NBPA Newsletter – March 2021
President’s Report
Since our last newsletter the number of members has passed 100, making NBPA not only the first registered Club in our State, but also the largest in the State.
We have been invited by the Gold Coast Pickleball Club, which just happens to be the largest Club in Australia, to participate in an inter Club competition over the weekend of 7th – 8th August. This event could take the title “Gold Coast/ Northern Beaches Invitation Challenge”. I think this is a great opportunity to play pickleball on the one hand and enjoy a couple of days or more in sunny Queensland. Further details will be available shortly. If you are interested in participating, please let me or any member of the Committee know.
I have been approached by the Northern Beaches Council Youth Development Officer to participate in a pickleball activity day at the Avalon Outdoor Pickleball Courts during Youth Week (16-24 April). I told him the Club would be delighted to host such an event. I will be calling for volunteers to help on the day closer to the time when further details will be available.
As you are all aware, we have decided to follow the initiative of some of the larger Clubs in Queensland by having a session for graded players on Wednesday morning with a rating of at least 3. There will also be two courts available for social play. In this way, we will be able to have a group of players who could represent the Club in competitions with other Clubs at that level. This is not to say that members with a lower rating will miss out on participating in social fixtures with other Clubs as was proposed with the Hornsby Club before COVID intervened.
It is good to see that a number of our members have entered into the NSW Open Pickleball Championships to be held next month. Good luck to all!
Have a safe and Happy Easter!
John Fuller
NBPA President
Our 100th Member!
We are proud to be the first club in NSW (as far as we are aware) to have reached the milestone of 100 members.
Pictured to the right is Ivor Ackermann, our 100th member. Ivor is an accomplished tennis player who has taken to pickleball like a duck to water (and we have played in the rain on one or two occasions). Ivor plays with us in Avalon on Monday nights …. good pickleball and guaranteed fun!
Travel With Your Paddle
Planning to travel up the NSW coast or inland NSW? Don’t forget to pack your paddle and drop in to the various pickleball clubs for a game. Pickleball clubs are springing up like mushrooms! You will be warmly welcomed, but make sure you give the clubs advance warning of your arrival.
Click on the blue markers for club contact details
(Courtesy of PANSW)
PANSW News
PANSW has 42 known venues across the state with regular play at most of these venues. Visiting players are always welcome to join.
There will be a Battle of the Border coming up in the June long weekend and the Australian Pickleball Champions are coming up on the October long weekend in Newcastle.
If you wish to keep up to date with the goings on at PANSW, you can subscribe to their newsletter by clicking here.
Donna
VERY IMPORTANT – Regularly Violated Service Rules
We’ve noticed that many players are regularly violating some of the service rules. Please make sure that you understand the above rule and, in particular, the words “imaginary extension of”. It is a fault if your shoe TOUCHES the baseline and if your shoe goes just SLIGHTLY beyond the imaginary sideline or centreline.
Please also remember that if you fail to completely call the score loudly and clearly before you hit the ball, it is a fault (newbies excluded).
Avalon Outdoor Courts
Good news! We are now playing on the Avalon Beach outdoor courts on a permanent basis on Saturday mornings 9 – 11am and on Monday nights 7 – 9pm under floodlights.
The great thing about these courts is that they are easily seen from Barrenjoey Road which represents an excellent marketing opportunity for the game.
We are hoping that Northern Beaches Council will provide a shelter and seating soon and more importantly, attend to the re-marking of one of the courts which we discovered was about a metre too wide! ?
Player Health, Safety & Etiquette
Pickleball is not only fun, but is great exercise too. Like any other sport, care must be taken to avoid overexertion and injury. To stay healthy and have more fun, please take the time to review our Safety & Etiquette webpage, as well the USAPA Player Health & Safety webpage which contains plenty of useful information on how to stay safe on the pickleball court.
A Reminder About Line Calling Code of Ethics
- Players call the lines on their side of the court ONLY.
- Spectators should not be consulted on any line calls.
- All “let” or “out” calls must be made instantly, otherwise the ball is presumed in and still in play.
- In doubles play, if one player calls the ball out and the partner calls it in, then doubt exists and the ball must be declared in.
- Line calls should be promptly signalled by hand or voice, regardless of how obvious they may seem.
The important thing to remember is: If there is a SHADOW OF DOUBT, the ball is “in”!
Whatever you do, NEVER MOVE BACKWARDS to return a lob. You could easily fall backwards and break a bone. Learn how to return lobs safely by watching the above video by Simone Jardim.
Belrose Country Club
In January we were asked to provide a pickleball demonstration at the Belrose Country Club and Ian, Donna, Gary and Ross volunteered. This retirement village has a large number of homes and residents who have the opportunity to enjoy a good number of facilities including a half court tennis court. This court size is exactly the perimeter dimensions for pickleball, but of course marked out for tennis and has a fixed net. Unfortunately the surface is not ideal for pickleball, being artificial grass. However, the ball bounce was satisfactory for a demo and play with people trying the game. Those that did said they thoroughly enjoyed it and of course some old tennis players came out of the woodwork to give it a try. Generally a good time was had by all and we finished with a lovely and welcomed sausage sizzle. For the village to pursue this further they would need to have the surface refinished as a flexipave court and line marked for both pickleball and half court tennis.
“Herding Cats”?
Ian Lanser and Chris Taylor had the pleasure recently of providing a demonstration and basic “How to play Pickleball” at PCYC Dee Why for Mackellar Girls High School Year 9 students. While they were polite, well behaved and courteous, the sports afternoon turned a little frivolous and somewhat a hit and giggle. While some girls did not own up to having played tennis, clearly there were a few that knew some strokes and shots. They quickly got it. Introducing pickleball into high schools is a goal of pickleball associations Australia wide and we welcome the opportunity to promote and develop the sport. We remind the young ladies that world champion pickleball players include teenagers, and a mother and daughter champion combo. The girls had a brief introduction, some safety guidelines, game objectives and moved into a hit with sufficient partner rotation to ensure everyone had an opportunity to play. Apart from Mackellar Girls HS we also ran similar sessions last year with Cromer High and look forward to returning groups and other schools in due course.
Haven’t heard of ‘Herding Cats?’, look it up.
Player Profile (and Man of the Month) – Mal Nicholson
How long have you been playing pickleball? I began playing Pickleball in mid 2019 at Dee Why PCYC.
How did you first hear about pickleball? My wife heard about Pickleball when visiting friends in New Zealand. Her friend’s husband was a keen Pickleballer. Shortly after this trip we saw it featured on Channel 2’s 7.30 Report with Leigh Sales. We were surprised when we found out it was played in our own suburb, Dee Why. I went along one Wednesday morning and was hooked.
What do you like about the game? I enjoy most sports, particularly team sports. Pickleball provides me with a good physical workout and there’s a mental challenge in there as well. Also, there is the camaraderie and fun of playing the game.
Which other sports have you played in your younger years (or are still playing)? I’ve played numerous sports over the years. Surfboat rowing and rugby in my 20’s, then distance running in my 30’s. This led to triathlons for a few years. When this got too hard I took up golf and played a bit of social tennis in the past 10 years.
How often do you play pickleball? I only play Pickleball once a week. I enjoy it immensely and it’s in the company of such nice people.
Thanks to Mal for sharing his pickleball experience with us.
Feedback
Please send any feedback or suggestions for the NBPA newsletter to mail@northernbeachespickleball.org.au.
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