Boise Area Pickleball News

The inaugural Dennis Forbes Pickleball Memorial was last week – July 18 -20, 2013…

It was a great turnout, with the best of the best participating.  The weather was hot (100 degrees), but the matches were hotter!!  It was an awesome experience to watch and learn from the different level players.

Our friend and wife of Dennis Forbes – Linda Forbes – was present and played in the tournament.  Her and her female partner took a Bronze Medal (4.0).

Linda Forbes

Our own Rodell Hill and his partner – Gary Baker – took home the Silver Medal in 4.0 level.

Rodell Hill – Silver Medalist

We also saw pickleball friends that have come and played in the past with us in Boise…  To name a few –  John & Jeanne Schowalter (from Michigan), Carol Amos (Kathy Getto’s sister), JD Shew (Twin Falls), Debi Glogower (played in our Idaho Senior Games last year).   We found all the players – lower skilled to higher skilled, very kind and helpful with tips and hints…  John Gullo of Ogden sure knows how to put on a fabulous tournament.  Thanks to all involved…

Congratulations to BAPA’s own Sonya Kincheloe for taking 3 Gold Medals home last week from the Thousand Trails RV Tournament in Bend, Oregon.  It was a skill level event and had 170 participants!!!  Sonya and Stan Sluder (another BAPA member) took Gold in the Mixed Doubles 3.5 event.  Sonya and her female partner (Liz Hatfield) took Gold in the Women’s Doubles 3.5 event and then Sonya took Gold in the Single’s event…

Way to represent…

Dear Pickleball Enthusiasts: (From Bill Hart)

I became addicted to Pickleball the moment  I learned it at an RV park in Gold Canyon, AZ,  during the winter of 2013. I felt it was only a natural transition to establish a pickleball court here in Stanley, Idaho to allow the residents and visitors to this small mountain community the opportunity to experience this wonderful, fun new sport. I contacted the local school, which has an outdoor basketball court to see about converting it to a temporary pickleball court to be used during the summer months. I was given permission, as long as I repaired the cracks to the concrete surface.

I ordered a portable net system from the USAPA and I applied for one of their grants and was awarded a stipend to help offset some of the costs of setting up a court. I cleaned the surface of all of the debris and applied a concrete repair product to fill in all of the cracks and holes. From there, I applied tape to mark the lines and now I am offering free lessons to anyone who wants to become just as addicted as I am.

So now, nestled beneath the beautiful Sawtooh Mountains in central Idaho, in the community of Stanley at just under 7,000 feet you can have a new Pickleball experience. I invite all Pickleball addicts to come experience this “Rocky Mountain High” and enjoy playing in an outdoor venue with a scenic backdrop of mountain peaks towering over 10,000 in elevation.

Please pass this on to all fellow pickleballers you know that might be interested, maybe we could even organize a “Stanley Cup” tournament.

For further information or to schedule playing time, please contact:

Bill Hart Sawtooth Valley PickleBall Association
website: svpba.org      email: pickleball@svpba.org

PO Box 43 Stanley, ID 83278 208-991-2569

Outdoor court with the Sawtooth Mountains as a backdrop.

Musings from Pocatello.  Mitch & Linda struck gold at the Southeast Idaho Senior Games.
With a small contingency of players, due to the tournament being held on the 4th of July
weekend, the tournament director decided on a Round-Robin format, pitting all teams
against each other, regardless of age categories.  Mitch and Linda met the challenge ending
up at the top!                  

A strong contingency of BAPA members traveled to the Northern Idaho Senior Games
(aka Lewis-Clark Senior Games).  Three days of steady rain forced the Games to be played indoors at the Clarkston High School Gym.  On the first day of competition, Rudy Whittaker and Bob Calver teamed up to capture the Gold in Men’s Doubles.  Also capturing the Gold in the “Old Man’s” Division was the strong team of “Mitch” Mitchell and Jan Johnson.  Tournament Director, Doug McMillan, decided to have an exhibition match between the two Gold Medal teams.  Two games were played, with each team winning one, so our four “boys” are all champs with no one besting the other.

On the second day, Rhonda Reed teamed up with Bob  in Mixed Doubles.  They fought
valiantly to a second place tie but had to settle for a 3rd Place Medal due to receiving 4 fewer points than the 2nd place team after 12 games of competition for the entire tournament. Linda Mitchell teamed up with Rudy to become a ferocious tournament team.  They clearly separated themselves from the rest of the field and swept away the Gold Medal.

Congratulations to our 6 “warriors.”  Nicely done!