Try Pickleball on for Size at Jupiter Community Center

www.tcpalm.com - February 28, 2013 - Jupiter, FL

A game that has been called a “lively racket game for all ages and abilities,” is now available at Jupiter Community Center.

It’s called Pickleball and it was created in 1965 by Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, from Washington State, to give their family something fun to do that everyone could enjoy.

And it worked. READ MORE.....

Temple Terrace Pickleball Makes Headlines

templeterrace.patch.com - March 27, 2013 - Temple Terrace, FL

It was lights, cameras, action at the Temple Terrace Family Recreation Complex recently as a crew from Fox 13 visited to find out more about pickleball.

The sport, similar to tennis with some unique distinctions, has become a popular pursuit locally since it was introduced at the recreation center back in January.

The news crew spoke with players and instructor Manny Mariani to get a lesson in the game.

READ MORE.....

Good Life Games

March 11-12, 2013 - Seminole, FL

The Seminole Recreation Center was the host site of the 2013 GoodLife Games Pickleball venue this past Monday and Tuesday. The Tournament Director was Kristyn Sabbag of the Seminole Recreation Department.

Games consisted of both Men's & Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles. The results of the Mixed Doubles will be posted shortly on the USAPA results page. The medal winners in Men's and Women's Doubles are:

2013 Good Life Games
	GOLD	SILVER	BRONZE
MD 50-59	William Hutton Rick Whissel	Ernesto Diaz Roger Bunting	Dennis Sweeney Bill Harmer
MD 60-69	Keith Reynolds Jerry Triplett	Bill Keweshan John Smalley
MD 70-79	Ronal Monson David Radford
WD 50-59	Mitsuko Onishi Cheryl Kinnebrew	Leurene Hildenbrand Leann Clark
WD 70-79	Connie Kehl Nadine Powers

Gold Medal Winners

Clockwise from top left:

William Hutton and Rick Whissel, Mitsuko Onishi and Cheryl Kinnebrew, David Radford and Ronal Monson, Connie Kehl and Nadine Powers, Keith Reynolds and Jerry Triplett

A good time was had by all.  You are invited to stop by the Seminole Recreation Center and watch or join up to play Pickleball.

Pickleball is one of the fastest growing activities in America.

Further information on Pickleball (an all-age appropriate activity) in Seminole can be obtained by calling Kristin at the SRC at 727.391.8345.

Tanglewood residents celebrate pickleball
 www2.highlandstoday.com - March 23, 2013 - Sebring, FL

The Tanglewood Residents' Appreciation Day Pickleball Tournament was played on Thursday with 28 men and 25 women battling it out.

Great temperatures made for comfortable viewing and playing but the new windsock showed just how big a factor the wind played in each match.

This tournament used rally point scoring where a point is earned no matter who serves. Usually, a point can only be won by the team that has served.
READ MORE....

Pickleball players go for gold
 www2.highlandstoday.com - March 18, 2013, Sebring, FL

On Friday, 23 men's and 15 women's pickleball teams arrived at Tanglewood to play in the Heartland Games for Active Adults, coordinated by South Florida State College.

Players came from several local clubs — Tanglewood, Highlands Ridge, Sebring Village, Sun 'n Lake and Crystal Lake — as well as from clubs in Zolfo Springs, Solivita, Orlando, Leesburg, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce.

Lorrie Key, director of corporate and community education, and Lauren Reddick, community education specialist from SFSC, worked with the Tanglewood team to make this year's tournament another great one. Key had nothing but praise for the Tanglewood pickleball volunteers, saying: "The college couldn't have run the tournament were it not for Tanglewood's help. They know how to run a good tournament and have the facilities and people to do it right."

READ FULL  ARTICLE

Complete tournament results will be posted shortly on the USAPA website.
CLICK HERE for Photos!

Florida Heartland Welcomes New Ambassador

Dave Majick
USAPA Ambassador
Avon Park, FL 

  My career work was in education for 34 years and, most of those years where spent coaching boys basketball.. My educational background  began with undergrad work at Hiram College, and was completed by my receiving my Master Degree at Kent State, Kent, Ohio.

