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NEWS & EVENTS

Senior Pickleball Tournament, April 2025

More than 100 players across Hertfordshire headed to the university’s Sports Village for the inaugural Senior Pickleball Tournament, making a bit of history — and plenty of noise — in the process.

With age categories of 60+, 65+, and 70+, and organised by a team of volunteers, the event was a huge success and a testament to the growing popularity of pickleball across the county – with many of the participants enjoying tournament play for the first time.

“This is a first, as far as we know, and we’re thrilled with how it turned out,” said Etain Ferdenzi, the event organiser. “The goal was to create something fun, inclusive, and competitive — and judging by the smiles and sore muscles, we’ve nailed it.”

Hertfordshire Open Mixed Doubles Tournament: Sept 20 2025

This is the 5th anniversary of this popular event, which is for fixed mixed pairs. It has been oversubscribed in previous years, and given pickleball’s ever increasing popularity we anticipate strong interest again, so get busy finding a partner!!!!

The Venue The tournament will be held at the Hertfordshire Sports Village, which is part of the University of Hertfordshire’s de Havilland Campus in Hatfield. This venue will be familiar to many since it was used for previous years’ tournaments, January Tournivals, and is the home of the Hertfordshire Pickleball Festival. We will have 12 courts for the whole day in 3 adjoining halls. There is a café onsite for light refreshments.

Event Format
There will not be age / skill sub-divisions. Instead, the competition will have three phases :
    1. In Phase 1, pairs will be arranged in groups of mixed age / ability and will play round robin matches.
    2. In Phase 2, the pairs will be grouped into divisions based on the results from Phase 1, and there will be a further series of round robin matches.
    3. In Phase 3, the leading pairs in each division will play in knock-out competitions. If the event is heavily subscribed, part of phases 2 & 3 may involve a double elimination knock-out competition, which will accommodate more entries. This format will mean more games for all players than traditional tournaments.

Everyone will have 10 games minimum, and those who reach the knock-out stages will play more, with a maximum of 14. In addition to the competition phases above, some court time will be available for practice / social play.

Travel and accommodation
The venue is easily accessible by car being close to the A1(M), just 5 miles from the M25, and there is plenty of parking which will be free over the weekend. The post code in AL10 9EU. Hatfield railway station is served by Thameslink trains and the journey from Kings Cross takes 25 minutes. However, the venue is a taxi ride from the station. Some players may need hotel accommodation. The Comet Hotel is a short walk from the venue, https://comethotel.co.uk/ and there are also Premier Inns and Travelodges close by.

Registration & Fees
The registration process will start on 1 May at 7PM. One partner must complete and submit this form Registration Form, which requires ALL the following information for both players: 
     First Name
     Last Name Gender
     Age (as at 20 Sept 2025)
     Skill Rating (DUPR rating if applicable)
     Club(s)
     Mobile Number
     Email Address
Once applications have been processed, but not before 15 June, payment instructions will be issued to those allocated places. The registration fee will be £40 per player. Players can either pay as a team or individually and, once full payment has been received, a receipt will be issued completing the registration.

Volunteering
This tournament, like all Pickleball England events is a volunteer run tournament. A lot of things will be planned out in advance but it is always helpful to have some extra pairs of hands, and feet on the day. In particular we will need people to help manage the game schedules and act as medal match referees. If you would be willing to help, please send an email to hertspickleball@gmail.com. There should be some court time available to the volunteers.

Tournament terms and conditions
By applying to enter the tournament you agree to the following:

