89762 Resource 87063 11060 11060 1113874397792 1114860626347 Controlled Hot News on Florida State Sr Pickleball Games

Interesting coments about where the 2006 State Sr Championship Pickleball Tournament Wiil Be Played

The following shown as italics was provided to me by George Brewer of the Villages who gave me permisson to put it on my site so you all could  keep posted on some of the latest developments in this exciting new sport. Feel free to commet on this subject via email with a copy to George, at  <a href="mailto:GS82236@aol.com">GS82236@aol.com</a> On April 9th the Daily Sun had an article describing the recent VCCD (Villages Center Community Development) Board meeting and one of the announcements Pete Wahl made during that meeting was (indirectly) about Pickleball. > Specifically, Mr. Wahl said "The three-year contract between the Florida Senior Games and The Villages is coming to an end, and the state championship games will not be held in The Villages after this year."  One of the first questions I had was, "Where will we play Pickleball in the Florida State Championship Games after 2005?"  Also,"Where is there enough PB courts to support the huge number of Pickleball players attracted to the State Championship Games?" So, I called the Florida Sports Foundation Director of Amateur Sports, Steve Rodriquez, and talked to him. Let me share with you my questions to Steve and his responses: > Q: Will there be Pickleball offered at the December 2006 State Championship Senior Games? >A: Yes. Pickleball is becoming very popular all over the State and the championship games  will be played in 2006. > Q: Do you have a 2006 site selected? >A: We are working with a number of cities but the decision has not been finalized. > Q: Where else but in The Villages are there enough courts to accommodate that many PB players? >A: Finding a new Pickleball site is going to be a challenge. We are considering playing indoors.  Q: Steve, are you aware indoor Pickleball is a completely different game?. A different ball is used  and the court surface might require a different shoe. A: We have to look at every possibility in order to offer Pickleball in the future. Q: Would you consider playing PB in the State Games at The Villages if something could be  worked out?. >A: Weâ€™d like to keep Pickleball at the same sight where all the other State final events are played. > After I hung up the phone talking to Steve I suddenly had another question about the 2006 Regional Senior Games held here in The Villages? Is that going to be effected by the VCCD announcement? I called Pam Henry with The Villages Recreation Department and she said "NO". "The Regional Games will be held in May of each year from now on and The Villages will host that event as they have in the past.". In 2002, and again in 2003, The Villages sponsored the National Pickleball Championship but put that on hold when The Villages signed a three year contract >with the Florida Sports Foundation beginning in 2003. I wonder if that Great Tournament ( run every two years can be re-borne in 2006? It would attract the best players from all over the United States and The Villages has the number of courts, the best Recreation Staff in the nation and the experienced Tournament Staff to make the event a success. Wouldn't that be nice? > Statistics for the 2005 Regional games to be held here in The Villages in May 2005 is: Women's singles (13) ,Men's singles (82), Mixed Doubles (170), Womens Doubles (82), Men's Doubles (168) > >C U on D Courts..George Brewer If you would like to visit the Florida Senior Games Site click on the Gerry French'e Enterprises Link on the upper left of this page.I think we should find out if the state is considering Lee County as a possible location for the December 2006 games? Wouldn't it be great if the county purchased the Golf Driving Range land next to us and turned it into a community sports center for Pickleball. 10 application/xml false Pickleball Fl Senior Games Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98) 68.54.79.67 68.54.79.67 gwfrench false true false false true 87063 blog blogsite/GFE/web