Sun City Hilton Head Pickleball Club News.......

Submitted by 
Joe Huber, Former USAPA Ambassador
Hilton Head, SC

On Saturday May 19, 2012, ten members of the Sun City Hilton Head Pickleball Club participated in the South Carolina Senior Sports Classic held at Francis Marion University in Florence, SC. The weather was beautiful, in the low 70's, overcast and except for some wind for a short time in the late morning, a perfect day for Pickleball.

The format was single elimination, best 2 out of 3 games to 15 points; win by 2 points with traditional scoring. There were teams from South Carolina: Sun City Carolina Lakes; Charleston; Chester; Myrtle Beach and our Sun City Hilton Head teams. Also teams came from The Villages in FL and Jacksonville, NC. The competition was wonderful and there were many really well played matches. It was as exciting to watch as it was to play and we met some really wonderful people!

Our group came away with 8 medals, including 5 GOLD.

 Mary Gilroy and Frank Piscani were double Gold winners!

Men's Doubles: 55-59 Joe Phillips and Steve Mullins, SILVER

Men's Doubles: 60-64 Ken Kiurski and Bob Grueser, GOLD

Men's Doubles: 65-69 Frank Piscani and Tom Rinehimer, GOLD

Women's Doubles: 55-59 Roxy Holub and Mary Gilroy, GOLD


Women's Doubles: 55-59 Gayla Miller and Cindy Menegay, SILVER

Mixed Doubles: 55-59 Gayla Miller and Joe Phillips, GOLD 


Mixed Doubles: 55-59 Roxy Holub and Tom Rinehimer, BRONZE


Mixed Doubles: 60-64 Mary Gilroy and Frank Piscani, GOLD


After enjoying dinner together we all drove home happy and tired after a fun-filled day! Hopefully next year more of you will join in the fun

Guinness record established

www2.TBO.com
Tampa Bay online, May 30, 2012
New Port Richey, FL

Jeffrey Baker (left) and Justin Lawrence played pickleball for more than 24 consecutive hours at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center to qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records.  READ MORE

Got a Minute with Paul Coletta

 National age-group champion in the growing sport of pickleball

BlueRidgeNow.com, Times-News online
May 28,2012, Hendersonville, NC


What happened in 2011?

There are two big tournaments - one is called the Huntsman World Senior Games (in St. George, Utah), and I won that in my age group (60-64), and then the nationals, and I won that.  So last year I won both of the big tournaments after coming in second the previous year.

CLICK HERE to read the entire interview:

Pickleball -From Sadie Hawkins Day to the Greek Isles

Submitted by Steve Arlen,
Solivita Smashers Pickleball Club
Poinciana, Fl

The Sadie Hawkins Event in Solivita encouraged all of the female members of our club to ask a male member to be her partner. On Saturday, May 19, there were 90 participants and about 50 spectators.

The "partners" were placed into nine groupings of five pairs of equal ability. The advanced, intermediate, and beginner players competed against each other in a round robin format within their own "grouping". Each team played 4 games and we did not reward the "winners" because of our desire to make it a social event. Lunch consisted of a hero sandwich, salad, chips and a beverage which was provided by our Pickleball Club.

It was great but we should have had it in April to include more of our members that are snowbirds - next year.    It was a fun day for all!

On another note, a few weeks ago I went on a cruise to the Greek Isles on the Oceania with 102 other residents in the Solivita Travel Club.

 I found out that they had a paddle ball court on their top deck and I asked permission in advance if we could add one line (NVZ) with tape to convert it to a Pickleball court. They gave us permission and 14 of us brought our paddles and balls.  Pictured are five of the seven pickleball couples...............

Pickleball was officially listed as a recreational activity on the ship's daily published  program schedule for all passengers..............

Below the Solivita crew all get to play pickleball for a few afternoons aboard the Oceania Marina Cruise Ship in Monemvasia, Greece. 

