Friday, October 28, 2011

New Pro-Lite and Spike Paddles

Thursday afternoon 8 courts were full of players: Henry, Barry, Andre, George, Claire, Nigel, Leslie, Tom, Al, Bill, Catherine, Joyce, Iris, Henrietta, Herb, Linda, Brian, Jerry Rudoplh, Dutch Jerry, Hermann, Ken, Mandy, Mat, Pat, Grant, Warren, Allan, Ganbat, Dave, Mike and me. Warren is a new player who can play very well. Hermann is back from Europe selling his hand made violins and violas in France and Italy. Nigel and Lesley came back from their trip to northern India where they saw people bathing in the Ganges.

There are many more new paddles on the market now. I bought a new paddle Pro-Lite Blaster from Grant. At first I tried a Spike ZZT and it felt very light (I think it's made of aluminium), the grip is smaller but it was hard to get used to the lightness. Some ladies bought this paddle. Then I tried the Pro-Lite Blaster which hits well and has a colorful image so I bought it.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

New Place to Play - Prince George, B.C.

Prince George - New Place to Play
New Pickleball program at the Family YMCA of Prince George. The address is 2020 Massey Drive. The phone number is 250-562-9341 . There are 2 indoor courts. The facility is open to the public. There will be 2 times to begin: Monday 1:30-3 pm for Seniors and Thursday 7-8:30 pm for all ages. There will be a $3 drop in fee.

Prince George pickleball promoter says...

"This is a great game especially for those of us no longer able to play tennis. The group in Prince George is incredibly welcoming and friendly. Ya gotta try it! The Y is the perfect place for it and the price is right."

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Paddle Material Specifications

Oct 22, 2011 USAPA and International Federation of Pickleball have determined that the POP paddles with the cork core (model Q-1), both graphite skin and aluminum skin have been disallowed for sanctioned tournament play. This is because the paddles, as manufactured, to not meet the deflection test. It is highly recommended that all players be notified of this as soon as possible so they can have correct paddles at the tournaments.

From the USAPA and IFP websites: List of Commercial Paddles Not Meeting Specifications of the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP)

Paddle Name Reason
Apike Fails the deflection test. See Paddle Material Specifications.
Hush Fails the deflection test. See Paddle Material Specifications.
Performance One Paddles (POP). Model Q1 (graphite and cork), Model Q1 (aluminum and Cork) Fails the deflection test. 10-22-11 Fails the deflection test. See Paddle Material Specifications.
Pickleball Now Whomper Some paddles have been slightly oversize. Models at tournaments can be measured for compliance.
http://ipickleball.org/rules/IFP_Paddle_Material_Specifications.pdf

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Friday, October 21, 2011

Province of B.C. Video Shoot at ARC

Province of B.C. Video Shoot at ARC:
There were 14 players enjoying an extra two hours of pickleball this Friday morning at ARC while a crew of four (2 cameramen, an interviewer and a producer) from the Province of B.C. did a video shoot of our group playing pickleball. Dave and I were interviewed about the positive health benefits of pickleball for seniors. The players included Henry, Mandy, Elaine, Dorothy, Martin, Annette, Henrietta, Bill, Grant, Jerry Rudolph, Jerry from Holland, Dave, Mike and me. We all had some great games to be featured in the video.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Friday, October 14, 2011

Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre, Sechelt, B.C.

Sechelt Seniors Activity Centre
5604 Trail Avenue, Sechelt, BC, V0N 3A0
Phone Reception: 604-885-8910
Monday 6:30 - 9:30pm
Tuesday 3:00 - 5:00pm
Wednesday 3:00 - 5:00pm
Thursday 3:30 - 5:30pm
and 5:30 to 9:00pm

Thursday, October 13, 2011

New Place to Play in Airdrie, Alberta

New Place to Play in Alberta
Genesis Place
800 East Lake Blvd. NE - (403) 948-8804
Airdrie, Alberta T4B 3C3
Drop-in Pickleball
Tues & Thur 9 - 11 am
Wed 5 -6 pm
Adult $10.50 Senior $6.50

http://www.airdrie.ca/genesis_place/index.cfm

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

South Ladner Rec.Centre & Ladner Community Centre and Outdoor Courts


Pickleball Canada Area Ambassador Peter Darvill asked the City of Ladner to paint pickleball lines on some newly surfaced outdoor tennis courts in Ladner, B.C. He purchased one USAPA portable net and then he bought another one because there are too many players coming out to play. He has organized a league of more than 12 players and they played almost everyday!!!

At South Delta Rec Centre { Tsawassen } Starting this Monday we will have 3 days alloted for PBall. Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:30 to 3pm, and Sundays from 3:30 til 5:30. We have the 4 courts available for all these times. Let's try and show up as much as possible so we can keep these times for us, and pls. pass the word around to others who may be interested.

At Ladner Community Centre, effective November 1st, the times are changing on Tuesday and Thursday to 3 pm to 5:30 pm rather than the past start time of 4pm.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Four Excellent Players visiting from Lynden, Wa.

Today we welcomed two couples (two Rons, Ione and Vi) from Lynden, Wa. They came to play with us the second time. They are friends of Carol and Earl Hill. Ione is a 4.5 player in Arizona. She said they have no indoor courts in Lynden and they enjoyed playing with us. They joined us in the Seniors Room with about 20 players for the celebration of Bill Vroom's 82th birthday with cakes, cookies and fruit. Ione said "Thank you for your warm welcome and hospitablity". I told her that they are very welcome anytime. We taught two new players Ed and Paul and they enjoyed many games with us.