[2boomers]

Returning to Ontario Mar 31 and want to get pickleball started in our community. My plan is to make a few wooden paddles for beginners to use. If anyone has an old paddle (broken or not) to donate to the cause that would be greatly appreciated. I would then be able to copy the design and make some clones for beginners use. I can be reached by email at twoboomers@yahoo.ca. Thanks....Dave from Ontario, Canada

[dadspet]

Heres a few hits that I hope will help. An avid tennis player in our area who never heard of PickleBall went to watch a match at the NY Sr Games. From there he decided it would be a great game for Srs in the Binghamton NY area and started to get his fellow tennis players involved 2 yrs ago.They started by making wooden paddles and taping lines on outdoor tennis courts. From there he contacted a local Medicare advantage organization and they agreed to fund the program to the tune of $2000. With the $2000 they were able to buy wooden rackets and several nets and tape (with still a lot of money left over). Outdoor the local parks agreed to let them tape lines on the tennis courts that weren't being used to convert them to Pickleball. They finally took over about 20 or so courts in various small cities in the area. When the weather got cold they got the Sr Centers, School Gyms and Family centers to tape off Pickleball courts on the Basket ball gyms and we now have about 4 locations and at least 2 courts in each location. The nets inside are set up using basketball stands that can be rolled to the correct location. Tape is cut into various lengths and rolled on PVC pipe to set up the courts each time we use them. The money was also used to buy a line painting machine that uses a spray can to paint lines outside where we used to tape line. Taping line is a pain to say the least but it does get it started until you can get permission to paint line. The local Sr Citizens support agency helped us out when we held a Sr Olympics in one of the indoor facilities. We attracted almost 40 players from NY. I was even able to get a 3 minute spot on the local TV station telling people about Pickleball and a 2 day clinic we held to teach new players. The local paper ran a small article on the clinic. We now have over 100 players in 2 yrs in an area that never even seen pickle ball before. It can be done! The Seniors seem to love it.

If you need more info please ask.