Peggy Martin The 2024 Norris Invitational Pickleball Tournament (NIT) opens on the Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) courts on Monday, March 4. The tournament goes through Wednesday, March 6, with a rain day on Thursday, March 7. The tournament was open to players from Cottonwood Palo Verde, Sun Lakes 1, IronOaks, Springfield, and SunBird…
Sign-ups have begun, and only two weeks in, there are over 90 participants ready to play! Mark your calendar for March 11 to March 14, find a partner, and go to our website www.ironoakspickleball.com and get signed up today! All the details are on the website. There will be three full days of tournament play,…
Sheryl Keeme Planning is underway for Play It Forward, the Third Annual Tennis/Pickleball Event to Benefit Neighbors Who Care, on Saturday, April 6. All fun pickleball and tennis play will take place at IronOaks Racquet Club. Representatives from several Sun Lakes/South Chandler communities are involved in planning this year’s event, and everyone is encouraged to…
Dink Pink, Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) women’s travel pickleball team, won its first match against Encore Dinking Buddies of Encore at Eastmark in Mesa. As Dink Pink said, “First match. First win. First day.” Yes, that’s right! Dink Pink won their first match on opening day of competition, Jan. 2, 2024. This is…
Peggy Martin The Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) will host its 10th Annual Norris Invitational Tournament (NIT) on March 4, 5, 6, and 7 on the pickleball courts at Cottonwood Country Club, 25630 S. Brentwood Drive. The NIT tournament is named after Maureen and Dick Norris who first brought pickleball to Cottonwood Palo Verde,…
NWC Volunteer Tom Jones Brings Expertise and Warmth as a Volunteer Neighbors Who Care (NWC) volunteer Tom Jones clearly demonstrates the heart of selfless service. He came to us this past August because he was looking for a way to fill his time since retiring. “I needed to fill a void,” Tom says. “Volunteering with…
David Zapatka Pickleball continues to grow in popularity around the country. It’s now making its way into U.S. universities. The leading example of this is my friend, Jarrod Smith, coach of Drury University’s men’s and women’s tennis teams, and in 2024, coach of Drury’s co-ed pickleball team in Springfield, Mo. In August, Drury announced the…
Lorri Morgan We could be talking about that “firefight” at the NVZ (Non-Volley Zone) or that smoking passing shot down the line, but in this case, we’re talking about our Chili Cook-Off social event held on Dec 2. Holiday-dressed members showed up in hordes to sample and vote on the 12 pots full of different…
David Zapatka Continuing our study of Pickleball Fundamentals Master the basics and compete with confidence by Mary Littlewood, Ms. Littlewood offers these basic doubles strategies for players of any level. To read all her advice, buy her book. Always face the ball on the other side of the net. Regardless of where you are on the court…
Lorri Morgan The Sun Lakes Pickleball Club Cottonwood (SLPCC) is bursting at the seams, and that has resulted in a little pain, but mostly a lot of fun! As of the first week of November, we counted about 410 members, with many snowbirds still flying south. Our monthly meetings are well attended, and our industrious…