson County. We have both always enjoyed sports and enjoy playing all types of games together, from checkers to ping pong to pickleball. My father and step mother have started a yearly tradition of spending a month at The Villages in Florida. We went down to visit them one year and they introduced us to pickleball and we fell in love with it. When we returned to Alabama, we were determined to find somewhere to play, however were quite disappointed to find out there was only one court and that it was located about 2 hours away, which is owned by Lee County, Alabama Ambassador Bob Huskey! Tim began talking to our Mayor about the possibility of painting pickleball court lines on Graysville’s tennis courts. The Mayor agreed that it would be a great idea, so now Graysville has two outdoor pickleball courts.

On May 30, 2009, we held a demonstration and introduced Pickleball to our community, which went very well. Bob Huskey was able to come from Opelika, Alabama and brought with him Pine Hill, Georgia Ambassador Cindy Moore. We enjoyed having them. They provided great assistance and played a very important part in making our demonstration a success.

Tim is a stand-up comedian and travels all over the country. He talks to as many people that will listen about Pickleball. He is also a guest on a local weekly radio show and talks about Pickleball every week. I am a paralegal at a local law firm and while I certainly don’t reach as many people as Tim does, I tell as many people about it as I can. We invite everyone to either play or watch us play on the courts in Graysville. We are hoping everyone will love it as much as we do. We want to promote the game as much as possible and are hoping to spread the word.

Bill Freeman talks about Villages Competition

Second annual Villages Pickleball Championship set for next two weeks
By DAISY MOON, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — Bill Freeman participates in a variety of activities in The Villages. This week, one of those pursuits will take top priority.

The Village of Piedmont resident will join numerous other athletes for the men’s doubles tournament during the second annual Villages Pickleball Championship to be Thursday and Friday at Lake Miona Recreation Center.

This pickleball pundit is prepared to take on the competition. During last year’s championship, he and his pickleball partners won both men’s doubles and mixed doubles.

Click on the Title above to read the full story

That's Bill Freeman on the Right with his Heartland Senior Games partner Jeff Shank, smilng and wearing their Gold Medals.

Rally for the Cure - Pickleball Tourney - Flat Rock, NC

Mike and Mary Selby, Ambassadors from NC introduced their friends and neighbors at the Kenmure Country Club in Asheville(Flat Rock), NC to pickleball just a few short years ago. The group has continued to play and enjoy the game ever since. (even while Mike and Mary snowbird at Anna Maria Island, Fl. each summer!).

This year they will tell you they had a "grand time playing our very FIRST Pickleball tournament for Kenmure Country Club" and more importantly for the Rally for the Cure Organization.

Louise Reid took the lead in organizing and planning and says she has "a lot of people to thank for helping with various parts of the tournament." People coming together sharing ideas and suggestions, making sure there was ice and extra chairs, setting up and explaining the tournament format, taping the courts and keeping and recording the scores, are just a few of the things that made the day a success.

The games were competitive and fun. Here are the men showing off their pickleball technique! Dave Powell took first place and Bill Johnson second in the men's competition.
Here, the woman take to the courts and showing their pickleball finness!! Margie Scott was the first place winner and Julie Ashbeck, second.

Winners were announced at the Rally Dinner where each finalist was presented with their award....."..a yummy jar of Kosher dill pickles", says Louise. What a great event for a great cause. The Pickleball group made $275 to add to the Rally total. I think we'll hear from them again next year.

Thanks Mike and Mary for bringing pickleball to Flat Rock, NC!!

Pickleball at The Villages

Residents Gear up For Pickleball Championship
By DAISY MOON, DAILY SUN

THE VILLAGES — Pickleball pros will swing into action at the second annual Villages Pickleball Championship.

Men’s and women’s doubles will be held June 11-12 at Lake Miona Recreation Center, followed by mixed doubles June 18-19 at Bacall Recreation Center. Games begin at 7:30 a.m.
Due to pickleball’s ever-increasing popularity in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown, Villagers turned out in large numbers to sign up for this year’s tournament, according to recreation facilities manager Lynda Feustel.

Click on the article title to read the full story.

Pickleball Comes To Graysville, Al

Tim and Laura Statum, USAPA Ambassadors from Graysville, Al, have been planning this event for what seems like a very long time. Laura reports, “We finally had our Pickleball demonstration here in Graysville and it was a great success!"

The demonstration was scheduled begin on May 30th, at 10:00am. Several City volunteers arrived early to help get things set up for the event. With everything ready to go by 9:15, Tim took advantage of the situation and got all the volunteers out on the courts to be the first to learn to play the game. Not only were they delighted with the game and eager to learn more, it was a perfect way to welcome people as they began to arrive to the event. People already out on the courts!


Graysville Mayor, Doug Brewer was there to help the Statums promote the game and a little before 10:00 Bob Husky, USAPA Ambassador from Opelika, Al, and Cindy Moore, Ambassador from Pine Mountain, GA, arrived to lend a helping hand. Cindy flew in from Arizona!

The USAPA Welcome Banner let people know they were at the right place. Tables were set up with items to be raffled off during the day, including the grand prize which was a collapsible cooler stuffed with two paddles, balls, Pickleball Books, T-Shirt, demonstration DVD and Rulebook. Local businesses donated items that filled 'goody bags' for every one. Tim and Laura also had a table set up with USAPA and Sun City Festival brochures, USAPA membership applications, Atlantic South website flyers and information sheets on the basic rules and strategies of the game as well as where to purchase equipment.

The 'newbies' finally picked up their paddles and filled the courts. This was exciting - “There even came a time where Bob, Cindy, Tim and I had to wait for a court to play Pickleball. After being instructed in the basics, people played Pickleball and all who learned that day stayed until the end." says Laura.

Before the day was over, Mike McClanahan from the local CBS station arrived for interviews and a video shoot. Tim Statum, Mayor, Doug Brewer, Bob Huskey and Cindy Moore were featured on the video that aired on the CBS 5:00 pm news. By 2:00 the event drew to an end but not before Tim and Laura made sure everyone had their business card or a way to stay in touch. Without a doubt - Pickleball has truly arrived in Graysville.

Tim and Laura are pretty new to game themselves and new to the USAPA Pickleball community. A few comments from them: "Tim and I played a couple of games with Bob and Cindy before they hit the road for home. Again, we realized how much we still had to learn. Bob and Cindy were truly fun (and very enlightening) to watch (and get beat by!!). They taught us so much. They are wonderful people and I was so glad they were able to come.

..........and we’re going to do what we can to keep the interest going. We're hoping everyone will stick with it and eventually become USAPA members. We just want to say thank you again to everyone. Our Mayor has been so supportive and has worked with us on ensuring that our demonstration was a complete success. He has already made a number of suggestions for future growth of Pickleball in our community. Bob and Cindy were truly a great part of our event's success.

..............The (USAPA) Pickleball community really reached out to us newbies and we are happy to be a part of such a great bunch. “ Laura and Tim Statum.


Go to the Pickleball Photo Gallery for more pictures of this event.

Here's a link to the CBS article and video Graysville Serves Up Pickleball