   Upon my retirement, I came to Florida with the intent of concentrating on golf and fishing.  That all changed when Brian Gilles approached me as asked if I knew about a game called pickleball. I said yes because I had my students play it sometimes during my physical education classes. We decided it was time to introduce pickleball to Highlands Ridge here in Sebring, Fl.  With the normal obstacles of tennis courts being taped, etc., behind us, we began to grow to our present 45 members who play almost every day. Once established I decided it was time to expand the pickleball experience beyond just USAPA tournaments and Senior games. We wanted, not just single and doubles games, but we wanted one community versus another community, a concept we all grew up with during the days of our town's football team versus another arch rival. Hence, each community team (South Central Florida Pickleball League) sends it eight best players, no age brackets, no skill determination. Just bring your eight best! It is a league made up of five communities and we have a great time competing in this manner with a shootout tournament deciding the league champion. Through our two local papers, we gained great publicity for our league and the sport of Pickelball.

   Coupled with my involvement in Sebring, is my pickleball involement in Northeast Ohio.  We started pickleball in Cortland, Ohio and have four courts in our city park where we have nightly play among 20 to 30 players. We are also developing the team competition concept for other communities from  Cleveland to Akron to Youngstown, Ohio and Western Pennslyvania.

   My other pickleball adventure is the development of a device I call, "The Pic", which I am marketing with the help of Reagan Marking and Design, Grand Rapids, MI. "The Pic" is a device that allows one to hit three doz. balls, and pick them up quickly, without straining ones back. It makes practicing a reality that was out of the question before "The Pic" came along.

Hi Pickleball Players,

The East Naples Skill Level Tournament with the new format (age and skill) will be held on April 5(singles), 6 (men's and women's doubles) and 7 (mixed doubles).

We are pleased to announce that our host hotel for this event will be The Quality Inn & Suites Golf Resort located at 4100 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples, Florida. They are offering special rates for our tournament players: $59.99 for standard, $79.99 for efficiency, and 109.99 for a suite. Their direct number is 239-455-1010. Mention that you are here for the tournament to get their special rate.

The Quality Inn will also be host for an informal meet and greet on Thursday night, April 4 at 6:30. There will be no charge for this event. There will be raffle and door prizes, a cash bar, and an opportunity to meet players from other areas.

We are also pleased to announce that Greg Gott, Vice-President and Operations Manager for Pickleball, Inc. in Seattle, Washington will be attending the tournament. Pickleball, Inc. is the Gold Sponsor for this tournament and Greg will be here to launch a brand new paddle manufactured by Pickleball, Inc. Our tournament will be the first time that this paddle will be available. He will be available to answer questions and discuss all the paddles manufactured by Pickleball, Inc.

 We also have a link for other special rates for hotels in the area:  CLICK HERE to go to that link:

 The rates for these hotels are $59-$229 per night. We hope to see all of you at the tournament!

You can CLICK HERE for Tournament Flyer and Registration form.
Registration is also available at active.com and put in East Naples Pickleball Tournament. Registration deadline is March 28 for mail-in registration and April 1 for online registration.

Come join us for a great weekend of Pickleball!!

Cindy and Nancy

Greater Greenville Senior Sports Classic

Pickleball is new to Senior Sports Games
 Published on Thursday, March 14, 2013, www.greertoday.com

The Greater Greenville Senior Sports Classic, for adults 50 years and older, is scheduled April 13-19 at recreation venues throughout Greenville County.

This annual event consists of 15 recreational and Olympic style sports. Events include a 3-on-3 basketball tournament, bowling, billiards, basketball free throw, disc golf, horseshoes, miniature golf, shuffleboard, spin casting, hotshot basketball, badminton, table tennis, weightlifting, and track and field events.

New is pickleball, a game played on badminton courts with the net lowered to 34 inches where players use a perforated plastic ball and paddles.

Registration forms are here, Greenville Rec Administrative Office at 4806 Old Spartanburg Road or call 864-288-6470.

Registration deadline is April 5.

New Boynton Beach Recreation Center activity promises to make you workout and have fun    :
http://www.wptv.com - March 11, 2013, Boynton Beach, FL

 Pickle Ball is loads of fun and, in turn, it can be good for your health. Brain chemicals stimulated through this fun and fast paced game make you more relaxed and happier and you will increase your self esteem and confidence as you feel better and healthier from the exercise.

Meeting days for Pickle Ball will be Monday and Friday. As mentioned earlier, the games will start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m. There is a charge of $5.00 per player.

