Pickleball Magazine 1-3 | Page 58

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE Shootout @ Sun City Arizona 11/1/16 Sun City, AZ Surf and Turf Showdown in Jamaica 12/1/16 Jamaica Casa Grande, AZ 10th Annual Voyager Holiday Open Skill Level 12/1/16 Tucson, AZ 6th Annual East Valley Tournament 11/15/16 Mesa, AZ Englewood Suncoast Classic III 12/2/16 Englewood, FL USAPA Nationals VIII 11/5/16 North Carolina Holiday Smash 11/18/16 RW Test 12/25/16 Houston, TX SOMETIME BETWEEN NOW AND WHO-KNOWS-WHEN aaahh, pickleball tournaments. Have you played in one? Maybe you’ve played in many. We’ve competed in tournaments near and far, old and new. The newest of course being the just completed inaugural US Open Pickleball Championships. (What a blast!) But if you’re new to the tournament scene you may not know what to expect. You’re probably aware that there will be laughter and new friends. This is pickleball after all! But there’s a list of things that aren’t as initially intuitive. For example, the first server will need to wear a colored band, supplied by the tournament, to help the referee determine who’s who. The referee primarily calls the score, the kitchen faults, whether the players are positioned correctly (by calling a fault when a player is in the wrong place), and helps resolve any disputes. But the players still make the line calls. In fact, even when you have line judges, which happens for medal matches, the players still call the middle service line! Plus – don’t serve that ball until the referee calls the score in its entirety – that could eventually lose you a point. It’s possible you’ve heard about the potentially long days a tournament can bring. Spectators will often ask when our next match is – and the answer is easy: “Sometime between now and who-knows-when.” Yup, you pretty much never know until you are called just when your next match will go on. Once we even waited over 4 hours between matches! (No, this is not normal – but it did happen!) Staying prepared for your next match can therefore be a challenge. Naturally you will hydrate. But do you even have an 56 Florida State Pickleball Championship 12/9/16 Naples , FL Concord, NC Around THEPost A 5th Annual Steve Judy Mesa Regal Tournament 12/5/16 Mesa, AZ Registration will open aat 7 a.m. PDT on 9/1/16 opponent yet? Maybe you should go watch the match that you will be playing the winner (or loser) of so you can get an idea for your game plan and stay mentally prepared. You likely should have a snack; if you don’t eat something soon after a match, you may get called before you do have a chance to eat, causing low energy. And don’t get stiff while you wait — especially if you’ve already sat for a while — go for a short jog and then hit a few balls. The best part about that tournament time “between now and who-knows-when” is the hanging around with pickleball friends. But don’t forget to stay physically and mentally prepared for when you finally hear your name over the loud speaker, because then it’s GAME ON!  • TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM Jennifer Lucore and Alex Hamner started playing pickleball in 2010, and have competed in numerous tournaments in the USA as well as Jennifer competing internationally. Between them they have 21 national titles, but they are perhaps best known for winning the gold medal in Women’s Doubles at Nationals for four consecutive years (2011-2014). They live with their respective families in North San Diego County.