Alabama Senior Olympics Pickleball Tournament

Submitted by Bob Huskey, 
USAPA Ambassador for Lee County, Alabama

The 1st ever Alabama Senior Olympic Pickleball tournament was held in Auburn, Alabama, on May 19, 2012, at the Indian Pines Golf Club tennis courts. Two months previous to the tournament, the City of Auburn, redid the worn out tennis courts at the Indian Pines Golf Club and added pickleball lines to the courts.

 

The tournament drew players from Louisiana (including Rayne Ambassador, Sharon Richard), Florida (including Ft. Myers Ambassadors Nancy Meyer and Cindy Eddleman), Georgia ( including Pine Mountain Ambassador, Cindy Moore) and Alabama.

The tournament was a qualifier tournament for the 2013 National Senior Games to be held in Cleveland, Ohio. All players who played in our tournament were able to qualify for the summer games next year. We had a total of 19 players with men making up 12 of the players and women making up 8 of the players.

Women's Doubles 50-69 - 1st - Nancy Meyer and Marsha Fres (center) , 2nd - Cindy Moore and Cindy Eddleman (right) and   3rd - Crystal Guthrie and Dee Scott 

Men's Doubles 50-59 (Pictured)1st - Sam Bailey and Jeff Hudson, 2nd - Byron Freso and Lee Washam, 3rd - Ken Riorden and Bill Hess. 

Men's Doubles 60-74  1st - Bob Huskey and Bob Stauffer, 2nd - Tom Earley and David Baron 

Mixed Doubles 50-54  (Bottom in photo) - 1st - Lee Washam and Cindy Moore, 2nd - Jeff Hudson and Nancy Meyer, 3rd - Sam Bailey and Crystal Guthrie. 

Mixed Doubles 55-59  - 1st - Byron Freso and Marsha Freso, 2nd - Tom Earley and Ann Earley. Mixed Doubles 60-69 (Top picture in photo) - 1st - Bob Huskey and Cindy Eddleman, 2nd - Bill Hess and Sharon Richard, 3rd - Charlie Scott and Dee Scott.

Winners of the Singles competitions:
  Men's Singles 60-74 - 1st - Bob Huskey, 2nd - Bob Stauffer, 3rd - Bill Hess.

Women's Singles 50-59 - 1st - Nancy Meyer, 2nd - Crystal Guthrie. 

Women's Singles - 1st - Marsha Freso, 2nd - Cindy Eddleman, 3rd - Sharon Richard

 Special thanks to Mr. Sam Bailey, head of Parks & Recreation in the city of Opelika, Alabama,  who provided tents and hospitality for the event. Everyone had a great time, and the weather was very accommodating

New Port Richey duo take second swing at pickleball record

May 24, 2012,
New Port Richey, FL  www.tampabay.com

Justin Lawrence, left waits to return a serve from Jeffrey Baker during their Guinness World Records attempt.

"This time we started in the a.m., which meant people were here for the bulk of it throughout Friday, so it made you want to play more, being that we were in front of people.  The hardest stretches are when nobody is around.  READ MORE

Mid South Regional Tournament - REGISTER NOW

A message from Joe Harkins..............

Last year we had a pretty good group of players from the Atlantic South Region represented at this Regional event............Let's show them what a great group of players we have..................and they'll  just have to come visit us at our Atlantic South Regional in February!!!



To all you competitive pickleball players! The registration deadline for the Mid-South Regional tournament is June 15th, just about 3 weeks from now.


The tournament will be held July 13th thru 15th in Mandeville, LA, a short drive from New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is close to many tourist attractions and fine music, including Bourbon Street, casinos, and beaches. 


Tournament and registration information is attached to this email. Please sign up soon, and come for a great time.


 For more tournament and motel information and a link to online registration, go to http://midsouth.usapa.org/ and look on the right hand side of the page.


