INDIAN CREEK RV RESORT...............

Submitted by:
Morris Wheat
Ambassador - At- Large
Atlantic South Region

Our Resort (Indian Creek Resort) is owned by a company called Sun Communities. A good share of the properties acquired are affordable housing parks and the land is rented to the home owner. Our Resort is one of the more attractive properties of Sun Communities with a wealth of activities. It initially was a mobile home park n. As the years went by people liked it here and anchored down their trailers. The residents were and still are very active and Square dancing was a big draw to this park as the hall could accommodate 24 squares. Now the old trailers are being taken out and Mobile homes (double wides) of around 800 sq feet are being installed for sale and for rent. There still are a few RV sites left and these sites are a good way for the company to introduce people to the resort in hopes that they might buy or rent a unit and stay.

Indian Creek Resort (the name was changed from park)  is located at 17340 San Carlos Boulevard, Fort Myers Beach, Florida 33931 and is managed by Kathy Claprood.   The resort has many facilities and they are constantly being maintained and improved. There are three pools one which is lighted. There are three different halls one with smaller rooms for various activities. There is an Activity Director that has responsibility to bring in shows and direct other big activities. A major portion of the activity work is done by resident volunteers.

The major sports activities are Tennis (5 Courts), shuffle board, Bocci Ball, Horse shoes, Pickleball (soon to be three courts), Radio controlled sail boat racing, table tennis, billiards (8 tables), exercise room, and Volley ball (3 courts).   Of course there is wood carving, quilting, sewing, many different card games and Mah Jongg. There is a library too. The residents of the park partake in many charitable programs and there are many fun events and dancing.   I may have over looked some things such as the weekly bike ride in the Resort where participation sometimes get up to over 230 riders. The weather usually is very good and this season it have been great. The population of the Resort during the season is around 3,400 although there are a number of residents that call this Resort home all year around.

Okay now to the subject of Pickleball. Pickleball started in the park back around 2005 using wooden paddles and a temporary net playing on a very unsafe concrete surface. A small group of players, having a keen interest in the sport, went to management asking for a place to play. The manager understood the need and declared one tennis court to be used in limited number of hours on three days of the week. Of course this did not please the tennis players as lines were painted on the court to make two Pickleball courts. This worked for two years but management fielded many complaints from tennis players and a resident that lived next to court 5. In 2007 this same small group of players, now called a committee, went to management to ask for real pickleball courts. Management agreed and for the 2008 season established a budgeted item for Pickleball courts. Two courts were built in 2008 by a company named NIDY. The courts were great but the problem was our group of players had grown substantially causing some problems of court utilization. It was evident that more courts were required. For the past 4 years the Pickleball committee has been busy trying to make the two courts work for all the players while asking management to add two more courts as the original plans indicated. There have been many persons that have come to this Resort primarily because we have Pickleball but find all the other activities rewarding too.

Pickleball today at this resort is very actively played by well over 120 players. We have internal Resort tourneys twice a month mixed doubles, men's doubles, women's doubles. We have been having a clinic put on by Randy Hall for our players improvement and knowledge on how to play. The courts are used from early morning each day until sundown. The present elected committee has made some changes in court usage and this season we have had very few confrontations by the players. The aspect of a third court next season may help in providing the time to play for many of the players as with only two courts the wait time can be quite long. To control "who is next to play" we have a rack to hang the paddles giving a bit of control. We do have some court times during the day where one court is reserved.

We have lessons for beginners two days each month. Class is limited due to lack of courts available to play on. If lights were added this would substantially improve playing time and extend the play into the cooler evening hours especially for the year around residents. The Resort is listed on the USAPA.org web site for places to play at Fort Myers Beach. Residents may invite guests to play Pickleball as long as the guests are registered at the Resort office.
Many of the resort's players participate in Senior games in our area. This past weekend the Lee County senior games were played at the Wa-ke Hatchee facility and a number of our Resort players won medals.

Register NOW for the Charlotte County Senior Games

Hi to all Pickleball Players!

Entry forms for the Charlotte County Senior Games must be postmarked by Saturday, March 10, 2012. You can download the registration form from our website, http://www.pickleballspecialties.com/  or from right here on the Atlantic South Website.

If you would like to play, but don't have a partner, fill out the form and in the line naming your partner, put NEED PARTNER and put your skill level number beside it (1-5).

The tournament starts on Friday,March 16 with singles. On Saturday is men's and women's doubles and Sunday is mixed doubles. There will be 8 outdoor courts, separate check in times for men and women's doubles, a food vendor, and the Pickleball Specialties booth.