• You promise to notify the organisers promptly if you become unable to attend, since the tournament will be disrupted if there are not the correct number of teams.
• Cancellation and refund requests must be made before 1st August, after which registration fees are non-refundable. (Refunds will be subject to a £5 admin fee.) However, registrations may be transferred after 1st August and funds may be transferred between players. Requests to transfer, giving details of the new player(s), should be sent to hertspickleball@gmail.com before 1st September.
• The Organisers have discretion to vary the format of the tournament as deemed necessary, and their decision is final. • Subdivision managers have discretion to make adjustments as they see fit, and their decisions are final.
• Promise to follow pickleballEngland code of conduct and uphold pickleballEngland values.
• Acceptance of the following waiver:
RELEASE, PERMISSION AND INDEMNITY AGREEMENT
Waiver: In consideration of being permitted to participate in any way in the tournament, you, your heirs or assigns must hereby release, waive, discharge and covenant not to sue the tournament players or the organisers, its/their officers, employees and agents from liability from any and all claims resulting in personal injuries, accidents or illness (including death) and property loss arising from participation in the Tournament. Assumption of risk: Participation in the tournament carries with it certain inherent risks that cannot be eliminated regardless of the care taken to avoid injuries. These specific risks vary, but include: 1) minor injuries such as bruises, sprains or dehydration; 2) major injuries such as eye injuries, joint, bone or back injuries, heat stroke, heart attacks and concussions; 3) catastrophic injuries such as paralysis or death. You must have read the previous paragraphs and know, understand and appreciate these and other risks are inherent in attending the tournament. You must assert that your participation is voluntary and that you knowingly assume all such risks. You must also agree to indemnify and hold the tournament harmless from any and all claims, actions, suits, costs, expenses, damages and liabilities, including solicitor’s fees brought as a result of your involvement in the tournament. You must also give the tournament and its agents and designees permission to use or distribute, without limitation or obligation, your image, name, voice and words for any purpose connected with the tournament, including promotional, marketing, training, informational and archival use.

Herts Pickleball League 2024

2024 was the second season of the Hertfordshire Pickleball League. The season officially started in February and was extended into October due to the difficulty in arranging the necessary matches. Each team in the league plays all the other participants either at home or away. Each match consists of 32 games comprising 8 men’s doubles, 8 ladies doubles and 16 mixed doubles. Each game is first to eleven points. The match winners are awarded 3 points and both winners and losers also get 1 point for each multiple of 5 games they win.
 
The Braughing And District Pickleball Club (“BAD”) entered two teams for the 2024 season – the Red Team and the Blue Team.  The Red Team comprised a squad of 20 players with the Blue Team being able to select players from the rest of the Club.  When selecting teams for matches, the team captains strived to involve players that expressed an interest in playing in matches. 
 
The Red Team finished a creditable fourth with 47 points, one point behind the team who finished in third position. The Blue Team finished in seventh with 24 points, significantly above the teams who finished below them. The feedback from BAD players was that they enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to play players from other clubs.
 
The season proved a success for the League too and as a consequence it is likely that the league will comprise two divisions for the 2025 season. 

 

English Open, Telford. August 2024

Many of us from BaD attended the English Open between the August 8-14. The majority of our players were in the more  ‘mature’ categories and therefore played between the 13th to the 15th. There were a record number of players competing this year in Telford and it was the largest ever pickleball event outside the US.
 
 
 
Thanks to all players for being such a great team, you all played brilliantly, achieved a lot, supported fellow players and had fun.   Well done !!!
 

Medal Winners

Terry Broughton                   55+, 3.5 gender doubles                  Silver

Janis Trantum                       55+, 3.5 gender doubles                  Silver

Ceri Wy                                  65+ 4.0 gender doubles                  Gold                          

Karen Duggan                      65+ 4.0 gender doubles                  Bronze          

Karen Duggan                      65+ 4.0 mixed doubles                    Gold

Pam Stoten                           65+ 4.0 gender doubles                  Bronze

Pam Stoten                           65+ 4.0 mixed doubles                    Gold   

David Stoten                         65+ 4.0 mixed doubles                   Gold

David Stoten                         65+ 4.0 gender doubles                  Bronze

Yvonne Stredder                  70+ 3.5 gender doubles                  Gold

Murray Allen                          70+ 3.5 gender doubles                  Bronze

Murray Allen                          70+3.5 Singles                                 Silver

 
It would be good to see more players from BaD completing next year (or the English Nationals in October).  It really is good fun and there are age categories up to 70+ and skills categories start at 3.0, so no excuse ! 
 
Terry Broughton was one of the ‘novice’ competitors from BaD and she has done a little write up of her experience.  She didn’t mention she got  a silver medal in the women’s doubles with Janis Trantum.
 

Experience of an English Open “virgin”!

