If you live here or are just visiting - come play at our new location in Clearwater, Fl

Below are some of the regular players at The Long Center in Clearwater, Fl.  It was just last April that Susan Forget, a snowbird from Ontario, Canada, with the help of some locals introduced pickleball to the area.

When Susan is not in Florida, Rose Craft (front row, right w/white top) is the lady in charge. The 3rd player from the left with a yellow shirt is Bob Cicetti, the generous volunteer beginner's trainer. These two kept the interest peaked during the summer with scheduled play every Saturday morning.  Now they have two courts and the center is willing to add more if necessary.

The Long Center is conveniently located close to US 19 and is a real fun place to play!!!

The Long Center
1501, N. Belcher Rd
Clearwater, Fl 33765
Phone : 727-793-2320

Actual schedule : Mon, Wed. and Thur. from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

Cost per visit :

Free w/ Silver Sneakers

Free w/ Play Pass

$2 w /Rec Card

$2.50 No Card

"The group is growing and the more we advertising, the more players we will have. Pickleball is a fun game to play and good exercise for seniors. We want to promote the sport as much as we can.

It is peope like you who care about keeping seniors in shape and enjoy the sport, that will spread the word."

Pickleball addict

Susan Forget

Atlantic South Well Represented at National Senior Games

The National Senior Games Championships (NSGA) Winter Games took place from September 28th through October 2nd, 2011, in Rochester, New York at the Gates Chili High School's Spartan Stadium.  Word on the street is that this was and absolutely fabulous state of the art facility. 

We extend a very special THANK YOU to all of our Atlantic South Players who made the trip to Rochester to experience this exciting event.  There may have been more......but we know we had representation from players who live or have ties to:  Naples/Cape Coral,  Ft. Myers, Bradenton, Sebring and The Villages, FL, Opelika, AL,  Flat Rock NC, Conway and North Myrtle Beach, SC.

Jerry Eamer (Conway, SC) shared these photos and  had the following to say about the games: "Was very pleased with how the games were run and how the local sports community worked with the local Pickleball group.  Dave Thomas and his staff did an outstanding job."

And we extend a special Atlantic  South CONGRATS! to our ASR medal winners!

Men's Singles

Duane Frego, Florida - 50-54 Gold

Robert Welter, Florida - 55-50 Silver

Paul Coletta, North Carolina - 60-64 Gold

Lyle Dumers, Florida  - 75+ Gold

Bob McClure, Florida - 75+ Silver

Men's Doubles

Duane Frego, Florida / Bert Wilson(NY) - 50-54 Gold

David Jordan (his mom lives in Fl !!) / Rob Welte, Florida - 55-59 Gold

Paul Coletta, North Carolina / Dough Radz (NY) - 60-64 Gold

Bob Huskey, Alabama / Gary Ball (MI) 60-64 Silver

Tom Burkhart (LA) / Lyle Dumers, Florida - 65-69 Bronze

Brett Carpenter (NY) / Patrick Hotchkiss, Florida - 70-74 Bronze

Bob McClure, Florida / Frederick Washburn (NY) - 75+ Bronze

Ladies' Doubles

Jan Konn, Florida / Nancy Meyer, Florida 50-54 Gold

Mixed Doules

Jan Konn, Florida / Duane Frego, Florida 50-54 Gold

Nancy Meyer,Florida / Rob Welter, Florida - 55-59, Gold

Susan Carson (TN) / Bob Huskey, Alabama - 55-59 Silver

Paul Coletta, North Carolina / Jan Pasternak (TX) -  55-59 Bronze

And here's a link to Cape-Coral Daily Breeze.com who thinks their  Sothwest Florida players are "golden"   

Indian Land, SC School Designates Pickleball Week

Submited by Frank Kinder
Ambassador, Indian Land, SC

Retired from a career in law enforcement USAPA member and pickleball enthusiast, Luis Lopez is also a volunteer mentor (tutor) for Indian Land Middle School (ILMS) students in Indian Land, SC. During his time at the school, Luis has constantly spoken about pickleball and how it would be a great avenue for the students to be actively involved in physical education. He was put in contact with Ms. Jessica Hardy, Physical Education Instructor. She and fellow Physical Education teacher, Kevin Mager expressed interest in implementing pickleball at ILMS.

After exchanging emails, Luis eagerly agreed to provide pickleball classes to the Middle School students. The teachers decided to designate the entire week of October 24th -28th, 2011 for pickleball. Two classes of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders will meet every day for instruction. Luis invited Ms. Hardy and Mr. Mager to Sun City Carolina Lakes (SCCL) for a demonstration and instruction prior to the classes being held.

Several members of the SCCL Pickleball Club volunteered to help Luis with this special community outreach project. Thanks to a grant and donations from the SCCL Club, Luis was able to assist in acquiring much needed equipment for the school’s program. As a result of Luis’ passion for the game--and his persuasive persona--the school is now planning to implement pickleball on a regular basis as part of the physical education curriculum. Kudos, Luis!

