dinks
continued
HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL –
USAPA UNIVERSITY IS OPEN
FOR CLASSES
I
n a few short years, the curriculum at USAPA
University is gaining notoriety and it is quickly
becoming the Ivy League of pickleball
institutions. While Harvard, Princeton, Yale,
et al. are not losing ground in their elite status,
attendees of the sports program liken the time spent
at USAPA University to a world-class experience.
The next schedule of classes will be held at the
magnificent Club Med Sandpiper Resort in Port St.
Lucie, Florida, Jan. 30–Feb. 2.
Don’t delay and sign up today to receive some of
the following amenities:
• Three nights’ accommodations and all-inclusive
stay at one of the country’s finest sports and
wellness resorts
• Check-in by 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30; check-
out by 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2
• All food, drink, activities and Wi-Fi included
• Pickleball clinics by six top-ranked instructors
• Price includes annual Club Med membership
fee and travel insurance.
Space is limited to the first 48 registrations (limited
number of spots are still available).
More information is available at USAPA.org, under
Training & Court Information.
2020 will also play host to numerous other USAPA
Universities during the year. Stay tuned. For more
information, email Pat Murphy at trainingchair@
usapa.org.
Registration Is Open…Reserve Your Spot Today!
16
PATHFINDERS
L
By Ernie Medina
ast August
I was
part of an
international
camporee where
57,000 teens in
Pathfinder Clubs
from more than 100
countries gathered in Oshkosh, WI. (Pathfinders is a
Seventh-day Adventist Christian organization similar to Boy/
Girl Scouts.) Last year, I created the Pathfinder Pickleball
Honor (similar to the merit badge) and was able to teach
it at this year’s camporee, an event held once every
five years.
Paddletek graciously was a sponsor, and when I asked its
staff if they would donate 20 paddles, they stepped up big
and donated 100 paddles—on the condition that I give them
all away at the end!
Over a four-day period, Aug. 13-16, in Hanger C at
the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) at Whitman
airfield in Oshkosh, more than 260 Pathfinders earned the
pickleball honor and an additional 1,800 Pathfinders tried
pickleball on the demonstration court we had set up. That’s
more than 2,000 Pathfinders from all over the world trying
pickleball for the first time!
Late Friday afternoon, we raffled off the 100 paddles
to those who completed the honor. We also had three
brand‑new nets, and I donated them along with four paddles
to three people from countries with little or no pickleball
presence: Cuba, Lebanon and Bahamas. I recently received
pictures from Cuba and Beirut and Lebanon of people using
the equipment.
Thanks to Deyvis Martinez, Mailen Hermida and Lucy
Meijas from West Palm Beach, FL, who helped me pull it
off. The Pathfinder organization is worldwide, so we have
an easy way to introduce pickleball to youth around the
world, who can then hopefully grow the sport in their home
countries.
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM