Pickleball Participation Survey

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I am consulting with Michael Hess, a professor of sports management and marketing in Spain, to establish pickleball in Spain and throughout Europe. The rules are being translated into several languages.

A survey is being conducted to improve understanding of the motives for playing pickleball. The findings will be used to help those who organize pickleball events, clubs, training and tournaments to enhance players’ experience as well as to help attract new players to this great sport.

The survey is being conducted by two pickleball aficionados: Michael Hess, PhD (CUNEF University) and David Scally, Masters in Sport Management (University College Dublin).

The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. All questions are optional and anonymous.

Michael would appreciate the support of Arizona players and will share the results of the survey.
Survey link:  Pickleball Participation Survey

Bill Booth

Pickleball players relish chance to expand sport

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Courts at Rio Vista Recreaction Center

Mike Barnett, left and Bob Waller of Peoria play pickleball during a free session at Rio Vista Recreation Center in Peoria.

Ken Macumber, president of Westbrook Village’s pickleball club, knows very well how popular the sport has become in recent years.

In his community, he witnessed it firsthand.

“We started in Westbrook Village in 2010 with four of us, just trying to get courts,” he said. “Now we have more than 230 members. We have four courts now and we’re getting four more.”

The initial perception of pickleball as a sport for retirement communities has faded and there is now a growing demand for it among the general public.

With that in mind, Westbrook Village joined forces with Peoria’s Rio Vista Recreation Center Wednesday morning for an introduction to pickleball, a free program, open to the public, for anyone interested in learning the game. Judging by the dozens who arrived first thing and the dozens more streaming in throughout the program, the interest is definitely there. Read more at yourwestvalley.com…

Surprise Pickleball Association – May, 2013 Newsletter

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SPA Newsletter

May, 2013 – Issue 3

Three Tournaments coming up in Surprise!

SPA is hosting three consecutive tournaments to raise funds for more courts

Tournament 1 (Pre-Nationals) November 1st – 3rd – Registration is now open. Please pass this along as it’s open to the first 250 participants ONLY. 
Register by clicking here.
Tournament 2 December 6th – 8th Register by clicking here.
Tournament 3 January 17th – 19th Register by clicking here.
We need your help to make these tournaments a success! Volunteers are needed for sponsorships, raffles, front desk, referees, posting and many other exciting opportunities. To sign up or inquire further please email Steve Wong or Gigi LeMaster at tournaments@surprisepickleball.org
Read the complete newsletter…

Pickleball’s fast, fun pace attracts Prescott players from 9 to 86

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2013-0521prescott

Damon Olsen returns the ball Saturday morning during the championship match of Prescott’s first pickle ball tournament at the Willow Hills Baptist Church gym in Prescott.

After Pickleball players Tom Riley and Damon Olsen scrambled to return a serve by Nancy Miser during a recent tournament at the gym at Prescott’s Willow Hills Baptist Church, Riley said “I’m hooked. I love this game.”

“I love the speed, it seems like it would be a slow game but it’s not,” he said. “It’s reflex. You don’t have time to think. You just trust your body, and hope you get out of the way of the slams.”Read more at dcourier.com…

Pickleball gaining momentum in Arizona

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Pebble Creek Pickleball Courts

In the quiet Robson retirement community of PebbleCreek in Goodyear, Ariz., one might expect the residents to live life at a slower pace. But make your way down to the country club and the pace picks up.

There you will see athletes racing up and down what looks like mini-tennis courts, and you will hear the constant popping of plastic against graphite paddles, which is the unmistakable sound of pickleball.

This racket-and-ball sport is sweeping the nation and with more than 600 members, PebbleCreek Pickleball Club has been ahead of this trend for years. Read more with video at health2fit.com…

Pickleball players win round in Sun City

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Sun City pickleball club member Roger Haines serves at the Marinette Recreation Center

Sun City pickleball club member Roger Haines serves at the Marinette Recreation Center

Sun City’s pickleball players attended an exchange meeting with the Recreation Centers of Sun City’s board of directors in March to propose an expansion of Mountain View Recreation Center’s courts from four to seven.

They made the request because the overhaul of Marinette Recreation Center scheduled for this fall will increase the total pickleball courts from 12 to 20 but while that project is going on Sun City pickleball players would be left with only the four courts at Mountain View. Read more at yourwestvalley.com

Surprise Pickleball Fundraiser Series Tournaments

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The Surprise Pickleball Association is pleased to announce that we are working on another fundraiser tournament to hopefully help fund more courts in Surprise.  We’ve been meeting with the city and are selling the idea of having a large tournament here if we can get a total of 16-24 courts in the Surprise City Complex.  Therefore, we are going to kick off the next tournament season with a bang!  There will be a total of 3 tournaments.  I’ll be the tournament director and Gigi and Dee will assist me again.
All skill level tournaments only and not separated by age.
  1. Surprise Pickleball Fundraiser Series – Tournament 1 (Pre–Nationals).  Will be USAPA sanctioned.
    1. Fri, Nov 1, 2013 – Women’s Doubles
    2. Sat, Nov 2, 2013 – Men’s Doubles
    3. Sun, Nov 3, 2013 – Mixed Doubles
  2. Surprise Pickleball Fundraiser Series – Tournament 2.  Will be USAPA sanctioned.
    1. Fri, Dec 6, 2013 – Women’s Doubles
    2. Sat, Dec 7, 2013 – Men’s Doubles
    3. Sun, Dec 8, 2013 – Mixed Doubles
  3. Surprise Pickleball Fundraiser Series – Tournament 3.  Will be USAPA sanctioned.
    1. Fri, Jan 17, 2014 – Women’s Doubles
    2. Sat, Jan 18, 2014 – Men’s Doubles
    3. Sun, Jan 19, 2014 – Mixed Doubles
Thanks,
Steve Wong

Pickleball replacing shuffleboard at Rancho Resort

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Workers pour the concrete for two new Pickleball courts April 11 in the Rancho Resort neighborhood.

Pickleball players at Rancho Resort in Sahuarita had to play in the street when they first took up the sport in 2010. Eventually they worked out a deal with the Resort’s tennis players to time-share their facilities, but all along the Pickleballers were eyeing locations for a permanent home, including the seldom used shuffleboard courts.

“We started playing on the streets in the Courtyard that were not being used,” says Rancho Resort Pickleball Club President John Janes. “Right there on the blacktop street they striped a court and the Resort bought some standards, nets and paddles for us and we played over there.” Read more at gvnews.com…

Pickleball now coming to Quail Creek

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Diagram of Quail Creek Courts

Quail Creek is beginning construction in the next couple of months on eight new Pickleball courts, shown in this conceptual plan with eight more courts to be built later.

The Pickleball craze is hitting Green Valley (and now Sahuarita) in a big way. Green Valley Recreation completed four new courts at the Canoa Ranch Social Center in October, two new courts have just been poured in Rancho Resort and Quail Creek is set to have eight courts completed in the fall.

Eight new Pickleball courts are scheduled to be completed by sometime this fall at Quail Creek, with construction set to begin in the next couple of months. Read more at gvnews.com…