ABPA Newsletter – May 2023
President’s Report
This is our new Club’s first newsletter. The committee has been working hard to get the Club up and running. Your Committee members are:
John Fuller – PresidentJS (Jesse) Jacques – Vice President
Rona Richmond – Secretary
Rose Clements – Treasurer
Chrissy Beaumont – Committee
Mar Lar Deane – Committee
Robert Deane – Committee
Thanks to a lot of hard work by Rona, our website is up and running. Please take some time out to visit our website at https://avalonbeachpickleball.org.au/.
The Club will gradually introduce more pickleball events in the Avalon Beach Recreation Centre during the week and on weekends. Those who have already played there think it is a great venue. The lighting at night is fantastic. We have approached Council to mark up a pickleball line on the badminton courts as soon as possible.
We will be working on introducing pickleball to the local schools and will need a number of volunteers to assist us when we get a programme up and running.
A new and transparent grading policy is in the pipeline. Rose has devoted a lot of time drafting a policy with particular emphasis on transparency of process. You can look up your current grading on our Membership List.
We have had several ideas presented to us for a Club logo which will be decided upon by the Committee over the next few months.
Club Insurance has been obtained to cover public liability insurance, personal indemnity insurance and personal accident insurance as well as management liability insurance. Policy wording and schedules to the policies will be placed on our website in due course.
As you may expect, we have a close working relationship with Chris Taylor and his team at NBPA. Chris is doing a fabulous job in taking over the running of NBPA. I ask all members to be understanding and have patience as both committees are working hard to make the separation as smooth as possible.
I am very keen to run social competitions at the Avalon Beach outdoor courts from time to time and I am looking for members to come forward if you are interested in running competitions such as round robins.
Rona has spent a lot of time on the location of defibrillators in the Avalon Beach village. Whilst we hope never to need the use of one, l think it is a community responsibility for everyone to know the location of defibrillators in the village and have some knowledge of what to do in the case of an emergency. Please see further details in this newsletter.
We will soon be introducing an improvement beginner clinic when it will be expected that beginners will attend a clinic on at least 3 occasions. More details of the clinics will be coming shortly.
Feel free to contact me on 0408 888 695 if you have any issues you’d like to discuss.
John Fuller – ABPA President
New Indoor Sessions
After a break of a few years, we have once again hired the Avalon Recreation Centre for two new indoor sessions with more to come:
Wednesday evenings: 8 – 10PM
Saturday afternoons: 2 – 4PM
The Saturday session is proving to be popular, especially when our morning outdoor session is cancelled due to rain. This new session has taken the pressure off the morning outdoor session which quite often had a waitlist.
For 6 months of the year (September to March), we will be able to start at 7PM on Wednesday evenings.
Social Pickleball at Woy Woy
We had a wonderful time playing with the Woy Woy Club last Sunday. At the suggestion of a mutual member, Glenn Lukey, the Woy Woy Committee very kindly invited us to a social 3 hour pickleball session. We caught the ferry from Palm Beach to Ettalong where we were picked up and driven to the playing venue. It was a lot of fun pickling and lunching at the pub with our pickleball neighbours across the water. We look forward to reciprocating later on this year.
Mitch Hargreaves
We are very proud of Mitch Hargreaves who was recently invited to play in the US Open Pickleball Championships. He competed in 5 Pro events and did extremely well for his first time playing against the best picklers in the world. With a WPR (World Pickleball Rating) of 5.0, Mitch is one of a growing number of players who are rated 4.5 or higher within Australia.
Before competing in the US Open, Mitch played in a Professional Pickleball Association singles event at the Red Rock Open. They played in high altitude in the freezing cold, Mitch having a snow delay in every game he played!
Looking to Purchase a Paddle?
After playing with our basic club paddles a few times, newbies should start looking at purchasing their own, but ….. sometimes choosing a new pickleball paddle can be overwhelming and confusing with all of the options available. Should you be taking into consideration the weight, grip size, core material (wood, polymer, Nomex, aluminum), paddle face material (carbon fiber, fiberglass, graphite)? Sometimes you’d think we were buying some futuristic gadget for a trip to Mars! “Nomex™ honeycomb”, “liquid graphite paddle face”, “polymer paddle core” etc. etc.
The best way to choose a paddle is to play with a few different ones to see which one feels most comfortable and what suits your style of game. The most expensive paddle isn’t necessarily the best paddle for you. In fact a beginner might not be able to tell the difference between a $50 paddle and a $300 paddle, but a more experienced player definitely can. Focus on weight and grip size first.