 Or if you just want the link to register online, CLICK HERE  


Joe Harkins 985-796-5717

James Smith - USAPA Ambassador NC

Please extend a warm Atlantic South welcome to James (Marty) Smith who joins our ambassador family from Leland-Brunswick County, NC.   Originally from Alexandria VA and then Leesburg when he married, Marty spent about 40 years in sales (tire and auto) before retiring in 2010.   After several visits to Myrtle Beach and Wilmington NC, he and his wife decided to move NC.  They found a great community in Brunswick Forest, had their house built and made it their home in December of 2012. 

 

He started playing pickleball in May of 2011 with just 8 or 9 other people.   After spreading the word and with the help of the tennis instructor who gave pickleball clinics they now have as many as 22 playing on any given Sunday!  First on his agenda as an ambassador is to provide a pickleball presentation at Water of the Carolinas this month.  Marty says he’s starting with the senior population first; “since 10000 baby boomers are hitting retirement age daily! 

Meet Jayne Rogers - Atlantic South Ambassador

MEET JAYNE ROGERS
USAPA AMBASSADOR
NAPLES, FL

Jayne just joined our ambassador family representing the Naples, Fl area.  Please extend her a very warm welcome!

"I retired in 1995 and during my retirement years have enjoyed playing tennis and golf about every day. One day while golfing, I mentioned to the existing club President, Bruce Warren, that we needed to get some activity on our underused hard tennis courts. Like myself, most players were playing on har-tru courts and no longer wanted to play on hard courts. I told Bruce that I had seen this game called Pickleball at the Villages, and it might be a good idea to start it at our club, Lakewood Country Club of Naples. He encouraged me to give it a try, and the rest is history.


I went on line, learned how to play, and then contacted Bob Taylor, ambassador from Anna Maria Is/Bradenton, FL , who sent four experienced tournament level players from Anna Maria, (Bill and Val Wilson, Jim and Toni Teasdale) to our club to do a demonstration for us. That was three years ago when we had one taped court that I personally taped, and about six inexperienced players. Since then, the Board of Directors has approved the painting of four courts and the purchase of nets and equipment. We now have 30 plus players in season, some of whom have already won medals at local tournaments. Pickleball has breathed new life into our club! 


 This past season we had "open" play every weekday at Lakewood CC and "scheduled" play on the weekends. We also hosted two Invitationals with club members from Silver Lakes, Naples and the Marco Island Racquet Club coming to Lakewood CC to enjoy several hours of arranged play for fun and friendship. We invited the 3.5-4.0 ladies tennis group from The Lely Players Club and Spa to an "Introduction to Pickleball" afternoon. We plan to have many more interclub events in the upcoming season. In addition to playing at the Lakewood CC , I'm also a pickleball member at the Marco Island Racquet Center and recently was instrumental in helping the players there convince the city to install two more much needed courts with nets.


 My husband Harry and I had split our time between Naples, FL and York, ME before becoming year round residents in 1998. Although Harry, as yet, doesn't play pickleball, he's an active supporter of the game and assists me in every effort and event that I get involved in. We have three sons and six grandchildren, and hope someday they all will be pickleball players.


My goals for the 2012-2013 season are to increase our player numbers by offering more times for organized play. I would like to schedule three to four clinics, with local area teachers, at LCC to help all players improve their skills and knowledge of the game. I would very much like to get more players involved in participation/attendance at local pickleball tournaments. Intergenerational play involving seniors and our local school age children is also one of the projects on our agenda. In my new role of official ambassador, I will encourage all players to become USAPA members in order to take advantage of all that's available through the organization. Greater USAPA membership means more support for this game we all love and enjoy.


Starting a pickleball program has been so incredibly rewarding. It's been worth all the hard work, and watching everyone have so much fun and get great exercise at the same time is just simply the best!!! "

Connestee Falls Pickleball Complex

Submitted by

Deb Richter, Connestee Mountain Picklers
Brevard, NC

Wow—It’s done and fantastic!!!. The Connestee Falls Pickleball Complex was completed just in time to host the 2012 Transylvania County Senior Games. http://www.connesteefalls.com/outside_home.asp   About 30 teams competed in the event.. Everyone commented how wonderful the new venue is and complimented Connestee Falls for developing such a beautiful complex.

