#047 Oct. 31, 2024 | Read on the web​

Early bird 🦜 registration ends tonight for women's pickleball tournament at Emma Willard

Happy Halloween! Tonight is the end of the Early Registration period for the 3rd Annual Thanksgiving at Emma Willard Women's Pickleball Tournament. The tournament has women's doubles events by skill and age groups:

Saturday, Nov. 23: Women age 50 and up
​Sunday, Nov. 24: Women age 50 and under
​Monday, Nov. 25: Women age 60 and up

If you have never played in a tournament, this is a great place to start. It is a friendly event with plenty of age and skill divisions so you will be playing people at your same skill level.

The tournament will also have a raffle, coat drive and food drive to benefit the Mount Ida Food Pantry and Joseph House and Shelter in Troy.

The Stretch Zone will be there to ease your muscles and the all-women owners of a new pickleball venue opening in East Greenbush will be on hand to talk about their project.

Register here:

​https://pickleballbrackets.com/ptd.aspx?eid=5e5e9ea3-a22a-4a23-9e5f-ec152e71eeca​

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Brian Santacruz to lead 20+ clinics at Legacy in November

5.0+ level player and certified PPR instructor Brian Santacruz is offering over 20 clinics during the month of November at Legacy Pickleball Club. Clinics range from Learn to Play, to Drill & Play sessions focusing on a specific skill like 3rd Shot Drops, to Game Play with Pro Guidance. To view all available clinic offerings go to https://legacypbclub.com/clinics%2Ftournaments and filter for Clinic under the Category section. If you already have a group of 3 or more players and would like to schedule a private session reach out to Brian Santacruz at 203-252-4229 or Bsant3188@gmail.com.

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3 things you need to know to get ready for indoor pickleball

By Gina Family

It’s getting cold outside and it might be time to move indoors. Here are THREE items you’ll need to make that transition and an extra just because. Be sure to use my discount code GINA10 to save a little $ in store or online….and say hi to Tony Pickles.

#1: INDOOR PICKLEBALL SHOES

When you're playing at a facility with a gym floor or anything other than a true court surface, you will need indoor court shoes. An indoor shoe with a gum bottom works well because the soft, sticky rubber of a gum sole provides excellent traction and is ideal for quick, multi-directional movements.

Warning: Some pickleball shoes now are promoted as Hybrid or Indoor/Outdoor: PLEASE only use your shoes on on one surface type. Do not wear your outdoor shoes indoors on a gym floor surface.

1. The grit and grime ruins the poly floor and force facilities to resurface.
2. You will not get the traction you need due to outside grit/grim on the soles.

I use a court grabber on my indoor shoes, and they work great. It’s a kit that laces into your court shoes and you can clean off the bottom of your shoes in between points: COURT GRABBER On-Court Traction System​

See indoor shoes here: https://www.pickleballgalaxy.com/all-pickleball-shoes.html?courttype=Indoor​

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#2: PICKLEBALL EYE PROTECTION

Please friends, wear eye protection. Paddle technology is increasing the speed of the ball, the game is getting quicker, and when you and your opponent are at the kitchen line you’re 14 feet or less apart. I had a friend last week that was hit in the eye during the warm up. Get this, he was hit from a ball that came off his partner's paddle. Thank goodness his inner eye was not affected, but he has a nice shiner. I wear the Python Extreme View. There are more eye protection options, including multi-lens versions.

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#3: GRIPS

I’m shocked that so few players do not use an overgrip. Your paddle handle quickly wears down and may easily slip in your hand. An overgrip will keep your handle sticky and less likely to slip in your hand. An overgrip grip allows you to not grip the paddle so tightly which will not only help your game, but your shoulder, elbow and wrist will appreciate that. You can watch a Youtube video on how to regrip it yourself.

The Hesacore Grip is amazing. It reduces vibrations for greater comfort, absorbs sweat, and offers increased support and control. Pickleball Galaxy can install as well for $35 total fee.

See all overgrips here: https://www.pickleballgalaxy.com/pickleball-overgrips.html​

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BONUS: New release Pickleball Galaxy Backpack

Pickleball Galaxy just released a new pickleball backpack. It is awesome. The price is $44.50.

The bag fits 3 paddles and has many exterior pockets, including a vented shoe compartment and a felt-lined pocked for glasses.

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​Gina Family is an IPTPA Certified Pickleball Instructor who has introduced many people in the Greater New York Capital Region to the sport of pickleball.

For those of you who care about DUPR ratings, they have added some historical matches to your profile from old Pickleball Brackets tournaments. They tried to remove any duplicate entries too.

The new info may have resulted in a higher rating for some players.

DUPR is constantly adjusting its algorithm and I have read in the past that when the adjustments cause a player's current rating to change, DUPR only adjusts it upward and does not lower an existing rating based on changes to their algorithm.

DUPR has also made its rating "more dynamic" for active players. "For the most active players who have reached a point where their new matches aren’t impacting their ratings enough, we’ve made a slight adjustment to the algorithm to allow for more movement with each match." It sounds a bit manufactured to me.

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Please bookmark the links below to my main lists. I just updated the pickleball instructors list.

See you on the court,

Cathleen

• ​List of indoor pickleball clubs in Capital Region​
• ​Map of pickleball courts in Greater Capital Region​
• ​List of upcoming tournaments in Greater Capital Region​
• ​List of pickleball instructors in Greater Capital Region​

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• Send tips and pickleball news to Cathleen@pickleball518.com
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