ASR AMBASSADORS MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

December 15, 2009

The Atlantic South Region (ASR) E-Newsletter is distributed on the 15th of each month to all ASR Ambassadors. This newsletter is intended to keep all of you apprised of what is happening in your region and to consolidate our news into a once/monthly communication. Please forward this information to all USAPA members, all pickleball players/clubs in your regions and post to your local pickleball Blogs or Websites


………….ATLANTIC SOUTH REGION WELCOMES THREE NEW LOCAL AMBASSADORS…..

Rena Grant - Ambassador, Myrtle Beach, SC – Rena has a way of getting seniors up and active; first with Volleyball and now with Pickleball. In the last year she was responsible for working with the Recreation Centers in Myrtle Beach to introduce the games to seniors. At the Crabtree Gym she started with two courts and now there are plans, because of increased interest and players to consider expansion to six courts. She will soon be introducing pickleball to the Pepper Geddings Gym as part of their “Choose To Lose” weight loss program. She has also contacted the local school district in hopes of getting the game included in gym classes and extracurricular programs.

Linda Hopkinson, Recreation Leader – City of Myrtle Beach writes. “She has
been the driving force and the "Ambassador" if you will, for introducing, teaching, expanding when needed because of overflow, communicating with the Recreation Center as new equipment was needed and has truly been an encouragement to
many who thought they could not play the game.”

Rick Laskey – Ambassador, Jacksonville, NC – Rick has had the opportunity to play pickleball in several states including MI and GA and is a former national volleyball referee. A recent message from Rick:

“Thanks for the opportunity to promote Pickleball here in eastern North Carolina! I have already spoken to the folks at the Mt. Olive Pickle Company who sponsor the North Carolina Pickle Festival in Mt. Olive NC in April each year. They are interested in having a pickleball tournament during the festival. We have plans to introduce pickleball into the public and DoD schools here in Jacksonville NC and to challenge some of the high school tennis players.
Lee Branche, Joan Taylor, and I have recently returned from the USAPA Nationals in Arizona where we had a great time and met a lot of great people. Lew Hendricks and I are heading to Ft. Myers FL in early December to play pickleball in the Florida Senior Games.
I briefly met Laura Patterson, Ambassador from Winston-Salem NC, at the USAPA Nationals in Arizona. I plan to communicate with her and the other North Carolina Ambassadors. I will be in Charlotte in a few weeks and hope to meet with John Simpson.” (Ambassador from Charlotte, NC)
Dr. Donald Schildhaus – Ambassador, Bonita Springs, FL -Don and his wife Yvonne originally were introduced to the game of pickleball in Shelbyville, KY about four years ago and now want to promote the game in the Citrus Hills Communtiy in Bonita Springs. We first heard about Don, back in April of 2009 when he was featured in an article in the Naples Times, stating “….a pickleball video was presented by Don Schildhause, the pickleball expert……………. “Don previously organized tennis programs in NY for both children and adults, so he’s no stranger to the work involved in starting new programs or places to play. At present he is getting bids from companies to resurface and set up two pickleball courts on a present unused basketball court in Citrus Park.
Don has also been in contact with Joe Johnson with the Bonita Springs Parks and Recreation and hopes to plan a large demonstration in their gym or park sometime in December. Located between Ft. Myers and Naples, Bonita Springs is perfect for generating both competitive and social pickleball events, tournaments as there are groups already established in both areas.
Don tells us: "PB will service and entice most older adults who seem to be drawn to competitive sports yet, as myself, cannot run marathons or play high levels of competitive tennis any longer. PB provides the interest of many and can be a very healthy outlet for those who still want to feel younger than they really are.
Not only do I want Pickleball to grow in this area but I want people to purchase their own paddles and to even take the sport back home to their winter homes.”

