Author: Carol Hermesh

First Indoor Tournament 2021

Covid and Badminton Hall Style

Saturday, November 7, marks the first day of the Summerland Pickleball Clubs’ indoor tournament season. With Covid restrictions in place, only 12 participants could play at a time. This first tournament saw eight couples enter, so we split the group into two pools, A and B.

Pool A

The first group included Fred and Carol M, Carol and Michael H, Carol S and Dennis B, and Terri and Frank M. The double round-robin meant each team met twice.

There were some hard-fought matches in this series, with several games going beyond the standard 11 points. Carol and Mike H fought hard against Carol and Fred, only to lose one of their two duels, 14 to 12. Carol and Fred M won the first match handily with 11 to 6 against these two.

Carol S and Dennis also gave Carol and Fred a run for their money in the first round losing 12-10. Another close match ended up with Carol and Mike H scraping by against Carol S and Dennis B.

The final round-robbin scores ended with Carol and Fred M winning all of their rounds and a point count of 66 + 4 over points (which didn’t count – but were worth mentioning). Carol and Mike H followed with a score of 53.

Pool B

The second group included Karen and Randy J, Brenda and Cliff I, Cameron K and Carol J, and Laurie and Robert A.

Randy and Karen dominated this round by winning all of their games by at least 3 points or more. Cameron K and Carol J followed close behind by winning four of their matches. The final scores for these two teams were 66 and 57, respectively.

Tomorrow (Sunday November 7)

The line-up for tomorrow is as follows:

Consolation Round – Final 4 PM

  • Carol S and Dennis B
  • Terri and Frank M
  • Brenda and Cliff I
  • Laurie and Robert A

Teams will play a Double Round Robin win by 2 (Max 15 points). The top two teams after the Round-Robin will play a final game to 15.

Top Four – Final 6:00 PM

  • Karen and Randy J
  • Carol and Fred M
  • Carol J and Cameron K
  • Carol and Mike H

Teams will play a Double Round Robin win by 2 (Max 15 points). The top two teams after the Round-Robin will play a final game to 15.

Sunday Results November 7, 2021

The consolation rounds were hotly contested, with one team winning 4 of their six matches and another winning five of six games. Leading the way were Brenda and Cliff I with a total of 61 points, followed by Carol S and Dennis B. with 56 points. Robert and Laurie A, Terri, and Frank M filled the other two spots and were not that far behind.

In the final game of 15, Brenda and Cliff emerged the overall winners with a 15-6 win over Dennis B. and Carol S

Top Four Surprise Winner

Carol J and Cameron K won four of their six rounds in the Top Four. Randy and Karen made a clean sweep of their Round- Robins by winning all six of their Sunday games. The other two teams Carol and Fred M and Carol and Mike H, toughed it out but couldn’t make headway against these two strong teams.

The final score for Randy and Karen was 66, and for Carol J and Cameron K, 56 points. The final round to 15 proved to be very competitive, with Carol J and Cam K stepping up their game a notch or two and overcoming the heavy favorite Randy and Karen 15-10 in the final match and taking home the bragging rights.

All in all, everyone had a good time, there were some fantastic games and many memorable moments.

FUN Mixed Doubles Tournament

Round Robin Phase

We had a total of 17 teams enter into our FUN Mixed Doubles tournament. Ultimately, there were five teams in our Advanced division and 12 teams in our Intermediate division for the event.

For the advanced level, we ran a 5 round, four games each, round-round robin. The round-robin determined the two bottom teams who would play each other for the fourth spot in the Single elimination round. So at the end of that competition, it ended up being Judy M and Mike M and Monika W and Marcel playing for that seat.

In the Intermediate section, we ran a four-game round-robin which seeded an eight-team single-elimination round. The bottom four teams went to a single-elimination consolation round.

Consolation Round

We saw Novice Barb D and Ray B battle it out with Linda C and Mike D and Stuart G and Lorna C take on Fred M and Novice Kate C in the consolation round. However, Linda C and Mike D won the gold medals in the final consolation round, leaving the silver to Lorna C and Stuart G.

Our Consolation Round Winners Mike D and Linda C

Top Eight Round

The top eight part of the single-elimination round had powerful teams fighting hard for the coveted top spots. John S and Helga S, unknowns to the other players and new to our club, defeated Ken P and Laurie A to reach the semi-finals. John T and Carol J defeated our president Sue S and husband Lionel S to play Helga S and John S.

On the other side, Mike H and Shirley P lost to Sheila S and John (BJ) S, and early favorites Blaire B and Diane B fell to Dennis B and Joanne S.

