On Monday, January 11th, Pictona members and local community residents will be able to begin registering for the inaugural Martens' Cup. The Martens' Cup is named after Pictona founders Julie and Rainer Martens. The inaugural Martens' Cup tournament will be held February through March 2021. The goal of the Martens Cup is to provide a fun environment where participants can meet other members while enjoying a variety of different activities at Pictona. Participants will be placed on either Team Julie or Team Rainer to compete in a five-week tournament participating in Croquet, Bocce Ball, Corn Hole, Horseshoe Toss and Shuffleboard. Martens' Cup tournament fee is $25 and registration ends February 10th.  Participants must register by January 29th in order to receive a Martens' Cup t-shirt.  Before the tournament begins a draft night will be held at the SR Perrott Pavilion. Good food, drinks and laughter will be on the schedule as Team members are announced and awarded their Team t-shirt. Each week participants from both teams will face off in an event to earn points and compete for the glory of winning the Martens' Cup. For more details regarding registration, event dates and details go to www.pictona.org/martenscup or contact Events & Assistant Manager Sarah Lockett at sarahl@pictona.org.

 

No one knows what 2021 will bring - hopefully, it will be a better year than 2020 has been (with the exception of the good news of the birth of Pictona). One change will be some new pickleball rules and clarifications from USA Pickleball Association. While most of the changes involve rewording of existing rules for more clarity, there are a few significant changes.

1. There will be no more service lets. If a served ball touches the net and then lands in the correct service court, the ball will be played.
2. Drop serves are now allowed. In other words, it is acceptable to drop the ball and then immediately hit the ball for a serve. But, the server’s release of the ball must be visible to both the receiver and the referee. The ball may not be tossed up or thrown down. For a drop serve only, the old serving rules (ball hit below waist, etc.) no longer apply. This rule is provisional, meaning after one year it will be evaluated to decide if the drop serve is to remain.
3. Before the serve, any player on the serving team OR receiving team may ask the referee for the score, correct server, correct position, and may challenge/confirm the called score.
4. Third party coaching is now allowed when teams switch court ends.
5. A player may only request one medical time-out per match. However, the referee may call for medical assessment of a player without penalty to the player.

The 2021 Rules will be effective as of January 25, 2021. Click on the link below to access the 2021 Official Rules, a shorter Alternative Rulebook, and a document that provides just the rule changes.

USA Pickleball/IFP Official Rules - USA Pickleball

You may have heard that Pictona approached the City about offering to operate the current YMCA that is located across the street under the banner of the Pictona Activity Center. After considerable due diligence in determining the feasibility of Pictona operating the current YMCA facility as an independent Activity Center, Joe Forte, City Manager, and I determined that we should withdraw our proposal. The primary reason is that it may put Pictona at an unwarranted financial risk. The current facility has an excellent pool and it may stay open year around. We will investigate the possibility of Pictona members being able to use the pool for a low cost fee.

 

 

 

Wednesday, January 27^th

 Pictona Honors our First Responders with a Day of Pickleball!

Thank you for your service

Bring your employee badge or ID to PICTONA at Holly Hill

 on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 from 8 am – 9 pm for a FREE, fun-filled day of Pickleball and so much more!

                 

Haven’t heard of Pickleball?

• Currently the fastest growing sport in America
• Played by children and adults up to age 90+
• Enjoyed by people of all skill levels and abilities

     FREE Pickleball 101 classes will be offered at 10:00 am, 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm 

• You must pre-register for PB 101 at pictona.org    or call 386-310-7067

What do you need?

• Exercise clothes and a comfortable pair of tennis shoes (a limited number of demo paddles will be available at Pictona)
• Per CDC guidelines masks are required in the facility and common area. May be removed during play.

 

Come Join the Fun at Pictona!