………. REFLECTING BACK ON THE YEAR – YOU SHOULD ALL BE PROUD………

Since this is our last newsletter for the year 2009, I thought we’d step back and take a look at what we’ve accomplished in the Atlantic South Region (ASR) over the past twelve months. It’s pretty amazing!
• From Oct. 2008 through Oct. 2009 we increased USAPA membership by 192%. Since the beginning of November, we added 26 more new members.
• It was the ASR that brought in USAPA’s 1000th member, and The Villages, Fl took the title of the #1 Pickleball Community away from Surprise, AZ with its 213 USAPA members.
• We welcomed 20 new Local Ambassadors, increasing our leadership group in every State in our region. Al–2, GA-2, FL–9, NC-3, and SC-4.
• We added 22 new locations to the USAPA websites Places to Play. We continue to add active adult communities, but we are becoming more aggressive with our local Parks and Recreation and Community Centers. Ambassadors, primarily in NC have made some breakthroughs in getting pickleball introduced to our youth in the YMCA’s and at the Mt. View School Campground.
• The Villages, Fl was called the “Mecca of Pickleball” and named the #1 place to live for pickleball by Masters Athlete Magazine.
• Pickleball was played in 10 local Senior Games and the State Championship Sr. Games in Florida, Two of them introduced pickleball for the very first time this past year. It was played in the NC Senior Games in Onslow County and at the Mt. Olive Pickle fest.
• The ASR held its First USAPA Sanctioned Tier 4 tournament in Sebring, Fl and was the host of the 2009 NSGA National Championship Games in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
• Our ASR website allowed us to celebrate with clubs in every state as we read about recreational and social pickleball events like the Geezer and Gals Pickleball and Pizza events, the Labor Day Jamborees, Winter in Paradise, Pennies for Pickleball, Spring Picnics and Round Robins, Cookouts and Dinner Dances.
• We played pickleball for a Good Cause, like the Rally for the Cure in Flatrock, NC, the Turkey Swat in N. Georgia for the Cherokee County Humane Society and the Toys for Tots Tournament in The Villages, Fl
• In addition to Parks and Rec Centers and Community Centers and YMCA’s we took pickleball to the Media, to Rotary Clubs, to Sports Talk Shows, to Hi Neighbor events, to Outdoor Expos, to more RV parks and resorts, AND we showcased our very own Pickleball Crawl!
• We did Beginner Training Clinics and Skills Clinics, Referee Clinics and we introduced the country to The Pickleball Coach – Coach Mo, his website, his pickleball tips of the month, his strategy guide and his 21 Clinics DVD.
• Four of our ASR Ambassadors traveled to the first USAPA Pickleball Tournament in AZ, and we celebrated the success of all our players as they returned home with 20 medals.
• We shared ideas and ways to promote the game and grow our membership with our feature articles on pickleball clubs and communities in our newsletters and ASR website, and through our membership in the How-To Google Group.

Next year will bring us new challenges and even greater opportunities. We are fortunate to have some of the best Pickleball leaders and promoters in the country that are willing to step up to the plate and make things happen. We were the first to introduce a Regional website; other Regions are now doing the same. We are the first to successfully implement a monthly newsletter for our Ambassadors and other Regions will soon recognize our advantage and follow suite. Communication and sharing of ideas is one the most critical elements in reaching our goals. We’ve proven that it works.

Thank you all for your continuing support and hard work. I wish each and every one of you a Safe and Happy Holiday and a Healthy and Prosperous Pickleball New Year.
Keep Swinging
Donna



Tournament and Pickleball Event Update…..
• Turkey Swat Pickleball Tournament – Canton, GA – Ambassadors, Tom and Ann Earle of Canton, GA were the organizers for this event. Originally scheduled for November 13th and 14th, bad weather caused the second day to be postponed for one week. Tournament players travelled from as far as Tennessee to play in the Turkey Swat, and enjoyed good food, a free T-Shirt and great pickleball. Proceeds from this event, which total $1500, went to the Cherokee County Humane Society. Congratulations!! The complete story, along with tournament winners and pictures of the event are featured on our website. Click Here: http://south.usapa.org/2009/11/n-georgia-turkey-swat-part2.html

• Florida State Senior Championship Games - December 4 and 6, 2009. More than 100 players turned out for the State Games. Unfortunately, the SUN was not shining in the Sunshine State this weekend, but we commend the tournament director and her staff for the great job they did finding an indoor facility close by. Six of our local Ambassadors along with the Regional Ambassador were there for the event. Rick Laskey, our newest Ambassador from Jacksonville, NC travelled the farthest. This was a double elimination tournament with the best two out of three games in both the winners and consolation brackets. Click this link for the complete story, pictures and tournament winners:


Watch for more news on these Upcoming Tournaments
Registration/ information are available on our Atlantic South site……………

• Lee County Senior Games, Ft. Myers/Cape Coral – January 2010, dates TBD
• Collier County Senior Games, Naples, Fl – February 2010, dates TBD
• Polk County Senior Games, Poinciana, Fl, March 9th and 10th, 2010
• Heartland County Senior Games, March 2010, Place/dates – TBD


………USAPA MEMBERSHIP CLOSING IN ON 2000 ACTIVE MEMBERS… as of today we are at 1959 active members. Will the Atlantic South Region bring in our 2000th member?.............................



………Pickle Ball News from across the Region…..

Al Rosati, Dennis Sarlo – Ambassadors, The Villages, Fl The Geezers N Gals will be hosting their Holi-Daze mixed pickleball social from 10:00 AM to 12:00PM at the Bacall courts on December 19th. $2.50 per person. Twelve teams only. All players must wear some article of clothing in keeping with the Holi-Daze. They better send us pictures!!


Rena Grant, Ambassador. SC - Between Rena Grant and Rona Sherman, USAPA NY Capital District Ambassador and Linda Hopkinson, Recreation Leader – pickleball is finally going to be played at the Pepper Geddings Rec Center in Myrtle Beach. The “Choose to Lose” is being introduced at the Rec Center and pickleball will be part of the program. Rena and Rona (that should be fun!!) will be the volunteers for the pickleball. What great synergy - two ambassadors from two different regions!!


Laura Patterson, Ambassador, Winston-Salem, NC - Laura continues to pursue getting pickleball included as a regular activity at the local YMCA’s in the Winston-Salem area. On November 21st, Laura demonstrated the game at her second location, the YMCA in Kernersville, NC About 20 people turned out to learn about pickle ball. She tells a very interesting story of how she persuaded a local racquetball player to come and learn the game. We introduced Laura this month on our Website too. Here is a link to her short BIO and her recent visit to Kernersville YMCA. http://south.usapa.org/2009/12/winston-salem-has-new-usapa-ambassador.html

Jim Hisman, Ambassador, Summerville, SC – Jim reports that he has been in contact with Mr. Jester, the Senior Program Specialist at the Mt. Pleasant Senior Center. “I have talked to Gary Jaster over the phone and now I will be going down to Mount Pleasant to talk to him an look over his facility - they really seem interested and excited about getting Pickleball started. They have over 2000 members at their senior center. He is also going to come up to Del Webb and watch some of our league play. But he suggested that we wait until after the new year, so we will be getting them started in January.”

Jim is also pursuing a couple other new places to play: one with the Hanahan Youth Center and the other with the Athletic Director of James Island Parks.


Bob Taylor, Ambassador, Anna Maria Island, Fl and Mary Selby, Ambassador, Asheville, NC. - On Saturday, November 21st, The Lakewood Country Club of Naples, Florida hosted a pickleball demonstration for their members and quests. Valerie and Bill Wilson, and Toni and Jim Teasdale from Anna Maria Island provided to pickleball exhibitions for more than 40 potential new players. As a result of their excellent performance – the Lakewood CC hopes to continue the program and set up a mixed doubles program for the quick learners, and an open round robin for everyone to join in and a separate time for free instruction.
“Special thanks to Bob Taylor for his assistance for the last several months. His direction has been extremely helpful, and without him we would never have had the opportunity to meet these wonderful pickleball players who have had such a positive influence on our program. He's a true ambassador of this game."

Additionally, a group of 24 members of a Sarasota Florida Country Club visited Anna Maria Island Monday, November 16 to learn more about Pickleball. The group's visit was arranged by Mary Selby. There are about 24 members of this Country Club who are excited about playing the game. Unfortunately their tennis courts are all Clay…….so they are now in search for a place to play. Mary will continue to work with them to get a program up and running.

Rich and Donald, Ambassadors, FL
Rich has been very busy this past month. We visited a new RV Park down in Arcadia, Fl, where they have one very large tennis court that is not used. With a few of our RV pickleball players we hope to put on a pickleball demo for the park residents after the first of the year. Rich did a Skills Clinic at Torrey Oaks RV Resort in Bowling Green, two at the Thousand Trails RV Park in Wauchula, one for the Kings Point Pickleball League, and on for the Sun City Center Pickleball Club.
His name is posted at the Pickleball Courts at the RV Park as a contact for anyone wanting to learn to play. We also have plans to introduce pickleball to another over 55 community in Ruskin Florida after the first of the year. Members of the Kings Point League will be helping us.



Want to feature your Club, League or Pickleball Group? I continue to hear from so many of you across our entire region who are working hard to get pickleball established in your communities. I can’t wait to share your success stories. Those of you have already gone through these growing pains, I encourage you to tell your story for others to enjoy and benefit from. – Donna-
If you have ANY news/information from your area that you want included in our monthly newsletter, please send it to Donna Donald at rddonald2@gmail.com