In the two semi-final rounds, John T and Carol J emerged victorious over Helga S and John S. (There were a lot of John’s in the semis). On the other hand, Dennis B and Joanne S lost their match with Sheila S and John (BJ) S.

That left us with John T and Carol J against Sheila S and John (BJ) S for the gold and silver final match. This game went to 15 and was hard-fought on both sides. John T and Carol J took the early lead, but Sheila S and John (BJ) S refused to give up and soon overtook them. The game then became a battle of unforced errors because both teams played exceptionally well. Sheila S and John (BJ) S emerged as the eventual winners with a 15 – 13 victory on an unforced error from their opponents.

Our Intermediate level Gold Bell and Silver Bell medal winners Sheila S and John (BJ) S, John T, and Carol J

Advanced Matches

The final four teams squared off against each other, with Dale M and Leslie J winning over Monka W and Marcel B. Randy J and Karen J had a narrow win over Art F and Ali S. (Art F had an appointment at 1.30 – so he claims that he “let them win”).

The final match started and ended pretty quickly. Randy J and Karen J versus Leslie J and Dale M looked like a fun match to watch. Unfortunately, the weather had failed to hold, and it started to rain a little bit. This rain made the courts a bit slippery – even though the rain was quite spotty. Both teams were just getting warmed up and hitting their stride when Leslie slipped and lost her footing. Team Randy J and Karen J were immediately on the other side of the net, along with Dale M, to make sure she was all right.

Although shaken up, Leslie was fine, and both teams decided to call it a day and a tie. The silver medals went to the men Randy J and Dale M and gold medals to Karen J and Leslie J.

Our Advanced group ties Leslie J, Dale M, Karen J, and Rand J. sporting their glitter bomb bells. (We saved the glitter for the advanced team)

Door Prizes

Many thanks to Linda Curle, who supplied two home-baked apple pies as door prizes. Jeane Owens donated the apples.

Also, thanks to Maple Roch for supplying some delicious treats for the door prizes as well.

All our medal winners, minus Stuart G and Lorna C

Bloopers

Did we catch someone checking his cell phone in the middle of a photoshoot?

Oooops…Caught Ya!

Women’s Fun Tournament

Court Maintenance Team

We have to shout out to the Court Maintenace team, who outdid themselves in getting the courts ready for a 9 AM start. These gentlemen (and you know who you are!) started clean-up Thursday evening already after the downpour ceased. They followed that up with their blowers at 7 AM, trying to get the courts dry enough to play on. Suffice it to say that thanks to their hard work, the Ladies were able to play today.

Monica W and Leslie J holding the kitchen line (Photo courtesy of Shirley P)

Four Round Round-Robin

Twenty-four women arrived at the Peach Orchard courts on Friday, October 1st, 2021, to play and have fun. The competition was fierce on all levels as everyone played their best and gained experience in the process. After four rounds, when the dust settled, tournament directors divided the women into three groups according to their wins and losses. Which division the ladies ended up in depended entirely on the luck of the draw and the opponents they faced during this round-robin phase.

Judy M serving with partner Karen J

Group 3

Group three consisted of 4 teams, some of them entering a tournament for the first time. Even though they ended up in the bottom four of the twelve teams, they all wore bright smiles and learned a lot. These game ladies will soon be giving the more experienced tournament players a run for their money. Kudos to Patti L & Jenny L, Gerlinda H & Tracy O, Monica C & Margaret W, and Barb D & Maria Z.

Patti L and Jenny L were the winners in the third level.

Group shot of everyone on hand at the finale. Photo courtesy of Mark S.

Group 2

Rounding out this group of 4 were Carol J & Linda C, Donna E & Terri M, Shirley P & Lorna C, Sheila S & Corrine M. The games were hard-fought and tightly contested. However, Corrine and Sheila emerged in the final round to take home the gold in this division.

Our Winners (left to right) are Patti L, Jenny L, Leslie J, Monica W, Sheila S, and Corrine M. Thank you, Dawn E, for creating the fabulous medals!

Group 1

Four teams that finished in the top spots of the round-robin were: Diane B and Laurie A, Carol H and Gwen R, Monica W and Leslie J, and finally Karen J and Judy M. In the final round, which went to 15 Monica W and Leslie J defeated Karen J and Judy M in a well-played match. Both Monica and Leslie were consistent with their third shot drops, which minimized the damage from the powerhouse team of Karen and Judy. Both teams are strong contenders, but the patience and persistence of team Monica W and Leslie J won the tournament.