Our club's journey began about 1 1/2 years ago when some intrepid people offered a pickleball clinic in our community. Since then, following the recipe offered by USAPA, and with amazing support from our community, we have built a club of about 150 people. We have offered lessons, had social events, sponsored our first tournaments, encouraged outside players to come play with us and visited other clubs as we travel. We even have our own website.

For a year, we shared one of the community's tennis courts but in the past 3 months, the court was transitioned to four full time pickleball courts. Now, we have players on the courts every day, lessons for new people, skill development for those who want to hone their skills, ladder leagues," Pickles and Beer", and did I mention just good old fashion play?

We will be hosting our 2nd Annual Scholarship Fund Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday, July 13 and 14. This event will benefit our local colleges and students with scholarship money. Reserve that weekend, fill out the form and come join us in Western NC at our new pickleball complex. Let's have a great tournament.

Submitted by:
Don Wheeler, Anbassador - Hilton Head Island, SC

 “By now you have probably read the article from the Island Packet.
 NO? Click here to read….


 John Dreier, mentioned in the article, is a pickleball player from Connestee Falls, NC (near Brevard, NC) and has spent the winter here on Hilton Head Island. He is adept at convincing people like newspaper reporters that they should print articles of interest in a community newspaper. He succeeded and the article in the Island Packet is the result. Thanks go to John for that accomplishment.

Last month we had a visit from Ambassador Jane Harvey and her husband Fred, from Carolina Lakes, Sun City, SC and enjoyed their contributions to our program during their visit. This month we are currently enjoying a visit from Ambassador Linda Scott and her husband David from Richmond, VA. Linda is supposedly on vacation here on Hilton Head Island. She has already done an introduction to pickleball here at Hilton Head Plantation, Hilton Head Island, SC and a clinic for beginners on the courts and an additional clinic Friday, May 4, for new pickleball players as a result of the article in the Island Packet. 

 Pictured is David Scott displaying the "ready" position at the net during play and another is Linda Scott doing her "down and dirty" serve. I swear she digs it out of the court surface. We have all taken many skills from their visit. Thanks you two and we certainly hope to see you this fall. 


 Pickleball is ever expanding here on Hilton Head Island and the contributions from other ambassadors and players as they either pass through or vacation here is very heart warming. Our e-mail roster of pickleball players is now approaching 150. You may remember that my wife Mary and I were playing singles about 18 months ago."

Submitted by:
Mike Walsh, AmbassadorCary, NC

 We held our first tournament at the Bond Park Community Center and had 14 participants (pictured). Everyone involved had a very enjoyable time and we learned a lot about running a Pickleball tournament. Future plans call for running our first sanctioned event. The group playing at that location continues to expand and we are now working with the Town of Cary on identifying public courts to be painted for outdoor Pickleball play.

Two courts at the Weatherstone sub-division have now been painted (I did this myself in order to save cost) and play there has begun. Next month we'll be scheduling another training session in order to get more residents involved. 

Special Friday night pickleball events continue to be held at the Brier Creek sub-division. The winners of the April round robin event are pictured here: (Vince Tumminello & Mike Walsh, (#1) and Win Farin & Bubba Grant (#2). The May event will be a pot luck/Pickleball event with round robin play.

 The Raleigh/Wake Senior Games demonstration event is now slated for May 10th. Eight players from the Cary Bond park group will play the demo games with Mike Walsh providing coordination and program promotion.

 Mike and Lyn Walsh traveled to Pinehurst NC and working with Matt Downing (Tennis Club Pro) and Rudy Van Zanten (supportive resident) initiated Pickleball with a kick off clinic, which resulted in a further commitment for play at the Pinehurst Tennis Club. Since then paddles and balls have been secured and identified trainers are now in the process of launching a Pickleball program.

