Last Chance to Enter Geezer Games; First Chance to Register for Mixed Doubles, Sept 6
Registrations for the Geezer Games for players 70+ have gone bonkers. The Aug. 25 event could be our biggest tournament of the season. Join all the geezers and geezettes proud to show their stuff in their seventh or eighth decade. Registration closes Saturday. Make sure you’re an EPC member.
Meanwhile, registration opens today for EPC Mixed Doubles Tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 8 am at Marshdale Courts. Grab your partner for this bracket-play, double elimination tournament. If you don’t have a partner we’ll match you up.
Eight teams are seeded into brackets by skill level. First match is best of three games to 11, win by 1. Games in the losers’ bracket are rally scoring to 15. The winning team can play as many as 16 games. All teams are guaranteed at least three games. Registration and EPC membership here.
If you don’t plan to compete, let Mick Pearce know you can help manage brackets and teams day of.
3rd Annual EPC Mixed Doubles Tournament Sponsor
Hot August Night/Challenge Court Biggest Social Event of the Summer, Wednesday Aug. 23 at Marshdale Pavilion
“There’s nothing quite like the extraordinary spread of delicious dishes our pickleball players bring to our summer socials,” Cherie Peterson brags. “Talk about variety. The appetizers, salads, desserts, all make Hot August Night an event you don’t want to miss. And if that’s not enough to get you salivating, the smoked salmon and tender chicken breast slices will certainly persuade you to join in the fun.”
“Remember to bring a dish to share, drinks of your choice, chairs, and your competitive edge for the challenge games. Free and open to all players and spouses/friends.” Utensils and plates will be provided.
“The Challenge Courts will bring out our best play with prizes for the winners. It’s happening Wednesday, Aug. 23, 4-7 pm, at the Marshdale Pavilion.”
Let Cherie know how many of you and your guests will be attending. We hear musicians and singers are warming up their instruments for a little entertainment, too.
EPC and EPRD to Offer Free Classes for Beginners at Marshdale and Wulf
EPC members Corrine Jackson and David Smith are instructing two, free classes next month for beginning and newbie pickleball players, Sept. 9 at Wulf and Sept. 30 at Marshdale. Both classes are 8:30 - 10:30 am.
“David and I are ready to get these classes going and honored to be doing them together. Super excited that Niki Baer and Monte Poague are helping as well,” says Corrine.
Though the classes are free, EPRD would like you to register so they get a sense of the level of interest. If you’ve been looking for classes all summer, even if you’ve been playing some, here they are.
“There is pickle-life without a paddle. Twas a sighting of picklers, in the wild, silently enjoying music at Buchanan Field for the last “Lake Concert” at Buchanan,” reports Linda Jacobsen.
Can Pickleball Save Your Life? Rae Boyce Contemplates Her First Year as a Player
It was a signature gorgeous Colorado summer day just over a year ago. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, the breeze was light, and I was frantically Googling "How to Play Pickleball."
After finishing some (very ugly) singles games, we found ourselves wildly perplexed listening to the doubles players call out 3 numbers - what the heck was 1 or 2 and what was the pattern?
I had absolutely no idea, but I decided to step back on those courts... again... and again... and again.
Rae Boyce, fifth from left, with magical friends
As all of us have experienced, life can throw some major curveballs. I'd just recently started coming up for air after an incredibly challenging season of life, and the more I came back to the court, the more I heard similar stories.
Your stories.
From major surgeries to messy divorces to career heartbreak to loss and sadness; somehow hitting a wiffle ball across a net became a cathartic, shared experience.
We show up, tighten our laces, and really hope we don't pull any muscles.
We laugh, we groan, we grunt, we curse inventively. Some of us dance, and others of us make fun of those dances.
And somewhere between the dinking and the smashing, magic happens.
It's the magic of play. And friendship. And camaraderie. It's the magic of walking onto a court crushed by life and walking off feeling lighter in your chest and grateful to be alive. It's the magic of shared excitement on a fantastic volley and shared commiseration when you eat it.
Even on our worst game days when we head to our cars feeling disappointed, we come back for more - chasing the addiction of pickleball serotonin.
Can a paddle and a ball save your life?
New friends, new community, new drive for improvement, new connections, new experiences...
Yep. Pickleball keeps saving my life. And I bet - just maybe - it's saving yours too.