#048 Nov. 7, 2024 | Read on the web​

Do you know a little turkey who wants to play pickleball?

On Saturday evening, Nov. 23, I am running a round-robin for kids as part of the women's pickleball tournament at Emma Willard. In the Big Turkey, Little Turkey competition, kids age 13 and under can pair up with an adult woman to play in a beginners division or intermediate division ... or two kids (two little turkeys) can pair up to compete in an all-kids division.

The cost is $40 per a team. Kids get a t-shirt. Games start at 4:30 p.m. and should end around 6:30 p.m. Several women have volunteered to play with a kid in case there are some young players looking for a big turkey. Email me at cathleen@pickleball518.com if you have a kid looking for an adult to play with.

REGISTER HERE: https://www.pickleball518.com/big-turkey-little-turkey-pickleball-round-robin-for-women-and-kids/​

Here are the sign ups so far:

BEGINNER Little Turkey, Big Turkey​
Lucas, age 9, and Cindy Pryor

INTERMEDIATE Little Turkey, Big Turkey​
Judah, age 12, and Beth Malone

Little Turkey, Little Turkey​
Arabella and Jenna, both age 11
Logan, age 11, and Lucien, age 12

​

Bethlehem YMCA upgrades lighting

Bethlehem YMCA recently completed upgrades to their indoor lighting, replacing the old fluorescent tubes with LED tubes, thus resolving one of the chief complaints about playing there - poor lighting. A big thanks to pickleball player David Boucher who emailed me this update. David played under the new lights and reports that it is a much better playing experience.

​

Spots remaining at Emma Willard women's tournament

The Thanksgiving at Emma Willard pickleball tournament for women is filling up nicely. There are some spots available. There are plenty of spots available at the 2.5 novice level. This is a great chance to try out your first pickleball tournament. Because the divisions are broken down by skill and age, it really levels the playing field.

If this is your first time playing in a tournament, or your first Thanksgiving at Emma tournament, use this promo code to get $5 off the registration fee: FIRSTemma. Register here: https://pickleballbrackets.com/ptd.aspx?eid=5e5e9ea3-a22a-4a23-9e5f-ec152e71eeca​

​

Nov. 30: Drop off your kids at Sportime and go shopping

My daughter has attended summer camps and school break camps at Sportime Schenectady and she has a blast. I may have mentioned this before, but Sportime buys Nerf darts by the bucket.

Sportime is having a "Holiday Kids Day Out" on Nov. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $25. The kids have camp and you get to shop or do whatever. Email Brie at blawrence@sportimeny.com to register.

​

A few more Hockey Hut clinics before the pavilion turns to ice

Gina Family is running clinics at Hockey Hut before the facility turns the pavilion into an extra ice rink for cold weather hockey lessons. Until then, the pavilion has four pickleball courts.

Monday, Nov. 11

4-5:15 p.m. — Skills and Drills: Return of Serve and Groundstrokes​
Join a focused Skills and Drills session dedicated to one of the most essential aspects of pickleball: the return of serve and solid groundstrokes. This clinic covers strategies for creating consistent, controlled returns and maximizing groundstroke technique to build a stronger foundation on the court. The instructor will guide participants through targeted drills designed to improve timing, shot accuracy, and positioning, helping players stay in control and make every return count.
​Register here​

5:30-6:45 p.m. — Pickleball 101. Register here​

​

True offers DUPR rating clinics

Looking to play with similarly ranked players? Curious about your DUPR? Don’t know? True is offering the following rating clinics:

• Sunday, Nov. 17, 1-3 p.m. — Register here​
• Wednesday, Dec. 4, 4-6 p.m. — Register​

​

What is a ladder league?

You are hearing about a lot of ladder leagues popping up. If you don't know what a ladder league is, I will do my best to explain.

You are generally assigned to a court and you play one or more games. The winners move "up" a court and the losers either stay or move "down" a court. Some leagues move you up/down after every game. Some leagues move you once a week.

Ultimately, the goal and fun of ladder leagues is that you "move" to the court where your opponents are the same skill level so the games are competitive. The games also matter so you may get a little more adrenaline than a typical open play game.

Each ladder may run a little differently, but that is a basic overview of what a ladder league is.

​

Day-time ladder league for women at Legacy on Tuesdays

Legacy Pickleball Club in Ballston Spa is running a day-time ladder for women on Tuesdays from noon to 2 p.m. starting Nov. 19.

​

Novice ladders on Mondays at True

Two opportunities on Mondays are available to participate in a Novice Ladder League at True Pickleball in Latham.

• 10 a.m.-noon — Register here​
• 6-8 p.m. — Register here​

​

Building on Love raffles pickleball items

Building on Love, a local charity with a mission of helping families in the community who are facing a life-altering medical condition. The organization has a an annual Trees of Hope campaign where they raffle items off of Christmas trees covered in items based on a theme. Once again, they have a pickleball tree. You can buy raffle tickets for items on the tree here: https://go.rallyup.com/trees2024/Campaign/Details​

Building on Love also has a raffle for a shirt signed by 50 pickleball professionals including Ben Johns, Anna Leigh Waters, Colin Johns, Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin.

You can buy chances to win the t-shirt here: https://go.rallyup.com/3ed17f/Campaign/Details​

​

A note about web links to the items I mentioned in the newsletter above. I do my best to include links to events I write about, especially when the venues send me the links about events they would like me to highlight. Sometimes they don't send links and sometimes their links go to the booking platform CourtReserve. Many of our local venues use CourtReserve. I highly recommend getting a CourtReserve account and becoming a guest member at our local venues so you can see their offerings and open play schedules. It is free to become a guest member. CourtReserve works great on your desktop or on their mobile phone app.

Here are my links to helpful information about playing pickleball in our community.

• ​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​
• ​New to pickleball in the Capital Region? Here are 10 things you need to know. ​

​

That's all for this week. Hope to see you on the court!

Cathleen

​

• Send tips and pickleball news to Cathleen@pickleball518.com
• Follow on Facebook @Pickleball518​
• Follow on Instagram @pickleballmaven​
• Get on my "Player needed" list​