Pickleball Demo - Auburn, AL

Submitted by:
Bob Huskey, Ambassador - Opelika, AL-

A pickleball demonstration was held on Saturday May 5, 2012, at the Indian Pines Golf Club tennis courts in Auburn, Alabama. The courts have pickleball lines painted on them.

These courts will be the place for the 1st ever Alabama Senior Olympic pickleball tournament to be held on the 19th of May. There were eight people, so I was happy.

 The people that came were divided into 2 groups - those who had some experience and those who had no experience. The newbies were sent through a group of drills from dinking, volleying, serving, to hitting ground strokes.

 Players were instructed on how to line up for doubles, scoring, and moving on the court. There were 2 instructors - Bob Huskey, USAPA ambassador for Lee County Alabama, for the beginners, and Sam Bailey, an experienced player, worked with those who had some experience. All agreed that pickleball is a very fun game!

Waccamaw Sports Classic - and more Pickleball in SC

Submitted by
Rich and Diane Skovran,
Bill McElyea

Waccamaw Sports Classic, Conway, SC: “Rich Skovran, Rich Brown, Frank Nicolio and Jim Connery headed to Coastal Carolina University to get the courts layed out and ready for the 4th Annual Waccamaw Senior Classics on April 20th.

Approximately 25 players from Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach participated in Pickleball. The Sports Classic is for adults age 55 and older who compete in various categories including basketball, track and field, spin casting etc. in addition to pickleball.  It was a big day for seniors. JoAnn Williams & Audrey Connery did an outstanding job keeping the courts moving, and Bill McElyea volunteered to take all the pictures. He has saved the day many times with his computer and his camera. A BIG Thanks to all these wonderful people for their time and energy. It was a fun day!

The Choose to Lose program ended with a bang! Rich (Skovran) ended up introducing about 55 new players to pickleball. Tuesdays and Thursdays were designated for beginners; Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the more experienced players. Many left saying they were going to find a place to play in their home state or were going to start something new in their area. Rich provided help to get things started and also gave new players a list of “Things you should Know about Beginning Pickleball."   On March 22, there was a Round Robin for any new player that wanted to sign up and a luncheon followed. It was a huge success. The Most Improved Player Award went to Irene Mertly from Michigan. T shirts were also given away. A fun time was had by all.


For International Pickleball Week We started off with a Women’s Round Robin and luncheon on April 17th. The women always have a good time and we held a drawing for some give-a ways. The food was great as always. We have a super bunch of women who always come together to spread some joy at the table and on the court.

On April 18, Ambassadors Rich Skovran,  Ambassador, Rena Grant (pictured) and friend Frank Nicolio went to Burgess Elementary to teach 50 students how to play pickleball. This was quite unique in that the teacher loves to teach her students sports that they can continue to pursue in their later years. Everyone had a great time and it is very likely that pickleball will be on their agenda in the future.

 Rena!  Great to see that you've recovered and are back on the courts enjoying the game!



On April 19 Rich held a men's Round Robin at Pepper Geddings in honor of Pickleball week. These men were some of the best. They played hard for almost 3 hours. They loved it! Following the games the guys enjoyed some ham sandwiches, potato and macaroni salads and fruit! Some shirts were given away as well as some water bottles. A good time was had by all.

 Pepper Geddings is in full swing and they are getting a new floor in the 2nd gym. This new floor should be done by June. We will have 2 new pickleball courts in this gym for a total of 5 indoor and 2 outdoor courts. It’s a great time in Myrtle Beach!

Rich Skovran will be working with the Pepper Geddings Recreation Center who will be sponsoring a non-sanctioned tournament on December 13-14-15, As soon as the entry form is ready we will post that along with all the other information you will need to get ready to play! Rich would like to thank all the volunteers and pickleball players for their support of the game and for the support given to him as the ambassador. We have a great bunch of players who help one another and they all deserve great big THANKS!