An update will be sent to all participants on Thursday,March 15 to inform you of any check in updates,rain info, etc. The event is being held at South Regional Park, 670 Cooper Street, Punta Gorda, fl. This tournament will not be a sanctioned event, so scorekeepers/refs will not be used.

We look forward to seeing all of you. Any questions, please call.

Nancy and Cindy
419-320-3655
954-309-5882

Sarasota Expo - Harbor Lakes RV Resort

As part of the 2012 Equity Life Style (ELS) Sarasota Expo, pickleball was played at the Harbor Lakes RV Resort in Port Charlotte, Fl. on Tuesday March 6th.

Park Manager, Kim Harper, with the help of resident Marty Keinhofer and local USAPA ambassadors Rich and Donna Donald took the lead role in organizing Harbor Lakes' first ever event as part of the  Sarasota Expo.   The park only has ONE pickleball court,  so the tennis court was converted to two pickleball courts for the day in order to accommodate the 40 players who registered to play.

In addition to the competitors from Harbor Lakes, players travelled from the Terra Ceia community in Palmetto, Fl, Bay Indies RV Resort in Venice, Fl and the Thousand Trails RV Preserve in Wauchula, Fl.   It was park vs park.......and after a brief welcome  the games were underway.

Below, the men take to the two converted courts for their round robin competition.  There were ten teams and each team played four games with conventional scoring to 11 points, win by two.  The four top teams played off to determine the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers.

The ladies played a  very fun "random draw" round robin.  Each player competed in four games of 15 point "rally scoring".   Mother Nature provided some pretty stiff winds today - so everyone had to be on their toes.

 Water, Sports Drinks and soda were provided for the players and a tented room was set up throughout the day for players to get out of the sun and enjoy their lunch.  Sandwiches, fruit,  fresh veggies, energy bars, and some really great desserts were on the menu and provided to all the players.

Hats and visors from Pickleball Paddles Plus were awarded to all of the winners along with Target Gift Certificates.  Key Chains, Stress Pickles and Pickle Pens were given to players as door prizes .

And your winners are:

Men's teams:


John Foard & Rene Meier  -  Peace River

Bob Drouin & Pop Demello -  Bay Indies

Gilbert Ladouceur & Jean Salvas -  Harbor Lakes


Women's Round Robin

 First  - Carla Foard - Peace River

Second Place  - Krystal Showalter - Peace River

Third Place - Donna Donald  - Peace River

Awards were also provided to the next three finishing players:

Fourth Place - Micheline DuBois

Fifth Place - Denise Ladouceur

 Sixth Place - Karen Wolf
 

 

Park Manager Kim Harper has never played pickleball, but today got to witness the competition and fun that pickleball players experience every day.  Players told her that next year the competition would include all the park managers!!!

 

The organizers and all the helpers from Harbor Lakes could not have done a better job providing the players with some great competition , some great food and some awesome prizes.  Hope we can make this an annual event!!

CLICK HERE for event pictures

Sun City Center, FL - Relay for Life

SCC Pickleball Relay for Life Cancer Fund Raiser

Submitted by:
Gary Nicolay
Sun City Center Pickleball Club President

A total of 38 teams participated in the various divisions of the Pickleball tournament staffed by volunteers from the SCC Pickleball Club, Volleyball Club, Master of Ceremonies John Sauber, two University of South Florida Medical Students, Relay for Life staffers, and Jordan Cook who did a fantastic job for the 50/50 drawings. Through the efforts of all of these volunteers, a total of $291.00 was raised for the Relay for Life Cancer Fund.

Everyone who attended or participated was treated to a day that featured weather that was picture perfect, top notch action that was non-stop, delicious hamburgers and hotdogs supplied by Apollo Beach Meats and a tournament that was professionally run by our MC John Sauber.

Here are the results of the tournament:

Mens Doubles Open Division..............Kelly Emerson/Aaron Cook

Mens Doubles Amateur Division.........Chris Jacobs/Jim Kistler

Womens Doubles Open Division........Dede Montana/Diane Barnes

Womens Doubles Amateur Division...Judy Chordas/Kim Roush

Mixed Doubles Open Division............Sylvia Sjoberg/Stan Sjoberg

Mixed Doubles Master Division..........Bernice Dubro/Walt Prouty

Mixed Doubles Amateur Division........Kim Roush/Lou Klusty

Kids/Adult Division under 15..............Jordan Cook/James Mounts

Kids/Adult Division over 15................Shawn Palameri/Chris Jacobs

Singles Open Division........................Gary Nicolay

CLICK HERE for SCC Relay Photo Gallery

Pickleball at the Opelika Sportsplex

A pickleball demonstration was held in Opelika, Alabama at the Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatic Center on March 2, 2012.

