Pickleball Magazine 6-4 WD | Page 28

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Food for Thought

Open play vs . reservations required — What ’ s your thought ? It ’ s so great to be able to drop in any place at any time and know you can jump in a game ! Yet it ’ s so great to know you can get on court with friends for a certain amount of uninterrupted play .

Skill vs . age — Since you can ’ t always have both , do you prefer to play with people your own skill level , or would you rather play with people your own age ? It ’ s almost the same question as to whether you

So many options . like social play vs . competitive play . Are you pondering that yet ?

APP vs . PPA vs . small tournament vs . no tournament — The two competing pro tours ( Association of Pickleball Professionals [ APP ] and Professional Pickleball Association [ PPA ]) offer some differences to consider when entering a tournament . A couple that come to mind are following the provisional serve rules ( or not ), and having a true double-elimination format ( or not ). Does it make you think twice about entering or watching one pro tournament provider over another tournament provider ? Or maybe you yearn to support the smaller local tournaments , or don ’ t play or follow tournaments at all ! The cool thing is that there are so many choices . Finally , the masses are catching the addiction .
Online learning — If you didn ’ t have enough of staying at home in 2020 , you have the option of learning from home . There are many free or subscription-based instructional video websites , including CoachME Pickleball , High Performance Pickleball , Pickleball 360 , Primetime Pickleball , Pickleball Coach , Pickleball by Pros and more !
Player Ratings — The idea of a having a rating is to take the politics and subjectivity out of the equation to allow a more objective way to create the draw or schedule the
By Jennifer Lucore & Alex Hamner
courts . But which rating does your club or tournament director use ? The two-digit Legacy Rating , typically used for club and league play , or four-digit USA Pickleball Tournament Player Rating ( UTPR ), adopted in 2019 for tournament play . Or maybe the new kid on the court , the DUPR ( Dreamland Universal Pickleball Rating ), an app for both tournament and casual play . And … breaking news ! Coming in late August is WPR ( World Pickleball Ratings ), which will encompass your complete tournament history . Then , of course , there is selfrating . If you ’ re new to a tournament , then you need a starting / benchmark rating . Pick your number and go for it ! Where to play ? How about the Largest Pickleball Venue in the World — 64 beautiful , permanent courts ( with lights !) in one location ? Plus , a few dink-only courts ! That ’ s Naples Pickleball Center in
Florida , the home of the US Open Championships . If pickleball travel is on your list , check out this venue and experience all it has to offer . Another plus is that we are NPC ’ s co-directors of training and development . Watch out , Pickleball World , fun is planned . Check out the website . This ball or that ? So many balls to pick from … Dura-Fast 40 , Franklin X , Wilson , Penn , Engage , Jugs , Onix , Gamma , Top , Core and more !
The Latest , Greatest Weapon of Choice — Don ’ t you love the hundreds of choices you have when choosing a paddle ? Much to think about with all the different colors , shapes , dimensions , grips , textures , graphics , materials — so much good stuff ! •
Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner started playing pickleball in 2010 , and have competed in numerous tournaments across the U . S . Jennifer also competes internationally , and both ladies have been inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame . Jennifer and Alex have 26 national titles , but are best known for winning gold in Women ’ s Open Doubles at Nationals for four consecutive years ( 2011-2014 ). They live with their respective families in North San Diego County . For more pickleball fun , visit Jennifer ’ s blog at www . allpickleball . com .
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