LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT
BARBARA WINTROUB’ S
Desert Pickleball League
Barbara Wintroub has played tennis for 60 years and has taught tennis as a USPTA teaching pro for 20 years. Her experience made running a pickleball league much easier.
Seven years ago, when she first moved to the Coachella Valley( Palm Springs / Palm Desert), Ambassador Chris Thomas helped Barbara become the first female ambassador in the area.“ We opened so many new venues with so many unanswered questions, I decided to start a free inter-club social league to bring the community together,” says Barbara.“ The league has grown from eight to 25 clubs with more growth on the horizon.”
Every year in November, either a pickleball captain or tennis / pickleball pro attends a pre-competition meeting to discuss issues such as
converting tennis courts to pickleball, growing membership, what companies build good courts, how to set up clinics, etc. The group also determines who can field a team of eight players and who can’ t. If some clubs have only two or three players, they combine them with another club or two so all can participate.
The season is January through April and Barbara organizes a list of captains and sets up two competitions a month. The other two weeks of the month the captains can choose two more clubs to compete against. The play is very laid back. Captains might pair one partner from each club to compete against other mixed teams. Most players are 3.0 to 4.0. Scores are not recorded.
“ In the future, as players get more competitive, the league dynamics might change. I do this for free because I enjoy helping players and giving back,” says Barbara. •
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