Pickleball league in full swing

Published January 28, 2015 - www.highlandstoday.com

SEBRING — Last Wednesday, Lake Ashton met Riverbend of Labelle at Highlands Ridge to reduce the drive time for both teams. Lake Ashton earned their second win of the season by a score of 51-16 in South Central Florida Pickleball League action.

Tanglewood played at Sun ‘n Lake on Sunday and captured 62 of a possible 67 points on the strength of four wins by each of their top three teams; (A) Wayne Buck and Mike March, (B) Mark Telfer and Grant McLaughlin and (C) Randy Crawfis and Gary Sewell.

Tanglewood’s D team forfeited their first game to Barb Taylor and Linda Kramer of Sun ‘n Lake when Dennis Rowland injured his foot. His partner, Debi Yandell, then played with sub Neil Simpson, losing both games to the Sun ‘n Lake tandem of Ross Myles and John Prentice before defeating Gene Timmerberg and Tom Kryston and followed that up with a victory over Ellen Nesbitt and Dave Linderman.

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South Central Florida Pickleball League

Published January 26, 2015 - www.twrtimes.com

The South Central Florida Pickleball League was established 5 years ago to allow the better players to improve their game by having regular opportunities to compete at a higher level. This year, the league has expanded to six teams from five with the addition of Sun n Lake. The returning teams are: Lake Ashton, Del Webb/Orlando, Riverbend/Labelle, Highlands Ridge and Tanglewood.

Tanglewood, the defending League Champions, started the season with some very strong play, capturing 64 of a possible 67 points by winning 15 of the 16 matches played against Riverbend on January 15.

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Pickleball a fast-growing sport, especially for the 50 and older crowd

Published January 26, 2015 - www.jacksonville.com

“You’re playing what?”

The question comes up a lot in conversations about pickleball, said George Catalano of Jacksonville.

It seems there are two types of people in the world: those who know about pickleball, and those who don’t.

But the number who know about the sport — and are getting on the courts and playing — is quickly increasing. It’s been called the fastest-growing sport in America.

Pickleball is described as a combination of tennis, badminton and pingpong. The game is played with a solid paddle and a plastic, perforated ball resembling a Wiffle ball.

Because pickleball is low-impact but gets the heart rate going, it’s becoming especially popular with the 50-and-up crowd.

Catalano, who is 72, has been playing for five years. Until he picked up a paddle, he had never heard of pickleball either.

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Pickleball a quick-growing sport, specifically for the 50 and older crowd – Florida Occasions-Union

Published January 26, 2015 - http://news.list-online.com

There isn’t any formal pickleball put on. Gamers don’t always look for a pickleball outfit, for instance, how they would for tennis apparel. They’re urged to decorate practically and easily, and also to put on sports, tennis-style footwear.

Then he spoken concerning the time he performed against a 90-year-old lady inside a mixed doubles match this past year in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

“There aren’t lots of rules that bog lower the overall game,” Griffin stated. “You learn while you play should you have fun with us. We are able to perhaps you have playing within fifteen minutes.Inches

Catalano travels round the region to experience in competitions. In the Cuba Hunter center that morning, he was putting on an Aiken Pickledillys T-shirt from the competition last summer time in SC.

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Welcome New Ambassadors!

Ambassadors are volunteers who have pledged to promote the sport of pickleball and the USAPA in the local area they represent. Each Ambassador serves as a spokesperson and representative for the USAPA and supports and abides by all rules, policies, goals and the Code of Conduct as established by the USAPA.

Omar Ollis – Melbourne, FL

John Hall – Young Harris, GA

Tom Black – Concord, NC

Mark Siewers – Durham, NC

Debbie Spinazzola – Darlington, SC

Howard Jefferson – Summerville, SC

 

 

 The territories for the North Carolina District Ambassadors have been changed as shown below:

 

Pickleball picking up steam

Published January 22, 2015 - www.highlandstoday.com

SEBRING — Clayton Farrar, chair of the Tanglewood Winter Classic Pickleball Tournament, announced recently that plans are well underway for the third edition of the event.

The age brackets have changed from previous years. They are now 19 to 49, 50 to 59, 60 to 69 and 70 and over. Doubles teams entering must play in the age grouping of the younger player.

In order to encourage new players to try the tournament experience, Clayton is urging beginners to sign up in the 2.5 skill level where they will meet up with other similarly skilled players. Partners must play in the skill level of the better player. There will be competition at each level: 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0. Those rated 5.0 are the highest-rated players.

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Pickleball seasons begins

Published January 17, 2015 - www.highlandstoday.com

SEBRING — The South Central Florida Pickleball League was established five years ago to allow the better players to improve their game by having regular opportunities to compete at a higher level. This year, the league has expanded to six teams from five with the addition of Sun ‘n Lake. The returning teams are: Lake Ashton, Del Webb/Orlando, Riverbend/LaBelle, Highlands Ridge and Tanglewood.

On Thursday, Riverbend met Tanglewood in the first match of the season. The games were played at the eight-court Sun ‘n Lake facility. Each team consisted of four pairs ranked A, B, C and D.

In the round robin series, each team played a best two out of three sets against each other team. The complex scoring system awards more points for the games between evenly matched teams. The greatest number of points is earned in the clash between the top two teams.

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Pickleball a rising star at recreation centers

Published January 14, 2015 - www.tampabay.com

Those looking for a way to stay fit and have fun in the new year may want to try their hand at pickleball, a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and Ping-Pong.

To get you started, the city of Clearwater is offering free instruction Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays 10 to noon during January at the McMullen Tennis Complex.

Never heard of pickleball? Well, here's the juice. First off, no pickles are harmed in the sport.

It is thought by some that the game was named after Pickles, a dog that belonged to a former U.S. Rep. Joel Pritchard of Washington state who is one of the co-inventors of pickleball. Apparently the cocker spaniel would chase the balls and hide them in the bushes.

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