Tag: Pickleball

Match Schedules Set for Four SPA Pickleball Teams Competing in Arizona Pickleball Players League

Raymond H. Goettsch SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association, Inc. (SPA) has fielded four teams to compete in the Arizona Pickleball Players League for this season. The teams’ match schedules have now been set. “H” refers to a home match at the Ed Robson Pickleball Center, and “A” refers to an away match. Flying Burrito Brothers (men’s 3.5…

Rematch Pickleball Tournament Set for October 20–22

Raymond H. Goettsch Members of the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association, Inc. (SPA), will have a rematch against members of the SaddleBrooke Ranch Pickleball Association (SRPA) on Oct. 20–22. This now annual tournament has been named The Battle for the Saddle and will be held this year at the Ed Robson Pickleball Center in SaddleBrooke. In the…

Significant Rule Changes Suggested to USA Pickleball for 2024

Raymond H. Goettsch This is the time of year when pickleball players make suggestions for rule changes to USA Pickleball for 2024. Approximately 100 proposed changes can be found on rules.usapickleball.org/entry, and comments can be made regarding these proposed changes. Probably the most important proposed change is to make the volley serve illegal and the…

Relishing Pickleball

Shot Selection David Zapatka Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, it is time now to learn about shot selection. Mary Littlewood says the ideal sequence of shots provides a means for all four players to get to the net where pickleball is won and lost…

SPA Players Competed in Doubles and Mixed Doubles

Raymond H. Goettsch On March 31 through April 2, 115 members of the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) played in an intramural tournament for the first time in several years. The tournament was for Women’s Doubles on March 31, Men’s Doubles on April 1, and Mixed Doubles on April 2. The doubles teams competed in a…

Relishing Pickleball: The Overhead Smash

David Zapatka Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, it’s time now to learn about the overhead smash after learning about lobbing the past few months. Mary Littlewood says the overhead smash is the most aggressive, offensive shot in all of pickleball. It’s usually hit off the…

New Rules for Pickleball Announced by USA Pickleball

Raymond H. Goettsch USA Pickleball has announced new rules and rule changes for pickleball play effective in 2023. One change is that the “spin” serve, or “chainsaw” serve, is no longer allowed. Under this rule, a server may not spin the ball when it is released to be struck by the paddle. However, while serving,…

How Do 800 SPA Members Play Pickleball on 14 Courts?

Raymond H. Goettsch The Ed Robson Pickleball Center now has 14 pickleball courts. However, the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) now has more than 800 members. This raises the question as to how this number of courts can accommodate so many members. While the eight new courts were under construction, SPA established a Court Allocation Committee…