Category: Pickleball

On Saturday 22nd November a team of 8 ‘Picklers’, made up from the Monday and Thursday pickleball groups, took on a team from LoCo Pickleball for a friendly competition. LoCo are a local, non u3a, team, meaning some of them were much younger than us!

From left to right: Mick Frings, Steve Swift, Karen Guy, Diane Swift, Hayley Leeming, Phil Pickwick, Dave Jackson, Julie Bridges

Both teams consisted of four ladies and four men and we played a mixture of doubles and mixed doubles, swapping partners each time. Games were played for 11 minutes, rather than to the more usual 11 points. Carol, who is the coach for LoCo, took charge of the whistle and schedule and the scoring was done by adding each teams score at the whistle to provide a cumulative score per team.

It was neck and neck all afternoon with the lead passing backwards and forwards. Hucknall u3a team went into the final round with a 5 point lead, but unfortunately LoCo had a strong round, beating us 287 to 282 overall. Just 5 points in it shows what a great afternoon it was and how evenly matched the teams were.

We finished off the afternoon with a trip to the Horse and Groom at Linby for a very well earned drink and some great conversations with our opponents. Everyone agreed it had been a really enjoyable afternoon and we are hoping for a rematch soon.

Karen Guy

On Monday 4^th September, sixteen members of the group met in Anne’s garden, swapping the court for a gazebo on the lawn.   There was food and drinks to share, and some delicious desserts made by Anne. Coupled with the lovely weather, the chatter and the friendship, a superb afternoon was shared by all, thanks to our lovely hostess.

As an addendum, we would all like to express our thanks to David Rose, without whom this group wouldn’t be enjoying Pickleball.

Background
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, USA. In 2022 it is widely played in the USA and Europe with increasing numbers in the UK. It is an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two players, or four players, hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a 36-inch-high net on basically a badminton court using solid-faced paddles (similar to outsized table tennis bats). Opponents on either side of the net hit the ball back and forth until one side commits an error.

Hucknall u3a Pickleball Group
We meet every Thursday afternoon from 2pm to 4pm at the Hucknall Leisure Centre. We book four courts and have exclusive use of the main sports hall. New players are most welcome to join us and no previous experience is necessary.

On Friday November 25th Marilyn Moult organised an enjoyable group meal at the Arunothai restaurant. Thank you Marilyn and thanks to Terry Moult for his weekly organisation of players and finances.

David Rose

The Pickleball Group meets every Thursday from 2pm to 4pm at Hucknall Leisure Centre.
There are 4 courts available which means that 16 members can be playing at the same time.

** New members are welcome to come along for a trial session. **
All you need are suitable clothing and non marking gym shoes/trainers i.e. black soles tend to mark the newly refurbished playing surface.

During the structural work and changes at Hucknall Leisure Centre courts have been booked at the Kirkby in Ashfield (Festival Hall) Leisure Centre on: Thursdays from 1pm to 3pm. Please note the change of times from our previous 2pm start.

Several members acted as an advance party and played our first session since early March 2020 on the 20th May, 2021. Covid protocols are in place which restrict each court to a ‘bubble ‘of 6 players. This worked well on the first visit.

Location: Hodgkinson Road Kirkby in Ashfield NG17 7DJ

David and Terry