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Saturday, April 25, 2009

More Medals

CONGRATULATIONS
Sandi Feller played in the Catalina Spa Pickleball Tournament and took home to Palm Creek 2 Bronze Medals

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Palm Creek Players Keep on Winning

CONGRATULATIONS

Joyce Staffen and Doug Kant won the Gold at the Hearltand Senior Tournament in Michigan

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

APIKE Paddle - Update from USAPA

April 7, 2009. The USAPA has received many comments from players regarding the Apike paddle. The USAPA board of directors has reviewed all of those comments and studied the paddle for compliance with paragraph 2.E of the official rules. At its meeting on April 5, it spoke with the owner of the Apike and asked him many questions. After the discussion with the owner, the board discussed the issues raised by the owner and considered each of them. Upon deliberation, the board found that the Apike does not comply with the part of paragraph 2.E.2 that states, "The paddle playing surface shall not contain . . . features that allow a player to impart additional or increased spin on the ball." The combination of a flexible surface and a spongy foam core causes the paddle surface to compress on impact with the ball. The compression creates a slightly concave pocket that causes a greater amount of surface area to contact the ball compared to the rigid surfaces of wood and composite paddles. The increased surface area in contact with the ball that creates the increased spin was found to constitute a feature under the rules that allows for additional or increased spin. Members of the board and spouses of members who either manufacture or sell paddles did not vote in this decision in order for the board to arrive at a fair and unbiased decision.Although the board made no finding regarding safety, it has asked the USAPA Rules Committee to review and possibly amend the rules by adding clarifications or quantifiable measurements in order to address the concerns that players have about claims of increased speed of the ball caused by new paddles and those that may be introduced in the future and claims that these paddles may change the character of the game. For the general safety and protection of all players, the board recommends that they consider wearing protective eyewear regardless of the types of paddles being used. Comments received through April 4, 2009 are summarized here. Additional comments are not solicited at this time.

Although the USAPA has asked for no addtional comments, we welcome your comments

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Hello from AJ

It's April, which means your new Board is in place and rolling. On behalf of my fellow board members .., Steve Arthur - VP, Audrey Hill - Secretary, Donna Christiansen - Treasurer, LeRoy and Barb Schmidt - Co-Tournament Directors and of course Irene and I, we thank you for giving us the opportunity to be of service to all of you.

"All of you" that is the operative phrase for us. The former board made decisions to benefit everybody. Your new board is going to make decisions using this same philosophy. Each club has it's own personality and I think Palm Creek's club's personality is about training and development of players from beginners through the more accomplished ranks. While we may not have the high percentage of "open- level" players that may exist in a few other clubs, our players are the equal of any across the board and the excellence in our training and development programs thus far has helped with that. I believe it is the new Board's responsibility to continue and even enhance that emphasis during our two year term. If your interest is "only" social play, you will find that level of social play here, with the opportunity to advance your skills if you wish.

Check back next week for my first blog about our upcoming First Annual Jamboree ...

AJ Fraties
Club President