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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Summer Intercommunity

Getting Ready for May 1st when Mission Royale and Dave White players come to Palm Creek

                                          photos courtesy of Linda Blevin

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Announcement

Friday, July 20, 2018
2ND ANNUAL "BAINBRIDGE CUP"
Pickleball's Intercontinental Team Competition
International Federation of Pickleball







Format:
Team Competition: Europe versus North America
Men's, Women's, and Mixed Doubles
* Age/Skill-Based Competition
19+, 50+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+ (planned)
One-Day Event
All players will play multiple matches throughout the day
Each match is worth 1 point for your team (Europe or North America)
Limited to 250 participants
IFP sanctioning rules will apply


Saturday and Sunday, July 21 and 22, 2018
ITALIAN OPEN PICKLEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018
Italian Pickleball Association



Format:
Men's, Women's, and Mixed Doubles
* Age/Skill-Based Tournament
19+, 50+, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+ (planned)
Limited to 250 participants
IFP sanctioning rules will apply




Friday, April 6, 2018

Shirley Anderson in the news...

Still in her prime
By JOAQUIN AGUILAR H&N Sports Reporter  Mar 23, 2018

Penny English - Shirley Anderson 
Genny Leathers - Connie Emerson - Corey Purvis-Linda McAdam


Some of the most successful athletes are the ones who can endure the most pain.
Shirley Anderson has gone through her share of anguish.
Anderson, 82, is the oldest member of the Klamath Basin Pickleball Association.
Though she is a Klamath Basin native, the cold chill in the winter is something she prefers to live without and for the last 12 years, spends the winter in Arizona.
She has tried every sport imaginable.
If you name it, chances are Anderson has done it.
She has played softball, basketball, downhill skiing, cross country, tennis, to name a few.
To Anderson, not competing in sports is not an option.
With age, and a several setbacks, she found a sport she now invests all her time in.
While playing on a tennis court one day in Arizona, on the court just to her left, she noticed people playing pickleball.
“I asked them what was pickleball. Everyone I talk to now asks me that, 'what is pickleball?' Well, you use a paddle rather than a racquet,” Anderson said. “I ended up liking it better than tennis. It grows on you and you get to the point where you're lost without it.”
Living in Casa Grande, Ariz., Anderson unintentionally encountered likely the most popular place to play pickleball in the country.
While in Arizona, Anderson thrills at playing with and against people from around the country and plays at Palm Creek Golf & RV Resort, the location of the National Pickleball Championships.
The location has 32 courts alone.
She has become quite renown in the sport and has won two gold medals, several silver medals and recently finished with a bronze medal in the Palm Creek tournament with her partner Penny English.
But the sky wasn't always clear and baby blue for Anderson.
Three back surgeries forced her to quit skiing, a sport she became a national ski patrol senior.
She originally had spinal stenosis. After her doctor wanted to fix a disc in her back, she decided she needed to have an x-stop (Interspinous Process Decompression System) surgery.
To her dismay, the surgery did not fix her spinal stenosis when Anderson thought it would have.
A second surgery had to be done, but this time, her doctor did not properly insert the titanium implant of her lumbar spine.
“It hurt like heck. After a five-hour surgery, I still couldn't straighten up. She could have had a big lawsuit on her hands for what she did to me,” Anderson said. “I could have strangled that women but chose not to hold what happened against her. I think they moved to a different place.”
Anderson was lucky.
According to her new doctor, she was a step away from being in a wheelchair the rest of her life.
Finally, she had one last surgery to correct previous procedures.
Though she was unable to be as active as she was and had to give up many of the sports she loved, Anderson still did not give up pickleball after she had both her knees replaced.
Her first replacement was six years ago and replaced her second knee three years after.
After each knee surgery, it took her six months until she was able to play pickleball again.
“I have been in athletics all my life. My body is in good shape for an old lady. There are days when I don't do as well but I am still out there and loving the sport,” Anderson said. “I am still out here.”
To those who know her, Anderson's personality is what makes her standout.
She is the biggest inspiration at the Klamath Basin Pickleball Association.
Standing at 5-foot-3, she might not intimidate at first glance but is very aware on the court.
A Henley High School graduate, Anderson was in high school when there were no team sports and played intramurals.
To state the obvious, basketball was different in the 1950's.
There were six players on a team, three forwards and three guards.
A player could not cross the center line and had to shoot the basketball from there.
She has had her share of tales.
She tried water skiing once and during an exercise, hit her mouth hard and knocked out several of her teeth.
Growing up as a women was different as well.
She played slowpitch against men in regional tournaments and it was how many women made their living.
Anderson will turn 83 years old next month but shows no signs she will give it all up anytime soon.
She struggles with neuropathy in her feet but said she has no pain or discomfort in her knees.
“The Lord blessed me with being an athlete. I want to play as long as I can and will not stop doing this until I have nothing left. I am on a year-to-year basis,” Anderson said. “I have never given up sports and even when I had all those five surgeries, not once did I say I was done or that I would give up.”
“My mom gave me a glove and a bat when I was six years old and from there, I knew I was born to play sports. The people at the courts tell me I am their inspiration and they want to be like me someday. Humbly, I tell them they can. I tell them they will. People quit all the time. I chose not to because I will not let it stop me when I know I have so much more left to give.”


Tuesday, April 3, 2018


2017 USAPA Facts

●     Places to Play: USAPA Places to Play Database:  5,883
●     Membership : 22,321 (increase of 5,526 or 460 per month)
●     Total Courts: 21,154 (increase of 4,605 or 384 per month)
●     Ambassadors: 1,640
●     Grants: USAPA awarded 119 Community Grants and 1 High School Grant, distributed over $24,000 for pickleball equipment in local communities.  Pickleball Central joined USAPA and donated over 700 wooden paddles to various programs.
●     2017 USAPA Nationals: USAPA 2017 Nationals set a new player registration record with over 1,300 registered players
●     Fundraising: USAPA raised over $8,000 in support of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital ●     Player Ratings: The number of officially rated players went from 6,000 on 1/1/2016 to 8,638 on 12/31/17.  That's a 2,638 annual increase in initial ratings for new players which was roughly a 30% increase in one year.  In addition, there were approximately 800 players who had a rating but required a rating change.
●     Certified Referees: USAPA certified referees grew to 104 certified referees
●     Referee Evaluators: USAPA trained and approved 5 new certified Referee Evaluators
●     USAPA Regions: expanded from 8 to 11 regions
●     Medal Matches: All medal matches in the 2017 USAPA Nationals were called by certified referees
●     Hall of Fame: USAPA and the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA) launched a new Pickleball Hall of Fame
●     Facebook Live Streaming: USAPA Facebook team carried several live matches on Facebook and had a total reach of over 1.5 Million viewers
●     Newsletter: USAPA produced 6 newsletters in 2017.  You may view archive copies of the newsletter at https://www.usapa.org/usapa-newsletter/
●     Pickleball Magazine: USAPA partnered with Dollard Publishing and produced 6 Pickleball Magazines during 2017 see http://usapa.org/pickleball-magazine/
●     Referee Handbook: The USAPA Referee Handbook was updated in 2017 by the Certified Referee Handbook Committee
●     Paddles: USAPA tested and approved 107 paddles in 2017
●     National Senior Games: USAPA provided administrative support for the 2017 National Senior Games which set a new player registration record of over 900 players – Visit http://nsga.com/

Editors Note:  The information contained herein is accurate as of December 31 of 2017.  USAPA will update the Fact Sheet as necessary and post the results at www.usapa.org