MIRC Pickleballers Were Host to Some Very Special Visitors

MIRC Pickleballers Were Host to Some Very Special Visitors
(May 9, 2012 Marco Island, FL, www.mmdnewswire.com)

Thursday afternoon the MIRC was abuzz with excitement as 14 pickleball players faced off for competition with some very special visitors. In a rather serendipitous turn of events four traveling pickleball competitors found their way to the Marco Island Racquet Center.







Meanwhile word of these top players being in town buzzed through the Marco pickleball gang and word reached traveling pickleball ambassador, Jim Barry. Both Chris Thomas and Ken Kiurski volunteered a free clinic for our local Marco pickleballers. Jim Barry and Dan Kiurski played along with members and offered tips. All four men challenged the locals to highly competitive games.

CLICK HERE for full article...........

Continued pickleball growth in Brevard County, FL

Submitted by:
Scott Nelson
Ambassador, Florida's Space Coast


"This is a good story of why the sport is growing the way it is, it has to do with “ambassadorship;” every person that plays this sport is an ambassador, some more than others. Byron Bentley took the bull by the horns approaching and soliciting condo owners and administrators of a local condo association until they said yes to putting lines for a Pickleball court on an underutilized tennis court. 

Much work went into this and the first Pickleball match/clinic was held last Thursday morning at the Indian River Club Condo and was a great success! There were approximately 16 people (10 residents and 6 guests) that turned out for the event. The guests were from the local Space Coast Viera Pickleball group. The clinic began with Pickleball instruction and demonstration by the Space Coast Viera group, followed by games which included IRC residents. It was perfect weather for this inaugural event. 

Thanks to the Space Coast Viera Pickleball group for coming to Indian River Club and making the clinic a success. Thanks also to the residents who came out to watch and learn the game. Hopefully Pickleball will be wonderful addition to the IRC community. Thanks to Byron Bentley for leading this push and to Phil McGibney for the help painting the lines on the tennis court and the being the lead for the clinic. 
The Space Coast has many ambassadors growing the sport- Congrats to all !! 


At this point we have about 97 players that currently play in Brevard County.
There are FIVE public facilities that are currently hosting open play access and I am aware of FOUR other private pickleball facilities that will have been converted from tennis courts now or in the near future.


 As the summer arrives and some of our northern friends leave, we are approaching a record number of pickleball players at the Space Coast.    Satellite Beach Recreation Center will start hosting Pickleball again starting May 19th, on Saturdays at 7pm. We had a great turnout last year and hope that many of the same players and more can join us this year.


In effort to promote our sport we will be conducting free beginner clinics at different host facilities in the area and I will also be asking for any volunteers that would like to assist in these clinics that will take place on Saturdays.


We finally got a printer lined and are ready to order our Space Coast T-shirts. The first order will be white T-shirts with a black and green print of a paddle on the back and a smaller black print of a Pickleball on the left chest with the spaceship. Thank you Suzan Griarml, a local artist and pickleball player, for coordinating this effort”  An thanks to fellow pickleball player Byron Bentley for putting together a spreadsheet of all the Brevard public facilities' pickleball play schedules for all our players."

Racket over pickleball

April 30, 2012, Ft. Meyers, Florida www.newpress.com



Pickleball at Pelican Preserve.  Pelican Preserve residents play pickleball on the community's new courts.  Video by Amanda  Inscore

“The first time I played I thought, ‘This game looks a bit silly,’” said Hank Worley, 74, a part-time Pelican Preserve resident who began playing pickleball about six years ago at his summer home in Waynesville, N.C. Once Worley got the hang of the sport, though, he was hooked. He and other in-the-know residents led the push for Pelican’s three side-by-side pickleball courts, complete with lights for evening play. The resident committee offered two weeks of instruction to introduce new players to the game.

