Thursday, April 29, 2010

26 Players Thursday Afternoon, 16 At Night

Four courts were full with about 26 pickleball players on Thursday afternoon. New players Gerhard, Joulene and Nicole who usually play on Thursday night came to join us in the afternoon. It was nice to see Catherine back from her ankle injury.
At night four courts were full with 8 regular players Ganbat, Terry, another Mike, Gerhard, Joulene, Nicole, Mike and me, and about 8 younger players, all having fun.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Abbotsford Pickleball Tournament June 26, 2010

Abbotsford Pickleball Tournament at ARC:
Tournament date: June 26, 2010
Tournament hours: 8:30 - 5:00 pm
Fees: Player $25, additional events: $5, non-player: $7
(Fee includes lunch & eligibility for prizes)
Entries must be received no later than June 12, 2010
Please note: This is a non-apike paddle event.
Division Information:
Please select the division(s)you are entering and your partner's name.
Mixed Doubles: ( ) 55+ ( ) under 55
Ladies Doubles: ( ) 55+ ( ) under 55
Men's Doubles: ( ) 55+ ( ) under 55

Please register at ARC or mail completed forms & payment to Sarah Morris, Abbotsford Recreation Centre, 2499 McMillan Road, Abbotsford, B.C. V2S 7R3

32 Players Tuesday, Coffee & Snacks

About 32 players on Tuesday afternoon. Four new players Peter, Trent, Leon and Dean joined us today. Peter is a snowbird who lives in Nanaimo, Trent is his nephew from Abbotsford. Trent played extremely well for the first time because he played tennis before and he has a good ground stroke.
I baked a cinnamon cake and 50 cookies for snacks with some fruit for the coffee and snack time after pickleball. Mandy especially liked the coconut macaroons so I gave her the recipe.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Pickleball Etiquette & Good Sportsmanship

Pickleball etiquette means good court manners and good sportsmanship makes the game more fun for everyone. We all want to win, but not at the expense of sacrificing ethics. Ethics refers to moral principles of what is right and wrong and how to behave to be good and honorable, such as:

1. Self control - Do not get angry when losing or blame other players, such as: when they lob over your head, when they poach a shot or when your partner miss a shot. Do not make negative hurtful remarks.

2. Respect for others - show respect and appreciation by cheering, complimenting others instead of criticize and complain.

3. Positive attitude - keeping a positive attitude will make you play better and more fun for everyone.

4. calling a shot fairly: Each side is required to call the faults that occur on their side of the net. When you are not sure if the ball is in or out, then it is 'in', give your opponent the benefit of the doubt. Do not call your ball 'in' on the other side of the net unless they ask what you saw.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

32 Players Thursday Afternoon, 14 At Night

All eight courts were filled with about 32 players Thursday afternoon. Martin is one of the snowbirds who recently came back from the south. John is back from his two months trip to Haiti working for the Salvation Army to give out supplies to the earthquake victims.

About 14 younger players at night. Grant and I played with a young couple (with a cute accent from S. Africa) who played very well for the second time and they looked like they really enjoyed it. Mike and I also played with Grant and Brandon who is an excellent player for a young teenager.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Snack Schedule for May & June, 23 Players Tuesday

About 23 pickleball players Tuesday afternoon. Grant opened up four more courts. Two players are away with ankle injuries and two more players have back injuries. We welcome Neil and Lorie to our coffee and snack time after playing pickleball. Thanks to everyone for bringing the delicious snacks on Tuesdays !!!!

New Snack Schedule:
Apr 27 -- Shirley
May 4 -- Michelle
May 11 -- Joyce
May 18 -- Jane
May 25 -- Mandy
Jun 1 -- Shirley
Jun 8 -- Julie
Jun 15 -- Lorie
June 22 -- Richard
June 29 -- Rod

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Safety Reminders to Prevent Injuries

Three days ago Dave fell down from running backwards to try to hit a ball. He had a slight wrist sprain. Please remember do not run backwards to get a ball that's out of reach. The right thing to do is to turn around and run forward, Jerry is good at that.

Safety Reminders:

o Do not run backwards

o Be careful running forward to get that low bouncing ball

o Calling “ball on court”

o Walking behind courts where play is ongoing

Some injuries that occurred:
1. Five days ago Catherine suffered a sprained ankle from running forward to hit a low bouncing ball and tripped on the ball when she missed hitting it.

2. A week ago Mike bruised his elbow from going over the net too fast and his foot was caught by the net. It is advisable to go under or around the net to go over to the other side.

3. A month ago Matt had an ankle sprain from running too fast to hit a ball out of reach. These painful injuries can take 2-12 weeks to recover depending of its severity.

4. Two months ago my hand was bruised by an aggressive player who hit my hand when he ran over to my court to hit a ball very hard. Please try not to cross over to the other court.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

26 Players Thursday Afternoon, 15 At Night

About 26 pickleball players Thursday afternoon, with about ten people waiting to play, Grant opened up four more courts. Ken and Mel are back from Arizona. I had some nice games with Lorie, Julie, Annette, Heather, Allan, Al and Richard.

