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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | SEPTEMBER 2024 | 55 POP Tennis POP Tennis, formerly known as Paddle Tennis, is a fun, fast sport that can be enjoyed by people at all fitness levels. Though played on a smaller court with a different paddle and 20 percent deflated tennis balls, POP Tennis is otherwise scored and regulated like traditional tennis. POP Tennis is played on the courts to the left of the Main Clubhouse on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8 to 10 am (spring/summer hours). Additionally, there is a group that plays Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 3 pm and Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday evenings from 6 to 8 pm. People are free to come and go as their schedules permit. All are welcome and there are always friendly folks to teach beginners the game! Paddles and balls are provided too. For more information or to be on a decision-making committee, please feel free to contact Carl Miller at (951) 512-3131. **All regular POP players are asked to get their $10 membership fee to Jeanne McGuire. The dues are used to plan parties, tournaments and buy balls and paddles. Hope you'll POP by! Pickleball is often praised as a rare opportunity for multi- generational recreation. The "best women's player" has been Anna Leigh Waters who began playing professionally at an early age with her mom, Leigh. Our courts have hosted three-generation families of picklers at various times. But it was a remarkable gathering on a recent Monday that caught this ace reporter's eye. Club member and family matriarch Claudia Martin was engaged in some high-energy play with folks who looked like they spanned a number of generations. Sure enough, Claudia proudly introduced her son West, daughter Renae, granddaughter Brittany and great- grandson James, all of whom were having a grand time. Claudia says her whole family, "loves to come to Sun Lakes. They think we're so lucky to live here." Claudia has been a life-long tennis player and still loves that sport. She discovered pickleball about a year ago. "I can't say enough about how nice the pickleball players are and how they make my family feel welcome," she said. Renae is the only member of the pickle-playing family to hail from Southern California. West is from Connecticut; Brittany, a Navy recruiter, is based now in Denver; and James, a fourth-grader, lives in the Martins' previous home in Boise. All were introduced to the game by Claudia and have taken to it avidly. To get here this visit, James made his first solo f light from Idaho. Brittany has had the chance to visit more frequently and has been on our courts whenever she is in town. Claudia, 84, and husband Don, 97, have been residents of Sun Lakes for 11 years. Don's work in the oil industry took them away from California for significant spells but Claudia is a local girl, a graduate of Redlands High School. The ceremony was in the Redlands Bowl. Their life's journey has brought them full circle and Claudia is delighted to have found this new bond for her growing family. The Martin clan's experience is a vivid example of one of the great joys of pickle. It is accessible to folks of all ages and the fact that great-grandmom and great-grandson can be laughing together on the courts is powerful testimony to why the game has evolved into America's fastest-growing sport. If you want to try it, give our club VP, Judy Luna, a call at (949) 929-2390. See you on the courts! Pickleball Club Four generations of pickleball players!