CLICK HERE for complete article:

Gaston/Lincoln County Senior Games

The Pickleball Doubles competition took place on Thursday, April 5 at the Phillips Center in Gastonia, NC.   Pictured below are left to right are Anita McBride and Lois Stewart, 3rd place Ladies 65-69 age bracket, and USAPA Ambassador Earl Cunning (Frank Zimmerman not shown) - Men's 70-74 age bracket.

Tournament winners: 

Ladies

 60-64 – Gold – Janice Summey/Betty Hamilton, Silver – Gayla Green/Harriett Lethermon. 

 65-69 – Gold - Ann Helms/Lois Merritt, Silver – Dee Newman, Sue Jane Sides. Bronze – Anita McBride, Lois Stewart.

75-79 – Gold – Betty Kerby/Billie Martin.

Men’s -60-64 –Gold - Russell Adams/Andrew Davis, Silver – Anthony Dogan/Gordhan Patel, Bronze – Hal White/Richard Sides. 

 70-74 – Gold – Frank Zimmerman/Earl Cunningham, Silver – Danny Jones, Lloyd Clinton Beaver

Pickleball News, Macon County, NC

Submitted by:
Mike and Nancy Falkenstein
Ambassadors, Franklin, NC

The Macon County Senior Games kicked off with Opening Ceremonies and Luncheon April 23. The games are closed except for the “fun events” which includes Pickleball.


The Pickleball Tournament was held over three days with 20+ participants ranging in age from 64 to 87. The tournament format was Double Elimination for all events and was not age-bracketed. For the first time we had an entry for Mixed Doubles from outside of Franklin (Macon County). Lin Kolb and Larry Formichella came and took the Gold in Mixed Doubles


It was fun having Larry and Lin come to the games, even though they snatched the gold from Mike and I.  We have played very little outside of our local group. Even though we lost in the finals, it was  7-5 and 8-6, so we gave them a run for their money!  Both are accomplished players and Lin competes in tennis as well as a USTA 4.5 rated player.  We hope to go and visit them and play some to improve our games!





 Medal winners in the Men's Singles were:

 Gold- Ron Schott (Center)
 Silver- Larry Noyes (Left)
 Bronze- Michael Falkenstein.











Ladies Singles were:

Gold- Nancy Falkenstein
Silver – Milly Hunnicutt
Bronze – Pat Zilbauer.

Men's Doubles winners:

 Gold –Jim Bost and Ron Schott
 Silver –Paul Ballargeon and  Larry Noyes
 Bronze – Vince West and Ken Bush
(not shown).

 Ladies Doubles winners:

Gold – Judy Wirth and Nancy Falkenstein
Silver – Milly Hunnicutt and Pat Zilbaurer
Bronze – Irma Mason and Karen Campbell. (not shown)

 Mixed Doubles winners:

Gold – Lin Kolb and Larry Formichella ( Brevard and Hendersonville, NC respectively); Silver – Mike and Nancy Falkenstein; Bronze – Irma Mason and Jim Bost

Pictured: Jim Bost, Larry Formichella,Lin Kolb, Mike and Nancy Falkenstein

 With the coming of Spring and Summer and warm weather, we will be playing on our outside courts at the Macon County Recreation Park beginning May 7th.   In case of rain we do move inside to our courts at the National Guard Armory.

We welcome all Pickleball Players and look forward to having some visitors come to play when they visit Franklin.

Active residents take a swing at pickleball

May 1, 2012
Hilton Head Island, www.islandpacket.com

"It gets me off the rocking chair," Wheeler said.

 He said pickleball is not only a great form of exercise; it's also a great social outlet. Players have a good time and meet new friends. And it's not just local residents who show up to play. Visitors from all across the country stop in for a game of pickleball while on Hilton Head. Wheeler said in addition to the recreation center and Sun City, groups play pickleball in Palmetto Hall Plantation and Shipyard Plantation on Hilton Head, and in Belfair in Bluffton. Best of all, Wheeler said pickleball is easy to learn. "You won't be a beginner very long," he said.

 Read more here: