Frontier Days Tournament
We are less than 2 months away from our club’s annual tournament. While the events themselves are full at this time, there are many opportunities around the tournament itself for you to be involved, including:
Ref housing: We are planning to have refs for every single game during the tournament. For any refs coming from outside the area, we want to offer them places to stay to keep their costs down. If you have a guest room in your house or a spot in your driveway for a trailer/RV that you would be willing to offer from June 20 (the day before the tournament starts) through June 25, please let us know by email. Include information such as what you have to offer (spare room, 30’ trailer spot with electrical, etc.) and an estimate of drive time from your home to the outdoor courts.
Event Volunteers: So many of our awesome club members have asked how they can volunteer for the event and we’ve said “wait until it’s closer”. Well, now is the time! Check out Court Reserve for the dates ahead of and during the tournament to sign up. First there’s court cleaning on Saturday, June 17 when the courts will be pressure washed and banners for this year’s sponsors will be hung up. Tuesday, June 20 includes tournament setup, and then Wednesday - Sunday (tournament play days) include a variety of volunteer opportunities. Sign ups are open now.
Pickleball Clinics: Wes Gabrielsen, an International Pickleball Hall of Fame Inductee and National Champion plays in our club's tournament every summer. This year, after the tournament is over, he is going to stay in our area for 2 extra days and teach 6 different clinic sessions at our courts at Finley Butte. Sign up for whichever clinics are most interesting to you and for where you are in your game right now. Spots are limited, so sign up and pay here to reserve yours today. Considering the typical cost to travel outside the area for a camp or clinic from someone of this caliber, it’s an amazing bargain to be able to do this right here in La Pine!
Wes Gabrielsen and his partner Tonja Major won the Mixed Open event at our tournament in 2022.
Summer Schedule
As you may have noticed, we have * optimistically * started populating Court Reserve with lots of outdoor play time and events starting on May 8. We all know how fickle the weather can be during the month of May here in La Pine, but when it’s nice we want to be prepared to take advantage of it. Check out the calendar for outdoor Open Play, Beginners Clinics, 4.0+ Open Play, Paddle Battles, monthly Round Robins and more!
Similar to last summer, the reservable courts (7 & 8) can be found by clicking “Book a Court” from the home page.
Note that we can continue to use the indoor courts through mid-June, and so those events have generally stayed on the calendar as well, with a few tweaks. If you aren’t quite ready to battle the outdoor elements, please feel free to take advantage of the indoor courts for the next month or so.
Outdoor court cleaning
Mike and Cheryl Patzer organized a court cleaning day a few weeks ago to get the courts ready for play. Huge thanks to them and everyone who showed up to help not only prep the courts but for also cleaning out and organizing the sheds.
New Captains
Big thanks to Metta Smith and Teryce Kilby, who signed up to be club captains! Captains play an invaluable role at our club, including answering member questions, unlocking and locking the LPRD building and outdoor sheds, and helping set up and put equipment away. If you are interested in becoming a captain, contact us.
New Members
Welcome to those who joined our club in the month of April, including:
Wes Cochell
Erin O'Connell
David Mael
Stephen Gnazzo
Jake Obrist
Sierra Obrist
Phoebe Obrist
Paisley Obrist
Kathryn McGuire
Andrew Pickens
Maddy Stilwell
McKade Stilwell
Melany Haynes
Paulette Lockwood
Tom Sidley
Tamie Schilling
Deanna Collins
Dennis Reutov
Michelle McDaniel
And, it is with great sadness we wanted to let you know that club member Sam Ramirez passed away last month. Sam only played with us occasionally as he spent much of the year in Alaska, but he was always a fun and friendly presence on and off the court and he will be missed.