Sheri Sears and Darlene Walker showed patience in covering the middle of the court; Photo by Dannie Cortez.
PebbleCreek’s Theresa Carter was all concentration; Photo by Dannie Cortez.
PebbleCreek’s Mike Luevano puts a shot away; Photo by Dannie Cortez.
Pancho Epstein
The fourth annual PebbleCreek Pickleball Club USAPA Sanctioned Tier 2 50+ Doubles tournament was a great show. Scheduled to be held February 13-15, 2019, because of meteorological conditions the February 14 mixed play was cancelled. But, the men’s doubles and women’s doubles created exciting, exhausting action.
The pickleball skipped from good to excellent and featured such players as long-time legend Yoda Friedenberg.
Both days began with the singing of the U.S.A. and Canada National Anthems.
Then everyone headed to the Sweet Spot, adjacent to court 14, for free coffee and homemade pastries and cookies.
Court action began at 8:00 a.m. and lasted until around 6:00 p.m.
As the crowd moved from court to court following their favorites, there was a continual positive vibe. The audience had come to get a fun, rewarding experience and that’s what they got. Smiles and cheering were everywhere.
When the fans and players weren’t watching the court play, they could either be found in the vendor’s area where all categories of pickleball products were being sold or ordering food and drinks from the food truck. Additionally, a big hit was the new silent auction that offered everything from paddles to restaurant certificates.
There were approximately 540 entrants from Canada and the U.S.A. and a two-day crowd estimated at 1700 people.
Medalists from our PebbleCreek Pickleball Club were:
WOMEN
Gold: Melodie Boyer, Theresa Carter, Pat Chernow, Sue Crawford, Cindy Finnegan, Sharon Hadley, Pam Harper, Sheri Sears, Darlene Walker
Silver: Lynn Banks, Wendy Creason, Renee DeLassus, Andrea Dilger, MaryLou Furaus
Bronze: Traci Buckingham, Ellen Enright, Heidi Farrell, Sandy Harrell, Beth Kelly, Denise McQuaid, Dawn Turner
MEN
Gold: Fred Biancardi, Steve Cain, Bob Chester, Don Crandall, Steve Hanlon, Howard Locker, Steve Manns, Richard Spampinato, Bruce Waddon
Silver: Irving Armstrong, Jim Barbe, Mark Buckingham, Rex Hottell, Roger Krouskup, Richard Margison, Mike Nadon, Tom Skinner, Steve Smedley, Steve Urbin
Bronze: Dave Deal, John Donovan, Rod Ellison, Michael Luevano, Bob Michaels, Chuck Saunders, John Schroeder, Dan Schuler, Rick Watson
A few other interesting statistics from the tournament were Number of balls used, 200; number of club volunteers, 260; number of major sponsors, 10; number of sponsors, 35; number of referees, 50; number of line judge teams, 6; number of vendors, 12 and number of food trucks, 1 (My Home Plate).
Want to get in on the PebbleCreek Pickleball action? Want more information on the fastest growing sport in America? Want to become a club member? Contact club secretary, Martha Urbin, 616-283-0028.
And yes, it’s not a rumor. Our club offers free lessons; lots of them.
Be a player; be a PebbleCreek Pickleball Club player.