Regional Director Atlantic South Appointment

4/16/2013

Fellow Regional Directors and Ambassadors in the Atlantic South,

In the past several months as you know our well loved Donna Donald has requested to step down from the Regional Director's position for the Atlantic South. She has done a fabulous job especially in the area of promoting pickleball, encouraging new players and ambassadors through the region as well as write an incredible and awesome newsletter every couple of months. She has a fabulous team of ambassadors and to all of you that know her and have served her, we want to thank you.

Earl Hill and I have talked and emailed several of you that have asked about the position and after much consideration we would like to introduce to you your new Regional Director for the Atlantic South - 

He is Howie Thompson from Little River, SC. He graduated from the University of Tampa with a BS in Physical Education. He not only played baseball and football, he also has been the head coach for girls basketball, soccer, and softball teams. Howie also taught pickleball from 1998-1999 at Brewster High School in Brewster, NY

Howie has written several books that have been published since 1999 to the present which include A Game for All Seasons, Overtime, Fat Harold, The Legendary King of Shag, and the most recent book; And the Bands Played On...The History of Beach Music.

Howie is now retired from teaching and coaching. He plays pickleball and continues to reside in Little River. He has a plan to grow pickleball and has a list of ideas I am sure he will be sending to you.

It's with great pleasure that we present Howie to you. His email is ncoachhta@hotmail.com or you can call him at 919-824-1110.

You might even be able to get one of his books autographed!

Sincerely,

Christie Borne

 
Christie Borne  | Director of Ambassadors
USA Pickleball Association 
18827 Brighton Trail Ln.  | Tomball, TX 77377
Tel: 713.775.5273
  

Final Pickleball on tennis courts

Submitted by Ann Earley, Ambassador, North Georgia

Thanks to Ken Riordon, Jon Pyle, Floyd Moody, Chuck Fahn, Katie Brown, and Judy Vonesh for participating in the final games on the old tennis courts.  A special thanks to Floyd Moody, who stayed to work with Tom to take out the sand filled buckets.

Destruction of the courts begins tomorrow.  Resurfacing and new, permanent PB courts (six!) will be installed within the next two weeks. Play will resume on May 20th.....

Additional locations will be announced as we find places to play for the next 14 days! Thanks again, for braving the rain!

Tom & Ann Earley
....& Bocce, the regional mascot

CLICK HERE for more photos.

Results of Hillsborough County Indoor Pickleball Championship

Submitted by Russell Elefterion, Ambassador, North Tampa, FL

The tournament was fantastic!!! We had over 100 players including the social and we had almost every PB club from within 60 miles involved!   

25 mixed doubles teams
12 men’s doubles
12 women’s doubles

Men's Doubles
1st Place: Larry Cabrera/Dale Scott (St Pete Beach)
2nd Place: Byron Freso/Mike Kates (Valencia Lakes)
3rd Place: Larry Freed/Greg Watkins (Anna Maria)


Women's Doubles
1st Place: Denise Boutin/Susan Gapen (The Villages)
2nd Place: Marsha Freso/Debbie Stafford (Valencia Lakes)
3rd Place: Susan Forget/Sheryl Kinnebrew


Mixed Doubles
1st Place: Marsha Freso/Mike Davis (Valencia Lakes)
2nd Place: Byron Freso/ Trisha Chesky (Valencia Lakes)
3rd Place: Benningfield/Benningfield

CLICK HERE for more photos.

Island Rec Center Sponsors First Hilton Head Island Pickleball Tournament

Submitted by John Dreier

On Friday, April 26th and Saturday, April 27th 50 pickleball players from as far away as New York and Florida played in a Men’s Doubles, Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles pickleball tournament at the Rec Center facility. The level of play was excellent because participants included ranked players with lots of tournament experience. This made the medal rounds especially exciting. 

Players and onlookers alike enjoyed the tournament and there were many requests that this become an annual sporting event on the island. This tournament raised funds for the Island Rec Center that will be used to support the pickleball program there. 