For more information, please call The Boynton Beach Recreation Center at 742-6550. READ MORE:

Hi Pickleball Players,

Our last tournament of the 2012-13 season will be the East Naples Skill Level Tournament held at East Naples Community Park on April 5,6,7 2013. We are excited to offer a new format which will include skill level and age level. The 2.5 skill level will have ages 35+ and 65+. The 3.0,3.5,4.0,4.5 skill levels will have ages 35+, 50+, and 65+. The 5.0 skill level is open to any age level.

 Thursday night, April 4, 2013, there will be a meet and greet event with light snacks, open cash bar, and raffle prizes. This event will be free to you and your guests. Place for this event will be announced. Also, we are working on hotel rates and will announce those very soon.

The singles competition will begin on Friday afternoon by 4:00. The men's and women's doubles will be on Saturday (start times to be announced) and mixed doubles will be on Sunday (all start times to be announced.)

 There will be 16 lighted courts. This is a double elimination tournament. If there are 4 or fewer teams in a bracket, a Round Robin format will be used in those brackets. This is a USAPA sanctioned tournament. You do not have to be a USAPA member to participate, but must be at least 16 years old or older by December 31, 2013.

The yellow Dura ball will be used.

We would like to thank all of you for your participation in all of our South Florida tournaments this year. We appreciate all the support for the tournaments and we have been absolutely thrilled with the level of competition in these tournaments. It has been fantastic!

We hope to see all of you at The East Naples Skill Level Tournament! Please encourage all your friends to participate, this will be a great event for all levels of play.
Links to the Flyer and Registration forms are below .

Cindy Eddleman
Nancy Meyer
Tournament Directors

CLICK HERE for tournament Flyer

CLICK HERE for Registration Form.

Pickleball a sport for a lifetime
www.myfoxatlanta,com -   March 11, 2013, Atlanta, GA

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5 

Sid Cojac, 99, is known around the Marcus Jewish Community Center as the Mayor of Main Street. He calls the center his second home. But, perhaps the place where Sid feels most at home is the pickleball court.

Cojac learned the game while living in Charlotte. He says he brought it to Atlanta and it has taken off like wild fire.

5th Annual Cypress Cove Pickleball Tournament

March 9, 2013 (Kissimmee, FL) — The 5th Annual Cypress Cove Pickleball Tournament was held today at beautiful Cypress Cove Nudist Resort and Spa just south of Orlando. Treated to beautiful, warm early Spring weather, twenty-four competitors from as far away as Germany played in a full day’s tournament, which was divided into two halves.

The morning qualifying round started at 9am and matched players with a new partner randomly against random competitors in each of three games to 15. Player’s scores were recorded from each game and each player’s total score for the morning was used to seed them into the afternoon double-elimination bracket tournament.  Above, Phyllis Schnell (L) and Babs Haggerty, both from Solivita, compete in bracket elimination action early Saturday afternoon on March 9 at Cypress Cove.

 Players were matched with others who had equal or similar scores and were paired as partners for the afternoon. All 24 players then played a standard double-elimination tournament for Gold, Silver and Bronze medals. Play concluded at 3pm after some very exciting finals-round matches.

All 24 players enjoyed a wonderful day of vigorous competition and camaraderie. Everyone was able to play a minimum of five games to 15, with many teams playing as many as 9 games before the champions were crowned.

Pictured from left to Right are the tournament winners:  Bronze:Tyrone Pasquet (Solivita) &  Brendon Smith (Cypress Cove).   Gold: Tammy Brown (Cypress Cove)& Don Kelleher (Solivita)   and Silver: Tom Guminski (Solivita) & Ray Brown (Cypress Cove)

Interesting notes about the champions: Don Kelleher took Silver at last year’s 4th Annual; Tammy Brown, the only female in the finals today at Cypress Cove, also earned a Bronze in Women’s Doubles 55-59 on the prior Tuesday at the Polk County Senior Games at Solivita. Brendon Smith is just 26 years old and played in his first tournament today!

Pickleball is gaining steam every month at Cypress Cove, where we play at least five mornings a week year-round in a tropical garden setting next to a private 80-acre lake. Contact Mike Sullivan at pickleball@me.com for information on visiting and playing pickleball with the fun, friendly folks from Cypress Cove!

 Pictured are the Gold Medalists Tammy Brown and Don Kelleher.

