e really a series of
er
w
en
p
O
n
ia
al
up and It
ents.
The Bainbridge C
ts and learning mom
en
om
m
ng
hi
uc
to
,
ents
moments—fun mom
O
n July 21-22, 150 players from 16 countries
played at the Dean Martin Cultural Center
for the 2nd annual Bainbridge Cup and first
Italian Open in Montesilvano, Italy. There
were 12 tile floor indoor courts (two for
practice). The Thursday before the Cup,
Irina Tereschenko and Cookie Drake gave free clinics.
A players’ dinner was held at the Riviera, a seaside
restaurant where teams cheered and waved flags in
preparation for the coming events.
The Bainbridge Cup matches were played all day Friday.
USAPA’s Pat Murphy had 188 matches scheduled so that
Team North America could play with players from all over
Europe. Scott Moore and Cookie Drake, two of the U.S.
team captains, kept the players playing hard to win the
event 106 to 82. Behind the scenes, Wanda Cassidy and
SSIPA’s Ford Roberson kept the computer spitting out
matches. In multiple languages, Mike Hess and Carmine
Ricci announced upcoming matches, and Nancy Lightbody
answered hundreds of questions. The espresso bar got a
workout. European team captains, Ernesto Cardenas of
Spain, Roberto Rospo of Italy, Pia Kortelainen of Finland,
Cyril Durand of France, Leo Gonzalez of Spain, Irina
Tereschenko of Russia and Faye Plummer of the U.K.,
were busy getting their players on the court. Team North
America retained the Cup but, in all fairness, the top U.S. worked to enable Italy to join the IFP, not an easy task
because European countries require government approval.
Then he secured a wonderful venue in the Adriatic
seaside resort town of Montesilvano. His staff was so
kind to everyone. The tournament entry included two dry
fit shirts, one for your team in the Cup and a white shirt
for the Italian Open. Participants in the Cup also received
a desktop memento with an enameled Italian flag. The
medal podium was also decorated in red, white and green
of the Italian flag.
Many of the U.S. players came early or stayed after to
tour Italy. Rome was a popular destination. We chose to
stay in two national parks in the Apennine Mountains,
Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso and Parco Nazionale Della
Majella. The town of Corfino was the capital of the Italic
League against the Romans. The museum has numerous
Roman artifacts including bronze miniatures of early
pickleball players!
But the Bainbridge Cup and Italian Open were really
a series of moments—fun moments, touching moments
and learning moments. Spain’s Carmen Lopez has Down
syndrome and played women’s doubles and mixed doubles
and had a host of fans. She recently won an award in
Amsterdam for her courage and sportsmanship. We felt
the love and respect Europeans have for every person on
the court. The Europeans are competitive, but with a sense
of dignity that all players worldwide should express. There
players played several matches since there were fewer
North Americans.
Then came the Italian Open, which used a pool
play format for seeding and then a double elimination
draw or round robin for the medal matches. European
players want to be guaranteed several matches and
enjoy socializing in between play. This was an Italian
tournament with Italian flavor. Zelindo DiGiulio was the
Tournament Director who did a fantastic job. First, he is more than one way to win. Brava to Carmen and bravo
to the Europeans!
On the medal stand, the French women and their
fans sang the “Marseillaise” to the delight of the crowd
as they draped themselves in the tricolor French flag.
Players hung their flags to mark their seating areas and
wave them to cheer on their teams. Cyril Durand, a team
Continued on next page >
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 |
MAGAZINE
29