LADDERS AND LEAGUES

We plan to continue the ladder into February and beyond. George Graber and Terri Small, the ladder managers, are seeking suggestions for improving the rules of play. You may contact them, drop a note in our suggestion box at the front desk, or through our website: https://pictona.org/about-pictona/suggestion-box/

Andy Melville is coordinating our plans for leagues which we hope to begin offering in mid-February. Standby for exciting news about this fun way to play pickleball.

It’s a good idea to check our website daily for Current News. And if you missed a day or two, you can retrieve the articles by going here: https://pictona.org/news-information/pictona-news/

Pictona Members

Here is your invitation to play in the Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup Tournament that will be held at Pictona April 7-11. You can learn more about the tournament, the exciting format that will be followed, and the pomp and ceremony that goes with the largest international pickleball tournament in the world at https://pictona.org/bc21/. From this location you will be able to link to Pickleball Tournaments.com to learn even more. But don’t try to register yet.

BC21 will have 5 skill levels (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, and 5.0) and 8 age groups (19+, 35+, 50+, 55+, 60+ 65+, 70+, and 75+) for men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. Singles will be a demonstration event and is not part of the registration process described below. For this international event the competition will be between the EAST and the WEST. The East is east of the Mississippi along with Europe and the West is west of the river along with Asia.

Pictona members will have two opportunities to register for the tournament. The first is a special arrangement with the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) to permit 100 of our members to register for the tournament before the general registration and to receive a $10 discount off the $125 registration fee. The second opportunity is to register during the general registration period.

We hope you will want to play in BC21. If we have more than 100 players apply for early registration, we will have to select the players for early guaranteed entry. To do so we are limited by the IFP in the number of players we can assign to any one age/skill bracket. There are 40 brackets. We need to do so separately for men’s doubles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, providing equal places for men and women. Partners may or may not be members of Pictona which influences the number of Pictona registrants selected. And the IFP requires us to divide equally our 100 registrants into East and West teams. You may specify a preference on your registration form, and we’ll do our best to assign you to that team.

As you can see the registration distribution is complex. We will be able to select members for one or more of the available places in each bracket only after we know who has applied to enter the tournament. The distribution of entries will not be equal across the 40 brackets for each of the 3 events (Men, Women, Mixed). We will have a quota of the number of teams in each bracket, with the more popular brackets accepting more entries up to the limits set by the IFP. If we have more players registered in a bracket than we can accept, we will randomly select the players from the pool of registrants in that bracket. We will not select registrants on the basis of any other criteria. Remember, however, if you are not accepted into the 100 pre-registrants, you have a second opportunity to register during the general registration just as you would do for any other tournament. Also know that there will be waiting lists created when registrations exceed the initial limits per bracket set by the IFP, and then when registrations are complete and certain brackets are not filled to their limit, people on waiting lists will be invited to play. You may enter without having a partner, but if you do not have a partner before registration ends on February 14^th, you will be dropped from the tournament.

One additional item: Both you and your partner must be members of USA Pickleball to play in the tournament. Annual membership is $20 and you may join at https://usapickleball.org.

Don’t let all of this complexity scare you away. We encourage all members of Pictona to pre-register for the 100 places available to us. Here is what to do.

Team up with your partner to determine what skill level your team should enter for the tournament. If either you or your partner has a USA Pickleball UTPR rating, you must enter at the higher level between the two of you. If you don’t have UTPR ratings, please self-rate. (If you are unsure how to rate yourselves, please ask us for help.) To determine what age bracket to enter, you must enter the age bracket of the younger of the two partners as of December 31, 2021. Your partner does not have to be a member of Pictona. If you enter two events, you obviously will have two different partners. You may also indicate if you are interested in playing singles.
Submit your request to play in the tournament by completing the registration form available at the Pictona Welcome desk or download it from the BC21 section of the Tournaments tab on the Pictona website . You must submit this application in person at Pictona by the end of the day on Wednesday, January 20^th to be eligible for pre-registration. Form
When our member registration deadline ends, we will review the pool of registrants to determine the distribution of players by skill and age for men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles. If we have more players in a skill/age bracket than the BC21 will allow, we will randomly select the teams that are invited to register. We suggest both you and your partner, if a Pictona member, complete registration forms so if we randomly select teams you will have a better chance of being selected.
Once you are selected as one of the 100 players, you will also be assigned to the East or West team with us trying to accommodate your preference if you have one.
Next, each player selected to play in BC21 will then be sent a link to register at PickleballTournaments.com at the discounted price of $115. This registration window will be very short. You must register on January 28 or January 29^th. Otherwise you will not be guaranteed a spot in the tournament or receive the discounted price.
Payment for the tournament will not be collected until after registration closes and as many people as possible have been moved from the waitlists into the tournament. You will have several days to pay the fee online.
f you were not selected in the 100 pre-registration, you will want to register at PickleballTournaments.com beginning January 30, 2021

We look forward to your participation in this international event.