Bob Huskey, USAPA Ambassador for Lee County, Alabama held the demonstration from 9:00am till 12:00pm. Many new people were present to see how the game of pliable is played. Several racquetball players mentioned that they liked the slower pace of the ball.

CLICK HERE for more photos.

Watch for more information from Bob on the upcoming tournament in Alabama.  Working with representatives of the Alabama Masters Games, the Alabama Senior Olympics Pickleball Tournament  is being planned for  May 19 and 20, 2012 in Auburn, AL.   Additional information and Registration Forms will be available soon.

Pickleball Clinic at Spring Hill College

February 29, 2012 - Mobile, Alabama Ambassadors Jerry and Virginia Corker presented a Beginner's Pickleball Clinic organized by Intramurals Director Angel Grey of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.

12 enthusiastic students and faculty attended the 2-hour clinic and were playing competitive matches by the end of the day. Ms. Grey is interested in having more mini-clinics and getting more students and faculty playing this great sport.

 

Ms. Grey is second from the right and Jerry is on the far left in the group photo.

Lee County Senior Games

The Lee County Senior Games were held at the Wa-Ke-Hatchee Recreation Center in Ft. Myers, Florida on Friday, Saturday and Sunday February 24 -26, 2012.  The tournament drew about 100 players this year.   This was a USAPA Sanctioned Tournament - Tier 4.  

Tournament directors/organizers Nancy Meyer and Cindy Eddleman did an excellent job. Very well organized and very well run. 

The Singles competition took place on Friday evening - kicking off the three day event.  Saturday was the men's and ladies doubles.  Each match was best two out of three games played to 11 points- win by two.  The back draw was one game to 15 points.

And on Sunday players took to the six indoor courts for the mixed doubles competition.  

Fruit and beverages were available for all players, and hot dogs and pulled pork barbecue were available to purchase at lunch time.  A players lounge was set up for eating or resting between matches.   There was some great competition over the three days and we send a special thanks to all those who volunteered to referee the matches.  Great Job!

CLICK HERE to see the complete photo gallery.

RESULTS will be posted on the USAPA Results Page

Macon County Die Hards Pickleball Tournament

Submitted by
Mike and Nancy Falkenstein
Ambassadors, Franklin, NC

The Macon County, NC, Pickleball Group held an "in-house" tournament February 27, 2012. It was the First Annual " Winter Die-Hards Pickleball Round Robin Tournament".....a celebration for all those who are full-time residents and play Pickleball all year long!

We have been fortunate to have a mild winter compared to the last several winters, but we all really enjoy our indoor-facilities at our National Guard Armory. We have 3 courts for play and for most of the winter we use all 3!

Larry Noyes organized and ran our "Winter Die Hards" Round Robin and it was great! We had 12 participants, paired randomly by picking numbers, and divided into two divisions.....all levels playing together. Each player played a total of 6 matches with different partners. Total games won, total points won, and the tie-breaker was total points lost....which as luck would have it, we needed to break a tie! The 1st and 2nd place winners in each division played one match to 7 points, and the winners of that match, played one match to 11. First Place Pickles went to Ron Schott and Nancy Falkenstein and Second Place Pickles went to Vince West and Mei Gooder. Vince has recently undergone a Kidney Transplant at Emory in Atlanta, receiving his wife Mary's kidney. We are all thrilled he is back at Pickleball and winning.

We are looking forward to our Senior Games which open April 23, 2012, and Pickleball is a "Fun Event". We, like others in North Carolina, hope that the State will soon sanction Pickleball as they did "Corn Hole" this year! We know several are working on this.

Our summer folks will soon be returning, and we will be moving outside to our 2 dedicated Pickleball courts at Macon County Rec Park. The outside game is different from indoor Pickleball and we all look forward to that! We often have as many as 30+ folks in the summer, while our winter group is about 12 to 15. We continually recruit new folks and are pleased to report we introduced John Miele of Sylva, NC, to the game recently. He comes to Franklin regularly to play tennis; we found him on a "rain day" and he joined us. He will be good player and we hope he keeps coming!

We are happy to learn that one of our own summer players has recently become and Ambassador and is getting the game going in Pensacola, Florida! It keeps on growing!

Pictures from the tournament have been added to the Franklin NC photo gallery.  CLICK HERE