Raymond H. Goettsch During the last year, SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) has been offering round-robin play at least once a month. For June, SPA sponsored a new form of round-robin play. Named Dink & Drink, the round-robin not only involved doubles pickleball games, but also a post-game gathering of players for food and drink in…
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…
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…
Raymond H. Goettsch When SaddleBrooke resident Jim Galko approached the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association booth at the 2023 Activity Fair, he indicated that he was interested in signing up for an introductory pickleball class. Jim was asked if he had ever played pickleball, and he responded that he had won a pickleball tournament in Tacoma more…
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,…
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…
Raymond H. Goettsch On Nov. 18, 2022, more than 300 members of the SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association (SPA) and guests attended a late afternoon party in the MountainView ballroom to celebrate the expansion to 14 courts at the Ed Robson Pickleball Center. The MountainView ballroom was filled with tables and chairs for the attendees. The back…
Raymond H. Goettsch The SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association Inc. developed several creative options for members to donate for the expansion of the pickleball courts and construction of the Ed Robson Pickleball Center. Those options ranged from pickleball vehicle license plates to name plates on tables and benches to brick pavers. Those purchasing brick pavers had the…
Raymond H. Goettsch On Sept. 2 SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association, Inc. (SPA) held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony for the expanded and newly constructed pickleball courts. The proceedings began at 7:30 a.m., and a capacity crowd of members and guests attended the ceremony. Guests included Tom Starrs, USA Pickleball District Ambassador for Tucson and…
Raymond H. Goettsch With great appreciation, SaddleBrooke Pickleball Association Inc. (SPA) announces that Michael Hovan and Shirley Hovan have made substantial donations for the privilege of sponsoring the Ramada at the new Ridgeview pickleball courts. Michael is a retired anesthesiologist from Akron, Ohio, and Shirley is a retired language arts teacher for middle school and…