1060 Ridgewood Ave

Holly Hill 32117

386 310 7067

 

 

This January, DANCING comes to Pictona! The FHCP SAC features three new classes, including Ballroom Dancing, Beginner Line Dancing and Intermediate Line Dancing. Move to the beat with our awesome instructors as you learn solid fundamentals in an enjoyable atmosphere while participating in meaningful exercise.

Join Marta Pascale on Saturdays from 4 - 5 pm for Ballroom Dancing. January's classes will feature the Waltz, the mother of all ballroom dances. 

Join Joe Parilla for Beginner Line Dancing on Mondays from 5 - 6 pm (Two left feet? No problem!). For those who have more dancing experience, Intermediate Line Dancing will allow you to enjoy dancing to the fullest!

Find more information and register for classes at the individual class links above. If you have questions, please email SAC Director, Rynn Goldstein, at rynng@pictona.org or call 386-238-9276.

 

Pictona is pleased to offer Wellness Workshops beginning in January 2021. These workshops are completely free to the public and focus on health, nutrition and general wellness. Topics for January include:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Workshops are sponsored by our valued partner, Florida Health Care Plans. FHCP health insurance and Pictona membership are not required to attend.

When: Every Tuesday, 1 pm – 2 pm, beginning January 5, 2021

Cost: Free and open to the public.

What to bring? Masks are required.

Maximum Class Size: 10 participants. Registration for each class is required.

The Membership Committee is trying to produce a short video of Pictona and its members for promotional use.

If you have expertise in this area and are willing to help, please contact Bonnie Melville at bonnie.melville@gmail.com.

Thank You!

Kitchen

We are open again! 11 am until 9 pm. 

Meet our new Kitchen Manager, Josh Ricasolo. 

Briana is back as our lead server and she’s accompanied by Nicole and Paige. In the back of the house we have Lee Lee and Zach preparing your food.

Some old, some new. We kept on the menu the most popular items from the past and have added many new items. You told us you wanted more “grab and go,” so we’ve added a tasty selection of wraps and sandwiches which can be served quickly. We’ve added two salads to the menu, two flatbreads, and two quiches. And be sure to try our seven smoothies that will give you that healthy pickup before, between, and after play.       

Let us know what you think of our new menu. We have a suggestion box on the counter. The Kitchen is a service for you and the public. We want to offer the foods and beverages you want.

Please support the Kitchen! It’s a vital part of our operating income.        

Kitchen Parking

We have six reserved spaces for the public to park when coming to the Kitchen. Please only use these spots if you are coming specifically to visit and enjoy the Kitchen as well as to order or pick-up food from the Kitchen. If you are coming to play, please use any of the other parking spots on property. 

Ladder Tournament

We’ve seen some outstanding play in the ladder tournament with nearly 200 people participating. We’ve heard some suggestions for adjusting the rules and format. At the end of January when the tournament ends, we will ask all participants to respond to a survey so we can determine the best adjustments.

League Play

We will begin league play in early February. The rules and procedures will be available in early January.

Preservation Palace Restrooms

Now that the outside courts are preferred by most players, the Preservation Palace restrooms are open. Once again, we thank Bill Cook for brightening them up with new lights and paint. The City will be installing new vent fans to complete the work.

Chamber of Commerce Banquet

We will host the holiday party for the Holly Hill Chamber of Commerce on December 17^th from 6-8 pm at the SR Perrott Pavilion. Please welcome our guests (you’ll know them because they won’t have pickleball playing clothes on) if you are here that evening. They represent the businesses of Holly Hill.

Picnic Tables

We purchased 10 unassembled picnic tables. We thank the following people who volunteered to assemble them: Debi Baker, Renee Machovec, Richard and Adria Kelley, Edwin Cosio, Ray Pinamonti, and Kevin Grimes. Eight tables are in the Pavilion and 2 are by court 8.

More Games

Need to take a break from your addiction to pickleball! Play table tennis in the Games Room or try your hand at croquet, shuffleboard, bocce ball, and horseshoes. We have “world class” facilities for these activities.

