A great time was had by all at the grand opening of Houndslake's new pickleball courts. Over 70 people attend. Thanks for all the Aiken Pickleball players who volunteered their time to make this a great event. Click here to see Facebook article and photos of the new courts in action.
Aiken Pickleball News
During our annual Palmetto Doubles tournaments our referees always run into some interesting rule questions and our tournament in September was no exception. We thought we’d pass on some of the more unusual issues for everyone to learn from.
Below is an example:
SITUATION: During a non-refereed doubles match, Player #1 on Team A struck a volley from outside the non-volley zone (commonly called “the kitchen”). Player #2 on Team A tried to hit the same volley but missed. After Player #1 struck the ball, his paddle hit Player #2’s paddle, knocking it out of Player #2’s hand and it landed in the non-volley zone. Team B claimed Player #2’s paddle constituted a non-volley zone fault because Player #1 had contacted Player #2 in the act of volleying.
QUESTION: Under USAPA Rules, was Team B’s claim of a non-volley zone fault valid?
ANSWER: Yes. Team B obviously knows the momentum rule or has been reading the “Ask the Pickleball Refs” Facebook page where this exact scenario has been discussed several times. USAPA Rule 9.B governs. If it’s part of the volley momentum, the point at which Player #1 contacts Player #2, the two become one so it’s no different than if Player #1s paddle fell into the non-volley zone.
A fantastic job on refurbishing some tennis courts to pickleball at Houndslake. You can try them out this week at no cost. We still need five more players for the Houndslake demo on Saturday October 5th. Please sign up at the sign up list for "Houndsake Volunteers" or contact Chuck Buchanan. We need to show them some pickleball enthusiasm!!! The time will be from 3:35 to 6:00 pm. Click here to see the finished results. Absolutly beautiful!
The new pickleball courts are located at the old tennis facility on Houndslake Drive, between Pine Log Rd and Hitchcock Parkway. Plans are to add three additional courts if there is sufficient play. Photo below is of the Pickleball Clubhouse at Houndslake Country Club taken during the contruction phase of the first three courts.
Dianne Floyd won the raffle drawing at our September Social. The prize included a certificate for a 60-minute pickleball lesson from Mo Garcia, a Pro-Lite SuperNova, Black Diamond Pro, Graphite performance paddle supplied by Simone Jardim World Champion, one tin of Onix outdoor balls (3pcs), and a paddle cover – a total value of over $200.00!
The prize is courtesy of Mo Power Sport LLC. The raffle took in $290 and all proceeds go to support Aiken Pickleball. Thank you Mo for your generous donation, and congratulations to Dianne for winning a great prize.
The recent tournament enabled us to apply the new "Local Rule" against crossing a court divider during play. The rule was quite effective and we received many constructive comments. With that experience, we've added some clarifying language as follows:
A player crossing a court divider is a fault.
- Includes the imaginary line from divider to wall
- Regardless of whether the adjacent court is occupied
- Even if the ball is dead before momentum causes the player to cross divider (same as a kitchen fault)
- Does not apply to merely reaching over a divider,
nor safely retrieving a ball after a point has ended