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| SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | SEPTEMBER 2016 | 47 Pickleball Club If you haven't already signed up for the last tournament of 2016, you're too late! The deadline for entering a team was Aug. 26. You still have time to be included on the alternate list, however. Let Dutch (845-0392) know if you wish to be included on it ASAP! Tournament play begins Sept. 7, which is a Tuesday. The 6th is Labor Day and the Monday teams will play for the first time on Sept. 13. To repeat, we will play a split-time schedule again this fall. Starting times for the first half of the season will be the same as the Summer Tournament, 5, 6, 7, and 8 pm. The second half of the season, the starting times will move to 3, 4, 5, and 6 pm. This has worked fairly well in the past in our effort to chase comfortable temperatures for the players! This is, however, southern California! Your schedules will reflect the split. The tournament ends the week of Nov. 10, with play-offs beginning the week of Nov. 14. The bocce balls have been through some trials! The screw-heads attaching the old boards to the sides did real damage to all of the balls in the form of crescent-moon gouges. The new boards have been marking the balls with stain that has been reluctant to dry (how can that be in this heat?!). Anyway, the decision to seal or not to seal the boards will be made between the Summer and Fall Tournament. Upshot is — we'll begin the Fall Tournament with NEW balls— HOORAY! Please take care of them, as dropping them on the cement will bring all kinds of frowns! Info./help, call Dutch (845-0392). Team entries/club memberships to 1288 Pleasant Valley, box on the door. Friends of Bocce Football has its kick-off, the NBA the tip-off. When you hear the Ump cry "Play Ball!" you know spring has come to the diamonds of America. But if you are strolling to the Sandwedge or exiting the stage door of the Ballroom at Sun Lakes and you hear "Zero, Zero, Two!" you have stumbled upon the quirky, addictive game known as Pickleball. Invented by a couple of Washington State legislators vacationing on Puget Sound and wondering what else they could do on a badminton court, the game has taken the country by storm. (The Villages in Florida boasts over a hundred courts!) At Sun Lakes we make do with three courts, shared with POP Tennis, but our avid players probably pack as much enjoyment into a round of doubles games as all those muggy Floridians combined. It is doubles play that accounts for the unique server's call of Zero, Zero, Two. With two players on each side, as in tennis or ping pong, the serve rotates. The originators of Pickleball (named, legend has it, for the family pet who bounded after stray balls) decreed that the team serving first would get only one turn. As in volleyball, scoring occurs only by the serving side. There are a few other peculiarities to Pickleball and it can take a few tries to get over the exasperation of violating the "kitchen" line or forgetting to observe the "two-bounce" rule. This intro is not intended to teach the sport. Hopefully, you will be enticed to try it out. The players will gladly teach you the fine points and we always have equipment to share with beginners. The game is ideal for active seniors who want to combine friendly competition with a remarkable amount of aerobic activity for such a small court. So, come on out to the courts! Give club officers a call if you have questions about the best times to give the game a try: Royce Newman at 769-1103 or Hank Huisman at (712) 540-0864. See you there!