Photo Courtesy of Shirley P

Men’s Fun Tournament

Randy J and Mike M Sweep

The morning of September 30th proved to be a bit on the windy side, overcast, and perfect pickleball weather for the Men’s Fun Tournament. We set up the event as a five-game round-robin in which each of the teams played each other once. Organizers Mark S and Carol H tallied the wins and losses, and we moved on to the five-team single-elimination round. Kudos to the ten men who gathered to duel it out. There were lots of hard shots that somehow made it back to the sender and lots of dinking.

Mike M. and Randy J. each sporting the gold medals that Dawn E made.

When the dust settled, Randy J and Mike M emerged victorious, winning all of their rounds. Silver went to the team of Mike H and Dennis B. While Blair and Kip, Pat and Ray and Frank M, and Bill C all played well and gave each other a run for the medals.

Ali S. donated some fun prizes in the form of painted Pickleball Rocks. Pictured below are the four winners of the Draw.

Blair B, Mike H, Frank M., Ray B withe the rock masterpieces made by Ali S.

Tomorrow will be the Women’s tournament, which means that there will be some court drying to do after this afternoon’s downpour. There are twelve teams entered for the day’s events.

Thanks to Blair and his Maintenance Team, we have tubing covering the fencing in the new courts and extra gates to stop the balls from heading into other courts. Pictured are Mike M and Randy J showing off their first-place medals created by Dawn E.

Fun Fall Tournaments

Announcing

SPC Fall FUN Mixed Doubles Tournament October 6th, 2021

There will be three levels of play Novice, Intermediate and Advanced.

The cost will be FREE. No Concession, so bring your own goodies.

The location will be Peach Orchard Courts, 11 AM to 4 PM on each day.

You are responsible for finding your own partner. You can request which division you would like to play in. Some of you may want to challenge yourselves and move up a level.

You must be a member to participate.

Email your entries to the Tournament Chair Carol Hermesh

This event will commence with a four-game round-robin and then followed by a single knock-out tournament. You are guaranteed at least five games.

Only written/email entries will be accepted so that we will forget no one accidentally. You will also receive an email confirmation of your entry.

There will be four entries required in a level for it to run.

The cut-off for entries is Tuesday, October 5, 2021, at 12 Noon

😁😊 This tournament is meant to be FUN, so bring your smile! 🤣😂

In preparation for the Indoor Season, an SPC Director will be on hand at the courts to scan your Covid Vaccine Passports and complete the documentation necessary for indoor play at Harold Simpson, Unisus, and the Badminton Hall.

Six Pickleball Courts Now Available at Peach Orchard

 

Put away those portable nets, we now have six permanent pickleball courts at the Peach Orchard Campground.  Our club has expanded its summer program to take advantage of additional court time and for the first time ever, we can run two different programs in parallel.  This will help get people with different skills to come together, learn from each other and socialize.

Many thanks to Mayor and Council for providing the necessary funds in addition to the $5,000 provided by the club.  There are still some finishing touches required and the Club has some funds available for possible enhancements such as seating, Big O pipes along the new fences and perhaps a ball machine for practising.

Left to right: Councillor Doug Holmes, SPC President Henry Sielmann, SPC Membership Director Terri Martinello, SPC Vice-President Sue Simpson, Lionel Simpson, SPC Treasurer Carol Johnson, Mayor Toni Boot, Councillor Richard Barkwill

Read about the official inauguration here.  Photo credits SPC and District of Summerland.

Getting Ready for Organized Play

As we are approaching a return to organized outdoor pickleball our maintenance director Dale and his volunteer crew spent a few hours getting the courts ready.  Nothing is more fun than splashing water and pulling weeds in the rain.  Thanks guys!

According to the District of Summerland Recreation Department the conversion of the remaining tennis court to four new pickleball courts will happen in August.  All courts may be closed during this period.  We will keep our members informed as work progresses.

We will start organized play as soon as the requirement for COVID ambassadors has been lifted, hopefully at the beginning of July.  We are in the process of signing a use agreement with the District that will give us exclusive access to the courts for a number of hours per week.  Sign-Up Genius reservations will be introduced again for both group and individual play by skill level.  While things may remain a bit unorganized until the court construction is complete, we will return to programming similar to what we offered two years ago once all six courts become available.

Stay tuned!

SPC Suspends all Organized Play due to new COVID-19 Regulations

On December 2nd, 2020 BC’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a directive suspending all organized adult sports.  This order affects both indoor and outdoor pickleball.  Therefore, effective December 3rd, the Summerland Pickleball Club has suspended all its programs until further notice.

We would like to thank our members for their collaboration in following COVID-19 protocols implemented by our Club.  The 6-player pod system worked very well and we anticipate to commence our indoor programs following these same principles as soon as we are authorized to pick up our paddles again.

Enjoy the Festive Season, stay healthy and join us again soon!