Star Valley Pickleball, The Grand Opening of the New Courts

Besides lapidary and wildlife photography, we also play quite a bit of pickleball. It keeps us active and helps us to acclimatize to the six thousand foot elevation. It’s a great way to meet people and we look forward to playing the fun game.

Our club started with nineteen people in 2010 and has grown to three hundred and sixty members. With skill levels from 2.5, beginner to 4.5, (each level is 0.5 increase), and even perhaps 5.0. At first the founders, Mary, pictured at far right, and her husband, had taped the pickleball courts over the tennis courts. There were two which converted to eight. As the club grew we needed more courts and another four courts were added where a bumper boat pond had been located. It quickly became obvious that this wasn’t enough and another four courts were planned and finally finished this past week, (we now have sixteen courts). To celebrate the new courts opening the club held a grand opening event. To inaugurate the new courts members could put their names in a hat and if drawn be the first to play.

Renita decided to put her name in and she was drawn for the 3.0 skill level!

The President of the club gave a speech about the growth of the club which was followed by the ribbon cutting ceremony. After that it was game on and all sixteen of the courts, new and old, were busy! Thanks to all who worked so hard to raise money for the new coursts and to the park who agreed and provided the land! Game on and of course Clear Skies! Before the SVRR Park added the Pickleball courts new lots sales were sluggish at best. Now the lots sell almost as fast as they build them. Any rv part without them is at a disadvantage. Our park is the largest rv park west of the Mississippi!

Blue Lagoons Round Robin Pickleball Tournament

It’s been a great winter and we have had 26 people who have played pickleball on our court! Most of the players were just learning to play and so Renita and I volunteered to teach the fundamentals. Our first and most important rule was, “It’s just a ball don’t fall! Several ignored this rule but luckily we have not had any long lasting

injuries or trips to the emergency room. As our winter friends are starting to leave, we decided to hold two round robin skill level tournaments. Most of our players are now capable of playing others with a skill level of 3.0. Four of us have played for years and so we held a separate round robin. The day arrived and the weather cooperated. The order of play was decided by the order in which they had signed up. We had six who felt comfortable playing and we started our first, round robin with a rules meeting. Barb volunteered to judge the games. Her task was to keep and say the score, call any side outs, and to watch for foot faults in the kitchen and over the baseline.

Renita also kept track of the book recording the scores and I determined the order of rotation for the players. Everyone loved the positive atmosphere and we had quite a few people show up to cheer their favorite players. We encouraged the spectators to be quiet during the play and to only cheer for positive points! The players changed sides when one side reached five points and we played each game to nine. Of course you had to win by two. After each game the sides rotated so each player was able to partner with everyone else. Both players on the winning side scored a point and the tournament was decided by who had the most wins. At the end the players with four wins were Laurie and Del. Third, fourth, and fifth place were lee, Patty, and Maureen. All played well!

Prizes were donated by our friends Zita and Alan and by Mark and Renita. We also purchased brand new balls for the games. The top two winners received a new pickleball paddle and the next three had their pick of new grip tape and wrist bands. All the players also received a pickleball.

As you can see our players were all smiling and can’t wait to get back home to continue their learning against other similar ranked players. Two days later the weather held and we were able to play our 3.5 round robin. The format was the same for the 3.5 round robin. As there were only four players it only took us six games to decide the winner. I took first, Barb, second and Dan third. Renita was the anchor, she had some bad breaks during play. It was fun and challenging to play against better players and we held nothing back. Finally a thanks to Blue lagoons for building the court and to Gordo and Babs who bought the nets. Clear skies and of course game on!

Teaching Pickle Ball in Blue Lagoons Rv Park

Last fall we arrived at our winter rv park and saw that many of the spaces were empty. It was worse than normal as the rent increases had taken their toll. At our small happy hour I told the managers, Ron and Deb, about the phenomenal growth at our rv park in Star Valley Wyoming.

At the time we bought our lot sales of finished lots were sluggish and we were able to buy a corner lot at a price that had been lowered. Since then, the tennis courts were remade into pickleball courts and now you would be hard pressed to be able to find an empty spot to rent! We have over 300, members in our pickleball club! The manager asked a few more questions and decided to paint a pickleball court on a space near the workshop. I agree to teach pickleball classes and so it was done, (and a fellow rv’er donated a new net, thanks Gordon). Now the court is not ideal but it has a faithful following as we have taught anyone interested.

Because we live along the coast we first must squeegee the court and then remove the leaves. After that its game on! We play Monday Wednesday and Friday mornings, and anywhere from six to ten people usually show up. weather permitting. The newcomers are improving their skills, and we are even talking about having a skill level round robin tournament!

Last year at our summer park, due to my ankle problems, we only played a few times but now we look forward to our return and hope to play more! It’s so fun to have another option besides our walks, for exercise! Clear skies. Ps Thanks for the court Ron and Deb!