“'Happy New Year” or should I say “Happy to be done with 2020!” Many of you already know me, but to those who don't, you may go to our Pictona website and read about all the exciting details of my life. For now, let's keep it simple. I am Lu Ann Kandt (Lu). I am your new Instructional Program Director. Big title, but the actual meaning; I will be helping Pictona enhance and expand our instructional program. My position will be a work in progress. I will learn as I go. Rest assured, I will be working hard to provide you the first class, quality instructional opportunities you deserve. This news- letter, includes what we have been doing, as well as new options for 2021. Happy Reading!

Instructional Programs: Oldies but Goodies
PB101 (60 minutes) Our free introductory class: Tuesdays 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM; Thursdays 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

PB110 $25 (60 Minutes) Beginning Skills & Drills: Mondays 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Starting January 11, then every other week) PB 201 $30.00 (90 minutes) – For players who know how to keep score, can serve and return a serve with consistency and accuracy, can maintain a rally, and are ready to learn the drop shot, dinks with a purpose and partner strategy

Thursdays 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

PB 301– Scheduling: Coming Soon!!

Private and Semi-Private Option

If Group Instruction is not your thing set up a Private or Semi Private Session with our Pictona Instructors:

Mike Pascale; Sylvia Whitehouse; Scott Siewert; Dave Heinze

Just go to the Pictona website and learn about our incredible instructors. Reach out to any one of them to schedule a lesson. You won't be disappointed!! Click on instruction tab at: pictona.org

Round Robin Events with Rotating Patners
1. “NOT” Ready for Prime Time Pickleball Round Robin: ($10 Members / $15 Non-Members)

Monday, January 18th from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
This is a fun pickleball play event for novices and beginners. . Instruction/playing tips/rule reminders will be given throughout this event. Happy Hour following play.

2. “MIGHT BE” Ready for Prime Time Pickleball Round Robin ($10 Members / $15 Non-Members)

Tuesday, January 26th from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Skill level 3.0-3.5

This round robin is for intermediate players who want to get tips on improving play, want to meet others of like skill and want to have fun!! Remember, “If you had fun, you won!” And don’t forget Happy Hour!!

Volunteer Mentors for our Novice players

We need volunteers to be ambassadors/coaches/mentors for some scheduled novice play. If you like encouraging and helping beginners learn this great game we would love to have you join our Mentor Team. This would only require an hour or two a month of your time. Our new players will be forever in your debt. Reach out to Lu if you would like to be added to our Mentor Team list: kan2golf@aol.com.

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WHAT'S NEW!!

PB102 $25.00 (60 minutes) Our follow up lass to PB 101.
Students will learn basic drills to improve paddle skills. Students will play while reviewing scoring, positioning, serve and return of serve.

Mondays 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Specialty Classes $25.00 (60 minutes) Classes that will target a specific skill for improvement
You can attend all of them or pick and choose. If you see a course you would like to attend and it is not offered at a time

convenient to you, let Lu know. Here are our first two course selections: Monday, January 11, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

1.“Quit running around your backhand” - Learn and perform drills to improve your backhand: dinks, blocks, ground strokes, and drops shots.

Tuesday, January 19, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
2. The 3rd shot drop – How to transition to the NVZ. When to drive and when to drop.

JUNIOR PROGRAM

It’s the future of the game! Here is a message from Mary Burns, our Junior Program Director.

Hi, I’m Mary Burns, Director of the Pictona Youth Program. Our vision is to grow the sport of pickleball by introducing this fun game to the youth in our community. To Kick Start our Junior program we will be offering two junior days in Jan- uary: Saturday, Jan16th and Jan 30th from 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM.

Any youth ages 8-18 are invited to come join us for a time of instruction and modified game play. We will provide the equipment. This will be a free event, so pass along this information to anyone interested: kids, grandkids, neighbors, cousins, or home schoolers. You may register for these events by calling Pictona.

How Can You Help? Funny you should ask. We need willing adult volunteers who have a heart (and the patience) for teaching children. This commitment would involve helping out once or twice a month. If interested, please contact Mary Burns at mkburns25@gmail.com or call Pictona 386-310-7067

Lu's Instructional Corner: Best way to reach me is via text or email: 386-214-8050 / kan2golf@aol.com Here are some additional group course options I will be offering in January. Call, text or email me to schedule.

Create your own group lesson: Do you have friends that would like to take classes together. Just reach out to me and I will arrange a class time convenient to you.

Playing Lessons I don't know about you, but I like to learn while I am playing. That is where the “real” me shows up. Drilling is great, but playing is a fun way to incorporate tips into action. You and your friends can arrange for a playing lesson. I will rotate and play with each of you and provide on court advice to improve your game. An individual written review will be provided via email.

TIP OF THE MONTH: It is all about you or U. The U stands for unforced errors.
What is an unforced error? A missed shot or lost point that is entirely a result of the player's own blunder and not because of the opponents skill or lack thereof. (These shots are usually accompanied by a loud groaning sound from your partner )

In your next few games, keep track of your U's. Count how many times you hit a ball out of bounds, into the net (I have never done that), or miss putting your serve in play. In order to begin eliminating unforced errors you must become aware of them.

Let me end, by telling you the best advice I ever received in Pickleball. “Keep it in play” Lu

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.

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.
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.
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.
Third party coaching is now allowed when teams switch court ends.
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

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