President’s Message

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year, San Carlos Pickleballers. And what a year it is going to be. Lots of exciting challenges ahead, continued great Pickleball, and many more memories to create with family and friends.

As most of you know, we have started the construction of our new facility with an anticipated Grand Opening of November 1, 2022. This new facility is going to allow us to do much more than we currently have been able to do. More courts, lighting, parking, central location, less wind and other factors will all help to grow and create more opportunities for all levels of player throughout the community.

Though we still have some time before the new courts open, we would like to start offering some of the classes, workshops, tournaments, etc. that we will be able to have on a regular basis with the new facility. This will give us a chance to test out some of the new ideas and you a chance to get a taste of all that we will be able to offer.

Starting in January, we will be starting a FREE Intro to Pickleball 101 class on Tuesdays from 4:00pm – 5:30pm. This is the chance for new players to the sport who want to try it out before buying a pass. Come learn the game and see if you will become an addict like the rest of us. On Thursdays from 10:00am – 11:00am, we will have Skills and Drills for intermediate and advanced players. Theresa will be teaching Intermediate Pickleball on several courts while Deb will be doing Advanced Pickleball on the others. Bert will continue to offer lessons (for a small donation) on Tuesdays & Fridays at 10:00am to benefit Agua y Mas. These skills classes are a great way to improve your technique and take your game to the next level.

Also starting in the new year, a small group of Raters led by myself will begin the process of giving club members a rating. You’ll be given the rating of either 3.0, 3.5, or 4.0+. This very simple and general rating will be helpful for you to find other players of similar skill level to practice and play with; it will provide you with a guideline when registering for tournaments; and it will give you something to shoot for as you build your skills to reach your next goal. We will be holding a general Ratings Day where we will observe players during play in order to determine your rating. At any time, if you feel you have developed beyond your initial rating, you can come to the next rating day or ask for a private session with one of our raters. Later, we hope to further refine and break down the skill levels, but for now, let’s start slow! 🙂

We will be holding more tournaments and club events starting with our Winter Double Header. Two weekends of play back to back. Lots happening in San Carlos. We are excited to get our new facility up and running and hope that some of these offerings starting this New Year will get you even more excited about what’s to come.

James
Corazon de Dragon

Tournaments

December Round Robin, December 12

The Sunday, December 12 Round Robin tournament is now full.

All participants should have received an email from Theresa, the Tournament Director. If you did not, or if you have a question, please email T at theresamelius23@gmail.com.

Please bring your own snacks and water / drinks.

All 6 courts are reserved for the Tournament this Sunday from 8:00am until around 1:00pm.

Winter Double Header, January 2022

In January, we are having two tournaments. Until our new courts are built, we are working with limited resources so in order to best accommodate all players at all levels and ages, we will be running back-to-back tournament weekends.

January 15 & 16, Open Level – Open Division 4.0+

January 15 & 16 will be an open level, no division round robin tournament. Sign up with any partner and play against all the teams in your pool. Results from pool play will carry over to Sunday for creating an Open, A, and B level double elimination bracket. 24 teams maximum.

Sign up for the January 15 & 16 tournament here.

January 21 – 23, Multiple Skill Level brackets

January 21 – 23 will have multiple skill level brackets with 4.0+ skill level being over age 50. Sign up with your partner and battle it out through the double elimination bracket.

Friday:  9:00am – 3:00pm
Women’s 3.0 – 3.5
Women’s 3.5 – 4.0
Women’s 4.0+ age 50+

Saturday:   9:00am – 3:00pm
Men’s 3.0 – 3.5
Men’s 3.5 – 4.0
Men’s 4.0+ age 50+

Sunday:  9:00am – 3:00pm
Mixed 3.0 – 3.5
Mixed 3.5 – 4.0
Mixed 4.0+ age 50+

Sign up for the January 21 – 23 tournament by emailing T at theresamelius23@gmail.com.

The cost to play in either tournament is:
$25 USD per person Member Price
$50 USD per person Non-Member Price
Instructions for how to pay for the tournament will be provided soon.

