Super Senior International Pickleball
Association
READY
to serve
BY FORD ROBERSON, PRESIDENT / EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SSIPA
After about a year of thought, several months of planning, and six weeks of hard work, a new pickleball association has come into being. The Super Senior International Pickleball Association( SSIPA) has been incorporated and met the IRS standards for a 501( c)( 3) tax-exempt organization. The website, www. SSIPA-PB. org, now allows pickleball players to join the association online with several levels of membership. Founder memberships are a lifetime commitment to the association and to pickleball. Temporary memberships start at $ 5 and a one-year membership is only $ 20. Other options are available.
The main purpose to form a new association is to provide competition for super seniors ages 65 + in age groups of five years through 80 +. Someday it would be great to offer events for 85s and 90s if the demand arises as players continue to live longer, productive lives. For many older players, the problem has been to enter a tournament in an age group, travel across the country, sometimes over a thousand miles only to end up playing against others who are often much younger. As we age
gracefully, our strength and stamina diminish over time. Players 10, 20, and 30 years younger have a distinct advantage. For many older players, the most important issue is simply safety. Being highly competitive, we often force our bodies to push harder than we should to try to win these matches against the younger, stronger, faster, quicker opponents. Most 50-year-olds do not relish playing against people in their 20s, and the same applies for 80 vs. 50, the same age gap.
By the time this article makes it into homes across America, hopefully the tournament circuit will be set. The leadership is currently working with tournament directors from coast to coast. At the present, tournaments are being planned in various stages in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Washington and Pennsylvania. Internationally, a tournament is planned for and posted on www. pickleballtournaments. com for September in Madrid, Spain. If all goes well, the final tournament of the year will take place back in Arizona, just before or after USAPA Nationals and be the SSIPA Championships for 2017.
If your club or playing site is interested in hosting a super seniors tournament this year or in 2018, contact us at SSIPA. PB @ gmail. com. You can keep in touch by joining our Super Senior International Pickleball Association group on Facebook, or you can see the tournament schedule and sign up for membership on our website at www. SSIPA-PB. org.
SSIPA complements and is fully supportive of the USAPA, requiring each tournament to be sanctioned by the organization. Sanctioned tournaments require that facilities meet established standards and that each match is refereed by a person who received training prior to the tournament. Safety is a top priority of the USAPA and SSIPA. Tournament directors for SSIPA tournaments agree to follow SSIPA guidelines for SSIPA circuit events, which are listed on our website for player review and general information. The SSIPA board and membership hope, if you are a super senior, to see you at a circuit event during the 2017 season. See you on the courts in 2017. •
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