56 EPC Members to Compete Tuesday in Summer Round Robin
Seven groups of 8 players each will take the courts Tuesday starting at 9 am at Marshdale. A new format this year - plus the availability of 8 courts - will have each group play two games simultaneously. That way all 8 players in a group will play at the same time on two courts, then sit out one game for the next group to play its game. No more 4 players sitting out while the other 4 players in that group play a game. Each player will complete their 7 games at the same time as every other player in their group.
Well, there’s one exception. As there are an odd number of groups (7), one of the groups will play on a single court, splitting games between its 8 players. Next year we hope to get 64 players to even out groups and courts.
We know. It’s complicated. But we think you’ll find the new format easier to follow (everyone in your group plays at the same time) and more fair (everyone plays 7 consecutive games with a rest period in between.)
EPC Rides in Rodeo Parade on Mike Morris’s 1960 Chevy Biscayne
Getting ready for the parade Saturday with Mike’s ‘60 Chevy Biscayne are, left to right, Tom and Julie Flint, Jerry Beth Owen, Jeri Herskovits, Karen and Mike Morris with their grandson, Linda Jacobsen, and Monte Poague
Dancin’ in the street
Monte, in orange, hands out candy while Linda, in white, and Tom, in green, do their dinking behind the EPC vintage auto.
Whip it Good!
Linda Jacobsen reports that after last Friday’s potluck, Monty Estis, left, and David Smith were “begging us to play some more. We declined. They kind of look like futuristic picklers or wanna be 80’s DEVO nerds.”
Monty pointed out that DEVO stood for:
Demented
Evergreenites
Victorious and
Outrageous (Obnoxious? Outstanding?)
Who’s Having More Fun at EPRD Kids Summer Camps?
Looks like our volunteers are having a blast.
The New York Times Reports Developers Getting in on Pickleball’s Success
Can stand alone pickleball facilities become a successful business? Not for want of trying. “The growing sport has lured investors eager to cash in on its popularity, opening courts in former warehouses and vacant big-box stores, and adding food and other entertainment options,” says The New York Times in today’s edition.
Smash Park in Minneapolis, for example, includes ax throwing, karaoke, trivia nights, Sunday brunch bingo and murder-mystery parties.
And If Ax Throwing Doesn’t Bring Them in, How About Nude Pickleball?
“Nude Pickleball is Taking Off,” according to the Pickler website. “Naturist resorts from coast to coast are finding out that nudists want more pickleball.”
Playing in the nude will make you think twice about calling your opponent’s serve “short!”, or it “bringing a new wrinkle to the game”, or yelling to your partner “bounce it!”
We wonder: Do fashionable players work to coordinate their visors with their socks? We hope to not find out.
Tip of the Week from Hiwan Pickleball Pro Tom Karas: To Dink or Not to Dink, That is the Question
Textbook pickleball look like this:
Serve deep into the opposite quadrant – the serve must bounce so the receiver stays back.
Return the serve deep – this shot must also bounce so stay behind the baseline. However, you should watch your opponent strike the ball and if it’s going to be short, MOVE UP! This deep, soft return does three things. It prevents you from hitting the ball into the net and giving away a point. It keeps your opponent back and gives you time to get up to the kitchen line. Then the player who returned the serve should move up to form a wall with their partner. The team at the kitchen line wins 80% of rallies.
Ideally, the serving team then returns the 3rd shot as a drop shot, just clearing the net and bouncing in the kitchen. This is a defensive shot which keeps your opponent from slamming the ball back at you and gives that team time to get up to the kitchen line together.
Then all players at the kitchen line get into a dinking rally (a soft shot hit from the kitchen line that falls just over the net), adding angles to try to pull their opponent wide. Players keep the ball low over the net, waiting for an opponent to make a mistake. When an opponent hits a ball too high, you seize the moment and slam it at their feet.
Textbook pickleball is hard to achieve. Often players with previous racquet experience think they should slam the ball hard from anywhere on the court. However, the sooner you learn that soft shots are a good thing the more successful you will be.