Let’s Play Pickleball

Scheduled Play

Unless there’s a tournament or special clinic, weekly play is as follows:

Open Play

Open Play is every morning except Sunday from 8:00am to 10:00am.

Players under skill level 3.5 play on Courts 4 – 6: the 3 courts on the left.
Players skill level 3.5 and above play on Courts 1 – 3: the 3 courts on the right.

During Open Play, use the paddle rotation systems to determine who is up next.

Sunday Round Robin

All Mirador Court pass holders and seasonal members are invited to join us on Sundays at 8:00am for Round Robin play. We play for 15 minutes and then rotate players and courts. It’s a great way to meet and play with new people, without worrying about your scores. It’s important that you are there on time, by 8:00am the latest, because everyone is assigned a number and we play according to these numbers for the whole morning.

Tuesday Women’s Round Robin

Calling all women picklers! Starting this Tuesday, December 14, Anne will be running a women’s Round Robin at 11:00am at Mirador Courts. It is open to all women Mirador Court members — all skill levels. No need to RSVP, but be there at 11:00am so we can start right away.

Reserve a Pickleball Court at Mirador Courts

If you want to play when there’s no open play, round robin, etc, make sure that you book a court first.
Please visit Hold My Court to book playing times.
For instructions on booking a court, click here.

Using the Paddle Rotation System

Please do not re-arrange players’ paddles once they are in the holder. Only move your own paddle.

3.5 and above use the paddle holder on the pool side. 3.0 level use the holders on the wind-sock side.

Place your paddles in the saddle above the “Next” sign (if there’s availability), or, to the immediate left of the “Next” sign in the next available tube (if there are already 4 paddles above the Next sign).

When four players remove their paddles from the saddle, move the “Next” sign to the left so that the next four players know that they are next.

When the “Next” sign is at the far left position, the sign will need to be moved to the far right (in the first position) and the process repeats.

Clinics and Drills

Third Shot Drop Clinic, December 16

Third Drop Shot Clinic with Debbie Forrester.

A third shot drop clinic will be held on Thursday, December 16 at 10:00am at Mirador Courts. This clinic is free of charge for 1 & 5 year members and is limited to 8 players. This will be a full 2-hour clinic.

After completion, participants should be able to drop a shot from most areas of the court. Participants should be able to incorporate this shot into regular games and recognize when to use it.

Requirements to participate:
3.5 skill level.
Able to feed opposing player with practice balls.
Able to dink in games and practice.
Watch this Pro pickleball match or any other Pro match that you find on YouTube.

Please email d_forrester@yahoo.com to reserve a spot.

Skills & Drills, starting in January

Skills & Drills are starting again in January.

Pickleball 101: Every Tuesday at 4:00pm, learn to play pickleball. If you’ve never played pickleball or you’re just getting started, join Armando and Leon for a free Introduction to Pickleball. You don’t have to be a member to take 2 free lessons (after that, you’ll be hooked).

Pickleball 102: Join Theresa Melius on Thursdays at 10:00am for Beginner skills & drills.

Pickleball 103: Join Debbie Forrester on Thursdays at 10:00am for Intermediate skills & drills.

Pickleball 102 and 103 are free and open to anyone who has a valid pass or membership.

Lessons with Bert to benefit Agua y Mas: Tuesdays & Fridays at 10:00am. These lessons cost 150 pesos / person / hour and all funds will be donated to the orphanage. There’s a 5 hour minimum commitment. Bert’s goal is to raise $1070 USD (the amount needed to feed a child for a year). If you’d like to join, WhatsApp Bert at (541) 666-9153.

Gear for Sale

James has all the new Gearbox paddles in stock. He has $75 USD, $100 USD, $150 USD, and the new $200 USD models.

If you are interested in any of these paddles or other items, please email James at destinationpickleball@yahoo.com.

Videos of Matches

The 2021 USA Pickleball National Championships are on this weekend. Watch them live on their YouTube channel.

Also this weekend are the APP World Pickleball Open. Here’s a video from that tournament: