Get Your Dink On: Register for EPC Spring Dinkeroo 2022
EPC’s tournament season gets underway with the Spring Dinkeroo 2022, Tuesday, May 24, 9am-1pm, at Marshdale Courts.
Dinkeroo is a fun, friendly, competitive tournament open to EPC members of all skill levels. Groups of eight will play a round robin based on dinking. Every shot, including the serve, is from the No Volley Zone, or the kitchen line. The ball must bounce before you hit it and it must land in the opponent’s kitchen.
THE RULES FOR DINKEROO
1. Start and scoring the game is the same. You serve from outside the kitchen line to the opposite side of the opponents’ court.
2. Every ball must bounce in the kitchen before it is hit. You can step into the kitchen to hit the ball, but you must step out with both feet before stepping back into the kitchen to hit the next shot.
3. The kitchen line is in as if it were the base line. The center line is in on serves.
4. Dinkeroo is a game of pace and patience. Almost all points are made on an unforced error as opposed to a "kill" shot. Slamming or hitting your opponent with a drive, even if they’re in the kitchen, is your opponents’ point.
5. Game to 11, win by one.
Watch how the game is played.
$10 registration fee for EPC members. If you haven’t paid your 2022 dues, add your EPC membership as you register for the tournament.
If you don’t plan to play but would like to be involved, we need volunteers on the courts. Let us know what you can do.
EPRD Board of Directors Election Returns
Evergreen Park and Recreation District announced preliminary results for the election:
Betsy Hays - 1161
Peter Eggers - 1023
Mary McGhee - 508
Kristin Courington - 489
Al Buenning - 380
Chris Lewis - 374
Jeff Shappard - 319
James Steven Beck - 157
The three newly elected Board members (bold) will be sworn in at the regular Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 31 at 5 pm. The two current Board members who did not run in this election are President Monty Estis and Vice President Don Rosenthal, who were elected in 2020 and whose terms continue until May 2023.
Tom and Sue Karas Returning for Second Season at Hiwan
“It’s getting hot in the Arizona desert, and rumor has it there was a 60+ degree day in Evergreen this past week. That means it’s time to get out on those beautiful Hiwan courts and have fun playing some pickleball,” writes Tom from Buckeye, Arizona. Tom is Hiwan’s pickleball pro and longtime EPC member.
Hiwan Pickleball Courts, Evergreen
Here’s Tom’s Tip of the Week: The most important shot in Pickleball is …THE RETURN OF SERVE!
Sometimes new players think the most important shot in pickleball is the serve and they try to hit a hard, low shot that’s difficult to return and might intimidate their opponent. There are two bad things about this strategy:
1. Hitting hard and low makes it easy to hit the ball out of bounds or into the net. Oops, there are no do overs and now you lost your chance to serve and score points.
2. Your opponent might call your serve illegal because hard, low serves tend to be side-arm serves which are illegal.
The most important thing to remember about serving is keep the ball in play. If you mess up your serve, you have lost the opportunity to score and…. OUCH, that hurts!
So, you might ask why is the return of serve so important. When you are returning the serve, your opponents have the ability to score. If you return the serve out of bounds or into the net, you’ve given your opponents a point….and ouch again, that really hurts. Ideally your return of serve should be soft and deep, which accomplishes three things that are good for your team:
1. It keeps your opponents back longer as they have to let the ball bounce before they hit it back to you.
2. It gives you time to move up to the kitchen line, the place you want to spend most of your time.
3. A soft, deep return keeps you from hitting the ball into the net and giving away an easy point.
So, next time you’re playing a game, remember to serve the ball to keep it in play and return the serve soft and deep.