Round Robin to End the Pickleball Year

After all the cold mornings this past week, it was great to see sunshine today. And perfect timing. for our first tournament here at TT Peace River; a random draw, round robin envent. I headed down to the courts first to get myself registered. Rich wasn't playing in the tournament today, but was there to help if/when needed. There was a real good turnout; enough to hold a separate mens' and ladies' competition. For us ladies - that was the best news of the day!

Click on picture to enlarge - use back arrow to return to this page. Speaking of the ladies, here they are having a great time on the courts. Definately some pretty good rallies and some close games. Veteran players like Sally and Barb were expected to play well, but newer players like Christie, Crystal and Diane didn't back down. The games were fun to watch and fun to play; amd everyone felt like winners!!

Click on picture to enlarge - use back arrow to return to this page: Meanwhile - off the court - most couldn't take their eyes off the games. But there were so many new people in the park, and some of the regulars just returning from family holiday visits - there was a lot putting names to new faces.

This is Dave and Barbara Hart, two pickleball players that we just had the pleasure of meeting a few days ago. I think they wanted to make sure they didn't miss ANY pickleball - they are sitting facing the courts, watching the tournament, and that is their Motor Home right behind them. Home for them is at The Voyager Resort in Tuscon, AZ, where we have mutual friends - David and Nancy Jordan.

Click on picture to enlarge - use back arrow to return to this page: The men's competition featured some excellent matches, many being won or lost by just a couple of points. What was so great about this competition was the vast age difference in the players. The youngest was Austin who is just 14 ( He always says he' almost 15!) The oldest was Ken at 77 (I might be off a year!). There were 20's and 30's and 40's, right on up. As luck would have it, Ken and Austin were paired together in the very first game of the round robin (top left photo) - and set the pace with a very close game - losing 12-10 to their opponants. There were so many long games - that the men's competion was still going on long past that of the ladies.

The winners of the ladies' competition are: Sally (1st). Diane (2nd) , and Barbara (3rd)

Winners of the mens' competion - Mike (1st), Austin (3rd) and Dave (2nd)

This just goes to show you that pickleball is for everyone - a real family affair. Pictured above is the Showalter Family, Nathan, Crystal and Austin. Not only did the three of them play in the tournament, Mom and Dad Showalter were the host and organizers of today's event. Congratulations on a job well done and thank you for a really fun tournament.

Here is a group shot of today's Peace River Picklers.