From Arkansas to Florida to Alabama - Ambassadors Working Together

Bill James, Ambassador - Hot Springs, AK, was in Destin Florida this summer and couldn't find a place to play pickleball!! So he did what any ambassador of the game would do and contacted the local community center. He shared his story with Regional Ambassador, Tom Burkhart, who passed it along to me.........................

"Just a note to let you know what happened in Destin last week. I think I told you contact had been made with the community center about a clinic. The director, Lisa Firth, was all for it.
The day before the clinic, a friend staying at the same motel heard me talking about the clinic and said he would like to come play, also. Of course, he was welcome. He is from Wynne, AR.


We arrived around 8:45 for the clinic and the marquee had the
announcement about the clinic. We marked off the court and waited. No one showed up.! So my friend and I started playing. He really got into playing and really enjoyed it.


After a while, I talked to Lisa and she said would get another staff person, Pat Markey, to come see about it. Pat came over and turns out he was a tennis teacher, racquetball teacher, squash teacher but knew nothing about pickleball. I don't think he was very impressed at first. I got him to hitting and he got more interested. We discussed the origin, rules, etc. I had several things to hand out to the players and he was looking them over.


About that time, we were just about to close up shop and two younger guys came and I asked them if they would like to learn pickleball. They were about to play basketball but said sure they would see what it was all about. After some explanation about the game, we started playing and they were pretty athletic and caught on pretty quickly. They really liked it. As we were playing Pat was watching and seeing how easily the guys caught on to playing and stayed the whole time we were playing. He came to me and said he was going to order some nets, racquets and join USAPA. He got pretty excited about it after seeing the interest the two fellows had in playing. He made sure he had all the info copied before I left. The next day I went back to the center and the director herself was excited about the prospects of getting pickleball started there at the center. I am going to be in touch and try to guide them along as much as I can from this far away. I did encourage Pat to mark the spot to be an ambassador when he joined the association. I will give a letter to approve him as a new ambassador if he applies. So, while there was limited participation, I think it will be a worthwhile contact to get pickleball started in Destin, FL. Lisa said she would really like another clinic in December or January when all the "snowbirds" come to town. I will give you a note for the newsletter encouraging any ambassador that happens to be in the Destin area to contact the community center and help them with another clinic.


To top it all off, my friend from Wynne said he was going back home and try to something started there. I will keep an eye on that one, too. "

After receiving this news, we alerted our Atlantic South Ambassadors located within a reasonable distance of the center and got a great response from Jerry and Virginia Corker from Mobile, AL.

 .........this does sound interesting and, personally, we'd prefer January instead of December, but we would be willing to help, if they'll advertise and get participants."   They.re already working to coordinate a weekend that works for booking a campground in the area for their RV and that can accommodate the centers plans for a clinic.  Hopefully we'll have this location up and running by the time that Arkansas's Bill James returns next summer.

This is just a great example of how our Ambassadors across the country work together to promote our great game. 

The Villages, Tournament Results

Results of the September Mulberry Age Brackets Pickleball Tournament were as follows:

Men's doubles 60-69,

Champions: Barry Gee and  Don Piper,

Runners-up Marc Bock and Ralph Volz.

Men's Doubles 70-79,

Gerry Reese and Tom Weinberg,

Runners-up Bob Fox and Dave Ripa.

Women's Doubles 50-59,

Champions: Denise Boutin and Sue Gapen,

Runners-up Diane Bock and Nancy Balne.

Women's Doubles 60-69,

Champions: Nancy Nowak and Deb Harrison,

Runners-up Jody Wyman and Robyn Muncie.

Mixed Doubles 50-59,

Champions: Frank Cherill and Diane Bock,

Runners-up Nancy Balne and Greg Hanson.

Mixed Doubles 60-69,

Champions: Marc Bock and Nancy Nowak,

Runners-up Bill Freeman and Deb Harrison.

Congrats to all participants and special congrats to our winners.

Super SHOUT-OUT to Jean Kiker and Tom Nonnemacher for organizing and conducting this special event -- we appreciate all you do for the Pickleball Community in The Villages -- Thank you!

PENSACOLA SENIOR GAMES

The Pickleball Games were played at the Vickrey Community Center, 2130 Summit Blvd. in Pensacola, Florida on Friday September 23rd.    This was a single elimination tournament, best two out of three games to 11 points/win by 2.

Thank you to Jerry and Virginia Corker, Ambassadors-Mobile, AL for sending us these photos and the tournament results.

Players arrived from Florida, Alabama and Mississippi to participate in the event, and reports have it that  "A FUN TIME WAS HAD BY ALL!"

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS

PENSACOLA SENIOR GAMES - September 23, 2011

MEN’S-SINGLES

80-84
 Gene Beaver-Gold

70-74

Ken Taylor-Gold

Alan Orr-Silver

Nick Fockler-Bronze

65-69

Jerry Corker-Gold

Vernon King-Silver

Richard Pugsley-Bronze

60-64

Dennis Janka-Gold

Mike Boileau-Silver

55-59

Tony Miller-Gold

Bill Siemeh-Silver

50-54

Marion Elsas-Gold

Tommy Ladner-Silver

Stephen Stewart-Bronze

WOMEN’S SINGLES

70-74

Rose Pugsley-Gold

65-69

Virginia Corker-Gold

Tanya Nelson-Silver

WOMEN’S OVERALL

Virginia Corker-Gold

MIXED DOUBLES

Virginia and Jerry Corker-Gold

Peachie and Marion Elsas-Silver

Rose and Richard Puglsey-Bronze

MEN’S DOUBLES

Tony Miller/Tommy Ladner-Gold

Ken Taylor/Jerry Corker-Silver

Stephen Stewart/Marion Elsas-Bronze

Is Pickleball the best experience possible at your gym or recreation center?

Many of us have the luxury of living in a community with dedicated pickleball courts and can play most any time we want, or are part of a pickleball club that manages the courts for the benefit of all. But there are many locations across the region where pickleball is open to the public and played at the local gym, church, recreation center or sports center.   I received an e-mail from our ambassadors in Aiken, SC  that started out by saying:

 " I am meeting with Jessica Campbell, the Recreation Program Director at Odell Weeks tomorrow to discuss sending out a survey to all of those on her (pickleball) e-mail list to determine what we can do to make playing pickleball the best experience possible.........."

Does this sound like what is happening with your players?  Mike and Loretta Beckner went on to say that the  daytime players had dwindled considerably during the summer . It was more than just people vacationing or out of town , it was more the different levels of players.  With the current schedule, players of ALL level of experience were playing at the same time, and it seemed at times that some were feeling intimidated sharing the courts with more advanced players.  Did they need to dedicate a court for beginner/advanced beginner play? Did they need to offer more instruction?  Was it the time schedule?   One way or another they needed to find a way to get people back and on a more regular basis.....the evening play is going well and it is mostly intermediate/advanced players (at least two courts are full, sometimes three) but daytime play had dwindled and it was important that all players get the opportunity and time to experience the game.

A survey was prepared and mailed to ALL the players on the center's pickleball roster.  What was exciting was that people took the time to respond AND the recreation center LISTENED and IMMEDIATELY responded with the changes they would implement.

For those of you are interested - at the bottom of the article is a link to the actual Survey that was sent.  And in response to that survey..................this note from the Recreation Director.

"Hello pickleball players! Thanks to all of you who took the time to fill out our online survey this month. Attached you will find the survey results. From reviewing them, we have decided to implement the following:


· We will offer an instructional class for Beginners/Advanced Beginners on Mondays from 9 am – 10 am that will run for 4 weeks (October 10 – 31). After class from 10 am – 11 am you can stay and play during the open play time. You will need to register in advance at the Weeks Center front desk. The cost of the class is $15 and space is limited. Registration will close on Oct. 6th. We will have a waiting list and may possibly open the class up to a second group if the need is there. Please note: you will still be required to pay the daily court fee of $1 (if resident or non-resident member) or $2 (if non-resident) on Mondays even if you are enrolled into the class.


· We plan to offer a 3rd court during all open play times, with one court being designated for Beginners/Advanced Beginners. This will be implemented as soon as another net is ordered.


· We will take a look at the beginning of next year to see if there is still an interest in forming a competitive league ladder. So that will be on hold for a few months…


· We are implementing on October 1st the option to purchase an Annual Pickleball User Pass, which will waive the daily court fee that you currently pay each time you play. The cost will be $45 if you are a resident or a non-resident member. If you are a non-resident you will have to purchase a recreation membership prior to purchasing the user pass. Please see the Weeks Center front desk staff for more information.


· We are in the process of lining one of the outdoor tennis courts that are currently open for free play so that you can play pickleball outside as often as you’d like, for free! This will be a trial process for the month of October, and we hope that it works well enough that we can continue to offer the service throughout the year. I will send out another email with information on how to adjust the net, along with some other rules that will need to be followed if you choose to use the court. In addition, we hope to be able to supply paddles and balls at the front desk to be checked out for you to use when you play outdoors.


· We will be working on a partnership with a local sports store to see if they will carry pickleball equipment so that you do not have to order your items online. I will let you know when this happens!


I hope you enjoy all of the changes and stay patient as the program continues to grow and improve. "

Mark and Loretta worked hard to get pickleball started and to earn the support of the Recreation director.   I hope that you find this information helpful - and something you can share in your local areas.

LINK to SURVEY

USAPA Pickleball Tournament At Sun City Oct. 7-8 (Sep 20, 2011 Mesquite, NV, ) Hundreds of enthusiastic athletes from across the country and Canada will converge at Sun City Mesquite in October for one of the largest sanctioned pickleball tournaments in the nation.

According to the USAPA website, the first USAPA National Tournament for players of all ages was held in Buckeye, Ariz. Nov. 2-8, 2009. The tournament drew almost 400 players from 26 states and several Canadian provinces. Pickleball was included for the first time in the National Senior Games Champion Festival in September 2008.

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