When the skies of November turn gloomy ... When the gales of November came early.  A couple lives from one of my favorite songs.  I doubt Gordon Lightfoot wasn't thinking of November weather and pickleball courts in Centre County when he penned those words but they do seem appropriate for the last few days. Even the sunny days are being twisted by nearly constant winds and 20+ MPH gusts. The result has been the migration of players from outdoor courts to the controlled environments of indoor courts. I will do a quick review of what the public options are for indoor play in the area as well as some tournament news. Let's take a spin around the Pickleverse.

1. Bringing Home Some Bling:  Congratulations to Janie K. and Saralee F. for winning bronze and for Janie K. and Ron K for winning silver in a tournament down Pittsburgh way.  Photos of the mighty warriors can be found below.

2. Next Combatants Up:  Saralee and Cyndi Lyn finished 4th and Saralee and Randy (you humble blogger) finished 2nd in a tournament this weekend in Johnstown. I will have photos and details in the next Pickle Jar. 

3. Dinking In The New Year 2025:  Several of the Pickle Jar readers have already declared their intent to play in this tournament. Formerly this was held at The Centre but for 2025 it has moved to the Gorilla House in Altoona. A flyer with more information is here.

4. Just Got Word:  I recently learned that a group will be hosting a February 2025 tournament at The Centre. As I get more details I will let you know.

5. Indoor Play:  Over the summer a number local residents picked up this silly game and found themselves addicted. Weather now places them in the position of deciding just how much they are willing to endure to continue outdoor play or if they are now willing to pay to play.  Players have 3 public options for indoor play.  The Nittany Valley Sports Centre (The Centre), C3 Sports, and the State College YMCA. I will try to put together a reference sheet that will give you an idea as to hours, costs and facility features for next week's Pickle Jar.

6. Upcoming Holiday:  From what information I have received so far, The Centre will be closed on Thanksgiving (the 28th) and probably Friday also.  Saturday will be their final Family Tailgate event. From what I have heard, this program has been under utilized by fans so there could be an opportunity to gather your group into your clown car, buy an advance parking fee for $25 and be able to play pickleball for 4 or more hours.  Here is a link if you want more information:  https://thecentrepa.com/events/family-tailgates/ . I have not heard a schedule from C3 Sports yet.

7. Holbrook Paddle Update:  As I stated in an earlier alert, Holbrook will be running a Black Friday special at the end of the month. If you are considering buying a Holbrook paddle I would advise waiting until they release the code for 30% (I will post it as soon as I get it) which will save you $10 to $20, depending on the paddle, over what I can do. I sort of got taken to the woodshed after I posted sort of a "you're killin me Smalls" opinion of them undercutting the ambassadors again over Black Friday on the ambassador Facebook page. Comments were turned off and shortly after a Utah phone number appeared on my phone. In the end we "hugged it out".  Kind of fun being a tad of a rebel. I put the the advance blurb about the two new paddles coming out next week at the bottom of the blog.

8. Tip Of The Week:  Have fun, remember it is just a game.

C3 Sports:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-53324092-c3pickleball

The Centre:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0B4BA5AA28AB9-53324116-nvsc

Randy Hoffman

Holbrook PIckleball Ambassador

https://holbrookpickleball.com/

Discount Code = RANDYHOFFMAN20