Well the past week has been fortuitous for me for me on two counts.  First I nailed a NYT Wordle on a second guess (although I will claim a wee bit of strategy on that one) and the second was discovering there is a museum dedicated to the Three Stooges near where my daughter lives outside of Philadelphia.  Moe, Larry, cheese.... I guess my daughter will be getting a bonus visit this spring after it reopens from some renovations.  Breakfast was seldom at the table, I was one of those kids that ate on a tray on a stand watching The Stooges, Bugs Bunny, Huckleberry Hound and others.  I think I started to drift away from morning cartoons after Space Ghost.  I still go back and reminisce on YouTube.  With that said let's climb aboard the USS Gerkin and explore the Pickleverse.  Perhaps we capture Zorak while we are out there.

1. Good Luck - There are over 20 local players headed down to compete in Dinking In The New Year 2026 this weekend and 121 players registered in total.  If you want to check on scores follow this link:  https://app.pickleballden.com/tournamentSpectator/6881650. The action starts at 8:30 AM on Saturday and Sunday.  Good luck to all the competitors.  Next week I hope to have some photos to share.

2. And If That  Ain't Enough Tournament Action - The following weekend of January 17 and 18 will be the Westmont Hockey Pickleball Tournament in Johnstown.  Start time on Saturday is 8:00 AM and Noon on Sunday.  The fee  is $30 + $10 per bracket. Contact Lisa Miller at 814-659-9229 if you have questions or would like to register.  You can find a flyer below.

3. Tournament Tips - SaraLee F. and I brainstormed a few tips for players new to tournament play .  1) Have fun.  2)You get time outs, don't be afraid to use them.  3) Unless it's your style, when you are serving and you call the score, you have 10 seconds to hit the ball, take a breath.  4) Don't play 20 questions with out calls, if you and your partner can't make the call quickly - play the ball as in.  5) Demonstrate good sportsmanship.  6) Talk to other players from other places, you meet some nice folks.  7) If you are not playing, root for rec friends.  8) Lastly, have fun.

4. The Centre - The Centre is moving into a stretch of some busy programing so on occasion they may need to reduce  the number of courts available for drop-in and private rentals.  I will try to alert you when those are occurring but double check by looking to see the number of spaces are available for drop-in.
   
   

I hope the new year has been good to you so far and I look forward to seeing you on the court soon.

The Centre:  Indoor At The Centre

C3 Sports:  Indoor At C3 Sports

Randy S. Hoffman

Pickleball: The art of keeping your eye on the ball…mostly.