Bainbridge Cup

As you likely know Pictona is hosting the International Federation of Pickleball’s (IFP) Bainbridge Cup (BC21) from April 7 to 11, 2021. Previously the tournament was held in Spain, Italy, Germany, and scheduled for Great Britain this past summer but canceled due to Covid-19. This will be the first time BC21 has been held in the United States. Players of all skill levels are eligible. The world will be divided at the Mississippi River with eastern U.S. and Europe representing one team and western U.S. and Asia representing the other. Professional pickleball players will be selected to coach each team.

By contract, Pictona is limited to registering 100 players in the initial registration process. Our players will be able to register in advance. You can read more about BC21 at  https://www.pickleballtournaments.com/tournamentinfo.pl?tid=4612. We’ll keep you posted about registering for this exciting event.

Humana teamed up with Island Doctors to acquire the naming rights to BC21 which now and forever more is known as Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup Tournament, a mouthful, but a helpful contribution of $25,000.

New Instructional Program Director

Beginning January 1, 2021, Lu Kandt is our new Instructional Program Director. She will work with all our instructors to ensure we are offering consistent and outstanding instruction to students in our various courses. Lu will be expanding our curriculum and will serve as a liaison with our private instructors. Thank you Lu for accepting this position.

Event Manager

Want to host a birthday, anniversary or retirement celebration at Pictona? Call Sarah Lockett. Sarah is our Event Manager and is responsible for arranging non-pickleball events at Pictona.

Humana and Community Gardens

We’re pleased to announce that Humana is sponsoring our community gardens, now the Humana Community Gardens for $7500 per year for three years. Welcome Humana! And speaking of the gardens, Julie and I harvested our first strawberries this week. The tomato plants are flowering, but the pepper plants look hopeless. Enjoy gardening? We have a few more plots available. See Rynn Goldstein if you are interested.       

Court Repairs

Have you wondered why it’s so hard to hit an around-the-post shot? I know I have. 

Well, we found out that the net posts were installed 3” too wide. NIDY, the court contractor, has developed a fix to move the posts in 3 inches on each side. You can see that fix on court 20. Over the next month or two they will fix all of the courts in the same way.

Covid-19

It’s wreaking havoc across our country. Most of you have been terrific about wearing masks and we thank you for doing so. Remember, you can take the mask off when you enter the court and but please put it back on BEFORE leaving the court. Take the mask off when you enter the court and put it back on before leaving the court. I know all of us are tired of wearing masks, but I ask you to please stay vigilant. It’s easy to forget to re-mask when walking off the courts, but DON’T. Hopefully over the next six months we will be able to shed the masks.

YMCA

Many of you said to me “the only thing missing from Pictona is a swimming pool.” Watch for more details about Pictona assuming the management of the YMCA building located directly across Ridgewood Avenue, which is owned by the City of Holly Hill, to create the Pictona Activity Center. The facility includes a large heated swimming pool to be used year around for aquatics activities, a large gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, and exercise equipment along with group exercise spaces. We plan to offer an expanded membership option to you to use the PAC. I’ll let you know much more about this development and will be asking you to respond to a survey so we know your interest and the types of activities you would like to see.

Award

Pictona was the recipient of the Best Public-Private Partnership for building Pictona, so designated by the Florida Planning and Zoning Association Surfcoast Chapter. Joe Forte, City Manager, accepted the award on behalf of the City and Julie and Rainer Martens did so on behalf of Martens Charities at the Halifax Yacht Club on December 11, 2020.  

Give a Gift

Greet a new player.

            Play a game with a less skilled player.

                        Adjust your play to help a less skilled player.

                                    Avoid arrogance on the court.

                                                Give the gift of friendship.

                                                            Happy Holidays.

                                                           

 

Do you want to share the gift of Pickleball ?

The Welcome Desk now has single day passes you can purchase. Pick up a few passes today!