At night there were about 15 players, all are younger like Nathan, Mike and Matt in their 20's, they can smash the ball very hard and run fast, excellent players. One couple with a daughter tried it out for the first time. They played very well because they played tennis, badminton and squash before and they found pickleball to be more enjoyable.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

35 Players Tuesday Filled Up Eight Courts

About 35 pickleball players filled up all 8 courts Tuesday afternoon. Some new players Art, Ben, Neil and Lorie are snowbirds who just came back from Arizona. Heather is back from her trip to Australia. We enjoyed snacks and coffee after pickleball.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Pickleball helps weight loss, lower blood Pressure

9 regular pickleball players showed up on Sunday night. Ganbat, Barry, Rita, Henry, Catherine, Grant, Mike, Dave and me. We all enjoyed playing doubles in round robin rotation.

Pickleball has helped many players lose weight. Losing weight reduces blood pressure. Dave used to have high blood pressure (hypertension is inherited, his relatives have to take high blood pressure medication), but with regular exercise from playing golf and pickleball and a low sodium diet (eat less salt, my cooking is low fat and low salt), his blood pressure is now normal without any medication.

You don't always need prescription medications to lower your blood pressure. By regular exercises and a reduced sodium diet, you can lower your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart disease.

If you have prehypertension, exercise can help you avoid developing full-blown hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

23 Players Thursday Afternoon, 20 At Night

Jane and her daughter Robin.

23 pickleball players on Thursday afternoon. A new player Martin who is a snowbird just came back from Palm Springs. Another new player is Jane's daughter Robin who is from Calgary. They both played very well.

About 20 players on Thursday night, two families with kids and some young couples enjoyed rallying with each other. Mike and I taught a young couple how to play the game, they were happy to learn. We also played with Gord, Barry, Mike, Matt and Grant.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

26 Pickleball Players Tuesday, Coffee & snacks

Allan and Julie are back from Arizona. Welcome back !!!

26 pickleball players on Tuesday afternoon with 10 players waiting to play. Joyce, Sheryl, Michelle, Bob, Frank, Jane, Joan, Ganbat, Jerry, Gord, Barry, Catherine, Annette, Carol, Elaine, Bill, Allan, Julie, Henry, Rita, Al, Richard, Grant, Dave, Mike and me. It looks like we will need 4 more courts open since some snowbirds are back and some more will come back soon.

Carol and Elaine came from Chilliwack. Bob is a new player from Fort Langley. He googled searched the internet (the power of internet) to find the nearest place to play pickleball and found our Abbypickleball site and decided to come out to play in Abbotsford. He Played very well because he was playing pickleball in Texas (the weather was cold and wet there this year). He and the other snowbirds said that Americans played too competitively down there so sometimes it was no fun at all. We have a friendly group of people that we enjoyed coffee, snacks and chat afterwards.

Grant said the First Annual Abbotsford Pickleball Tournament will be on June 27. He will give out the details later.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Reduce Back Pain, Maintain Healthy Heart

7 Regular players showed up on Sunday night, Ganbat, Barry, Catherine, Mike, Dave, me and Grant, and 6 new players came in pairs and they enjoyed rallying with each other. Catherine said she really enjoyed the fun and exercise. She has a little back pain, I told her pickleball helps to reduce back & joint pain for many players.
It actually got rid of my back pain due to my injuries before.

Catherine told me she is happy that she has dropped some weight from playing pickleball. Dave, Mike and me all have lost weight, but it does not mean slim people don't need to exercise. British Heart Foundation (BHF) said exercise was essential in maintaining a healthy heart - no matter what your body shape. Slim people need to exercise as much as others in order to stay healthy and keep LDL cholesterol in check. A study found that LDL-cholesterol was similar in obese exercisers and lean exercisers, it would suggest that regular exercise lowers heart disease. It concluded that exercisers were fitter and leaner than those who were sedentary, and had a better chance of not developing cardiovascular disease.

I started to play pickleball almost a year ago as a physical rehab for my severe car accident injuries, it has helped me to recover completely and I feel great (my husband thinks I look great too). Therefore, I am promoting pickleball to help others to improve their health and fitness.

Grant will give me the details of the pickleball tournament at ARC on June 12 next week, then I will post it on the blog.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Four Courts Full, 19 Players Thursday Afternoon

I did not play today. Mike was there and said all four courts were full with 19 players and some players waiting to play. Jerry, Barry, Gord, Ganbat, Jane, Bill, Catherine, Tom, Joan, Al, Richard, Annette, Frank, Rita, Peter, Michelle, Joyce, Mike and Grant. Mike played very well and won a lot of games. He and Catherine skunked the other team with his good serves and he won two games with Jerry (probably the best player). I also like to play with Jerry because we always win. Winning is more fun but the main thing is to get exercise and have fun !!! Happy Easter to everyone !!!