Fortunately we will soon have a few brands of demo paddles available for you to try:
- 6 Head paddles ranging in price from $105 to $225
- 3 Six Zero paddles ranging in price from $125 to $225
- Hutch has some Selkirk demo paddles as well as the popular Grüvn brand (Contact: info@pickleballcoachingaustralia.com.au)
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” – Yotam Ottolenghi
2023 NSW Open
Congratulations to our members who did well in the 2023 NSW Open held in Wahroonga in April, especially to Emily Porfiri who won a Silver medal in the Open Womens Doubles.
Open Womens Doubles Skill: (Any) Age: (Any) – Silver: Emily Porfiri
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (18 To 49) – Bronze: Emily Porfiri
Mens Singles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (35 To 49) – Silver: Matt Szetu
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (50 To 59) – Bronze: Ken Thong
Mens Singles Skill: (3.49 And Under) Age: (60 And Above) – Gold: Matt Noone
Mens Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (60 To 64) – Bronze: Matt Noone
Mens Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (60 To 64) – Gold: Ken Thong
Mens Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (65 To 69) – Gold: Wayne Fowler
Mens Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (65 To 69) – Gold: Moski Miyajima
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (50 To 59) – Gold: Donna Jay
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.49 And Under) Age: (65 To 69) – Silver: Maria Hawes
Womens Doubles Skill: (3.49 And Under) Age: (50 To 59) – Silver: Maria Hawes
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.49 And Under) Age: (60 To 64) – Silver: Peter Coon
Womens Doubles Skill: (3.49 And Under) Age: (49 And Under) – Bronze: Michelle Golds
Mixed Doubles Skill: (3.5 And Above) Age: (50 To 59) – Bronze: Robyn Flood
Medical Emergencies
Just a reminder that you can become CPR friendly in minutes on Hutch’s website. Take a look at his free CPR micro trainings and choose a CPR refresher from 5 seconds up to 3 hours! We highly recommend the 45 minute webinar.
If you learn the simple skills to administer CPR until the emergency services arrive, you could save a life. Any attempt to resuscitate is better than no attempt and EVERY MINUTE COUNTS!
Go to our website for more detailed information: https://avalonbeachpickleball.org.au/medical-emergencies/, including the location of defibrillators in Avalon.
Non-volley zone (kitchen) line rules explained (again)!
There still seems to be confusion about the kitchen line rules! Please watch these videos (particularly the first one) to find out everything you always wanted to know about the kitchen area in pickleball, but were afraid to ask. Click on the “YouTube” link for a better viewing experience.
- We are still hearing people say: “You can’t step into the kitchen until after the ball bounces”. WRONG!
Clarification: You are allowed to step into the kitchen any time before the ball bounces. - “You must get out of the kitchen right away after returning a ball which bounced first”. WRONG!
Clarification: You need not get out of the kitchen right away. You can stay in the kitchen as long as you want, provided that you don’t hit a volley while lingering there. However, if you have to go into the kitchen, get out as soon as you can otherwise you are a sitting duck! - “Only one partner can stay in the kitchen at a time”. WRONG!
Clarification: You and your partner can do what you like in the kitchen provided that you don’t hit a volley.
The bottom line is …. both feet must have made contact with the playing surface outside the non-volley zone before you can volley the ball (hit it before it bounces).
The Rules of Pickleball
All picklers should have a good understanding of the rules of the game. Please take the time to at least familiarise yourself with the USAPA Rules Summary. Better still, Download the complete 74 page USA Pickleball 2023 Official Rulebook for some light bedtime reading.
Player profile
Peter Fiedler
How long have you been playing pickleball? I have been playing for just over 3 years.
How did you first hear about pickleball? I saw a segment on ABC 7.30 report and then googled it and thought I would give it a go.
What do you like about the game? The friendly social aspect with people. I also enjoy that it caters for all levels of skill and ability and age.
Which other sports have you played in your younger years (or are still playing)? European handball in younger years, and snow skiing in younger years and still now.
How often do you play pickleball? I play one to two games a week as I am time poor and trying not to overdo it with my bionic knees.
Thanks to Peter for sharing his pickleball experience with us!
Solar Bat Sunglasses
These sunglasses are worn by hundreds of players in Australia; players of tennis, pickleball, padel and beach tennis. The lenses highlight optic yellow (the ball) and a darker gradient runs along the top of the lenses to minimise “sun blindness” when hitting overheads. Click here to view all features.
SOLAR BAT AUSTRALIA is offering our members a $40 discount. Apply the code ABPA40 on solarbataustralia.bigcartel.com.
(ABPA receive $10 for each pair purchased by our members)
If you wish to try a pair at the Avalon outdoor courts, please email Rona at rona.richmond@gmail.com.
Enquiries to Lee Taylor: lbtaylor44@gmail.com.
Feedback
Please send any feedback or suggestions for the ABPA newsletter to mail@avalonbeachpickleball.org.au.
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