Medal winners were:

Men’s Doubles    

Bronze - Dennis Zeleski/Pedro Arevalo
Silver - John Dreier/Mitch Laine
Gold - Bob Grueser/Ken Kiurski

Women’s Doubles
Bronze - Joyce Bridwell/Mickey Hoehl
Silver - Teresa Shull/Trish Snyder
Gold - Denise Boutin/Nancy Whiteman

Mixed Doubles 

Bronze - Frank Piscani/Mickey Hoehl
Silver - Ken Kiurski/Cathy Taylor
Gold - Teresa Shull/Sean Shull

 

CLICK HERE to view more photos.

North Georgia PB Club - PB on Monday 10AM

Submitted by Ann Earley, Ambassador, North Georgia

We will begin court destruction on Tuesday May 7th and will have a few accessible sites and times for play until the competition of the SIX new courts at the end of the month. We will have a “Grand Opening” party and play on a date and time to be announced. We will send additional information for play at Lake Arrowhead and perhaps some additional sites later in the week. Hopefully we can enjoy one last day of play on the old courts tomorrow, Monday, May 6th at 10 a.m. Until then, HAPPY CINCO de MAYO!

Gherkin born Friday, May 3rd!

Submitted by Ann Earley, Ambassador, North Georgia

This arrived a few minutes ago from our North Georgia PB Club Member, Todd Intermill. Our first club Gherkin! Congratulations Todd & Kendra!

FROM TODD:

He finally came after 29 long, hard hours. We have a handsome new pickleball player. William Anthony Intermill. Born at 2:16 this morning. 7.0 lbs, 20 1/4 inches.

Upcoming Tournaments in and around our region

Hi to all Pickleball Players,

We would like to announce some upcoming dates for tournaments in and around our region. We are proud to be the tournament directors for these tournaments and we hope that you will all make an effort to support these tournaments as players and/or volunteers.

Tournament information and registration sheets will be available on the USAPA website and on www.pickleballspecialties.com after May 1, 2013. We are working on a couple of more tournaments that will be announced as soon as the details are all set.

June 15, 16 2013: Orlando ClearOne Doubles Invitational, Orlando, FL
                               Sanctioned Tier 4 Skill/Age Combination (Indoor)                                                                                                       
                                            
August 17, 18 2013: Palmetto Indoor Pickleball Doubles Invitational, Aiken, SC
                                  Sanctioned Tier 4 Skill/Age Combination                                                            
                                  Social meet and greet on Friday evening August 16

Sept 13,14,15 2013: Battle of Franklin, Franklin, Tennessee 
                                  Sanctioned Tier 4 Age Level Tournament

Oct 25,26,27 2013: Tampa Bay Senior Games, Tampa, FL

Nov 1, 2, 2013: Myrtle Beach Seaside Classic, Myrtle Beach SC
                          Sanctioned Tier 4 Age Level Tournament
                          Dinner Dance on Thursday night, October 31

Dec 14, 15 2013: 4th Annual Riverbend Classic, LaBelle, FL 
                            Sanctioned Tier 4 Skill/Age Tournament

Jan 31, Feb 1,2 2014: Atlantic South Regional, Naples, FL 
                                     Sanctioned Tier 3 Age Level Tournament
                                     Social dinner Thursday, January 30, 2014

March 21, 22, 23 2014: East Naples Skill Level Tournament, Naples, FL   
                                       Sanctioned Tier 4 Skill/Age Tournament

Registration forms, flyers, and on-line registration will be available after May 15 for the June, August and September tournaments. Check back often for additional tournament forms. 

We look forward to seeing all of you!!

Cindy Eddleman
Nancy Meyer
Tournament Co-Directors

Pickleball: growing sport for seniors

Published May 1, 2013 - www.stateportpilot.com

Marty Smith is a USA Pickleball Association Ambassador and his territory is Brunswick County.

“My goal is to get as many people as I can out to play pickleball,” Smith explained. “I want to go after the older age group so they can get out and get some exercise in order to get the juices flowing and live longer.”

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