Three Days Remaining to Register for EPC Mixed Doubles Tournament
We’re nearing capacity of 32 teams for the Mixed Doubles Tournament, Wednesday, Sept. 6 at Marshdale. If you want to play but just haven’t found a partner yet, go ahead and register; we’ll try to find a partner for you.
Four groups of 8 teams by skill are to show up at 7:45 am for double elimination bracket play. Three games are guaranteed and the winning team can play as many as 16 games to win it all. Prizes for top 3 finishers in each group. Healthy, delicious and creative snacks prepared by Kathy Kincannon will once again be available.
With a maximum capacity of 32 teams, all 8 courts will be in play, so no one will be allowed inside the fence: no bags, no chairs, no dogs. Water bottles are allowed on the court during play.
For details on this or any other EPC event, check the Events page.
Be sure to check out Gig’s booth at the tournament and thank her for sponsoring our Mixed Doubles Tournament.
EPC and EPRD Holding Free Beginner Classes Sept. 9 at Wulf Rec Center and Sept. 30 at Marshdale
It’s not too late to get your significant other, friend or neighbor who’s new to pickleball to register for a two-hour introduction to the game next month.
EPC members Corrine Jackson and David Smith will lead never evers and newbies through the basics: serve, return, dink, volley; some rules and strategy.
Even though the classes are free, EPRD would like you to register.
Corrine Jackson and David Smith
Clear Creek Rec Center In Idaho Springs Offering Pickleball Basics Clinic and Open Play Indoors
Last week inquiring minds were asking about pickleball play in Idaho Springs. Sure enough, the fastest growing sport in America has made it to Clear Creek county.
The Clear Creek Metro Recreation District (CCMRD, for sorta short) is hosting pickleball basics once a week and open play most days of the week. They seem to be new to the game as there are 9+ hours of play a week for 2.0 (Beginner/Novice) and 6 hours for 3.0 (Intermediate) players. That’s it. No advanced play. And open play is limited to 10 players, so figure they have two courts.
Advance registration required.
We Can’t Support Petition to “Modernize” Pickleball Tournaments
Somebody by the handle of Pickleball Rick has started a petition on Change.org to “modernize” pickleball tournaments.
He professes that they “are made needlessly complex (and lengthy) because tournaments must be organized by skill level AND age categories. Further delays are caused by a service point scoring system instead of a rally point system (used by most other racquet sports),” he says.
“It is time to bring pickleball tournaments up to modern standards by:
Eliminating ‘skill levels’ and use age categories only.
Adopting a rally point system: A match would be based on the best of three games to 15, or possibly 21.”
We’re not so sure these are good changes for pickleball tournaments. As we saw in the Geezer Games Tournament last week, there’s a broad range of skill levels, even in 70+ age group. To open every age group to all skill levels will eventually reduce the pool to only the best players. Why enter a tournament when you know you’re going to get clobbered by the best players?
We’re less concerned with rally scoring though it takes some strategy out of the game. For example, when your side is ahead and you’re the first server, you can take a chance on an ace serve or at the kitchen volley without risking a point for your opponents. Not true in rally scoring, where every serve is a point for one team or the other.
But if you’re so inclined to support the petition you can check it out.