Tanglewood pickleball players fare well in tourney
www2.highlandstoday.com - March 9, 2013, Poinciana, FL

 On March 5 and 6, several of Tanglewood's pickleball players traveled north to Solivita at Poinciana, which is 20 minutes south of Disney World, to participate in the Polk County Senior Games. Solivita is an active-adult-lifestyle community boasting seven pickleball courts, with another four to be built in the near future.

The Polk Senior Games served as another chance for Tanglewood players to hone their skills in preparation for the Heartland Games for Active Adults Pickleball Tournament that will be held at Tanglewood on March 15 and 16. Pickleball has the largest registration of the 13 events that comprise the Heartland Games, which speaks volumes about the growing popularity of the sport.

READ MORE....

More pictures from the Polk Senior Games can be found at
www.the ledger.com. CLICK HERE

The MJCCA Hosts Successful Pickleball Tournament With Players From All Across Georgia, and Ages Ranging from 16 – 99 Years

On Sunday, March 3, 2013, the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) Mature Adults hosted their second Pickle Ball Tournament.

This tournament hosted 42 players from all over Georgia – Chateau Elan, Lake Oconee, & Dunwoody ranging in age from 16 – 99.     A great day of Pickleball was had by all.

Grandfather Jerry Schwartz & Grandson Jared Cohen Take First Place. This team was made up of players from the MJCCA.

 Brenda Young & Fred Reese (below) take Second Place. This team was made up of players from Lake Oconee.

 Sid Cojac, Age 99, Known as the MJCCA’s ‘Mayor of Main Street’  also participated  in Tournament

For more information on Pickle Ball at the MJCCA please contact  Lilly.Mahana@atlantajcc.org or 678-812-4064.   The MJCCA plays on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30am-1:00pm September-May. Summer hours vary. Play is free for MJCCA and Silver Sneakers Members and $5 each time you play for Non Members. New players are always welcome.

Tournament organizers are hard at work on a Tournament date for August. The August tournament date will be announced the week of 3/18 and early bird pricing will be available.

Serving up pickleball for Cartersville
 www.daily-tribune.com - March 6, 2013, Cartersville, GA

Cartersville residents will be getting a whiff of pickleball at a weekend clinic aimed at generating local support for the sport. Steve and Patrice Dunn of Cartersville will be conducting the clinic Saturday from 2 until 4 p.m. at the ATCO tennis courts off Goodyear Street.

 The two said they will supply pickleballs and paddles to Cartersville residents who attend.

 He said a lot of cities such as Cartersville do not offer the sport, and one of the aims of the clinic is to spark local interest.

 “Our goal is to have the sports played two or three times a week locally,” Steve Dunn said.

Patrice Dunn said local badminton courts or old tennis courts could be adapted for pickleball, which uses a 34-inch tall net at its center, rather than 36 inches.

READ MORE

Pickleball league's 'Shootout' attracts strong teams
www2.highlandstoday.com - March 6, 2013, Sebring, FL

Pickleball teams from Del Webb at Haines City, Lake Ashton of Lake Wales and Riverbend in LaBelle came to Tanglewood on Monday to play in the South Central Florida Pickleball League "Shootout" against local teams from Highlands Ridge and Tanglewood.

The A team champs were: Gary Schinderle and Doug Ebeling of Highlands Ridge. In the B division, Doug O'Loughlin and David Majick took top honors. The C flight was a draw while Tanglewood's Debbie Yandell and Diane Reynolds were the D victors.        READ MORE

Pickleball finding its niche
www.sun-sentinel.com - March 3, 2013, Delray Beach, FL

Boynton Beach's Eileen Tuckman, a former racquetball champion, positions herself for a return shot. Her group meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the Delray Beach Community Center.

"We are trying to introduce it to Palm Beach County," his wife said. "We know there are pockets of players out there, but this seems to be a good central point at this time. We are trying (to establish) multi-use pickleball courts. There is no place outside right now to go to."

 Jerome, 74, also of Delray Beach, said the sport will take off once people realize there is a local venue.

READ MORE

Good Life Games 

 Registration Reminder

 It time to register for the 2013 Good Life Games

 Events are scheduled from March 7th through April 10th 

 Register Today! 

 Download your registration form at: http://www.GoodLifeGames.org

Pickleball at Port St. Lucie Civic Center