Wow what a weekend! Well not really a “weekend” as that was reserved for the young’uns and pickleball superstars but the Monday/Tuesday experience for us slightly more mature players certainly didn’t disappoint.
 
As a first timer I didn’t know what to expect but from the digital advertising road signs en route, to the welcome pack, precision organisation and high-tech event scheduling/recording  we really felt a part of something pretty special….oh and that was before we realised there were FREE bananas on offer .
 
The Telford venue is quite spectacular with 40 courts all separated with hoardings to avoid too much ball loss and affording most courts some good spectator space that created a great vibe. The roll-out courts did suffer from a few dodgy bounces in odd places but my biggest fear of the Franklin outside ball was fortunately put to rest as it was easier to control than expected.
 
There was as slight shortage of chairs available so my top tip would be take your own but there were plenty of food outlets, coffee and water stations. The toilets were also excellent (clean and plentiful!) and the on-site physio a great addition.
 
We chose to stay in Ironbridge, which was lovely but given that once you have a player wrist band you can have free access to the Centre during the whole tournament it is probably preferable to stay on site. This would give plenty of opportunity for practise or spectating – it was brilliant to see some of the best players in the world!
 
The whole experience was great fun and very well organised – for which a great army of volunteers deserve a huge THANK YOU. We all had a lot of laughs, it was a lovely chance to spend time with club mates, play some great matches and an opportunity to make many new pickleball friends from far and wide.

Terry xx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dutch Open Pickleball Tournament 3-5 May 2024

Twenty-plus BaD (and Hoddesdon) pickleball players attended the Dutch Open Pickleball Tournament in Haarlem. The first international Dutch tournament was held in 2014 in the middle of Amsterdam. The event is held every two years and in 2016, 2018 and 2022 it was held in Almere and Arnhem – but without a computer!  This year’s tournament was in Haarlem – with a computer!

 

Members had a great time.  Many medals were won and some players even got medals in 2 categories. The format included round robin group games (1 game till 11) followed by a knock-out competition. Many players got through the round robin stage but unfortunately lost out on a medal. Well done everyone.

Haarlem is a lovely old city, and worth a visit in its own right.  Some even explored on a bike, which is the usual mode of transport in the Netherlands. Many players extended their visit and did some sightseeing.  Haarlem is only 12 minutes by train from Amsterdam, so all very convenient, and we all hope the event will be in Haarlem again in two years’ time 

It was good to see students from Amsterdam University helping out with the organisation of the Dutch Open. They were there for the 3 days and were “in charge’”on the third day. A great idea .

 

The 4th Annual Hertfordshire Pickleball Festival 2024

This fun festival took place Saturday March 9th 2024. Registration sold out within hours with over 120 players. No medals, no pressure just fun fun fun!!

 

 

Hertfordshire Mixed Doubles Tournament – September 16

A fantastic group of pickleball players contested the 3rd Herts Open Mixed Doubles Tournament.
The organisers would like to thank Skechers and Pickleball Complete for their support, which enabled prizes to be given to all medal winners plus those who took 4th place. Congratulations to all the medalists.
 

English Open medallists

19 players from BaD and Hoddesdon attended Telford International Centre for the 4th annual English Open 2023. Bringing home an astonishing 15 medals.

The exhibition venue was turned into 40 pickleball courts for a 4-day extravaganza! The lined  courts were constructed like a jigsaw puzzle with each section of the court identified, laid like a carpet and cold welded together to form a lined pickleball court.
This year’s event attracted over 1,000 players, 100% up from last year.  It was the largest pickleball tournament to be held outside North America. A great time was had by all, renewing old acquaintances and making new friends.

Throughout the 4-day competition different age groups ranged from 19 to 70+ playing at various skill levels. This is the second year Pickleball England put on a wheelchair event and for the first time we had a well-attended junior event. There were opportunities to ‘Play with the Pros’, attend ‘Clinics with the Pros’ and then indulge in pickleball retail therapy.

Medal winners as follows: 
 
Men’s Singles 70+ 
  • Nick Pomery   Gold
  • Murray Allan    Bronze
Men’s Singles 65 
  • Nigel Darcy  – Silver
Women’s doubles: 
  • Yvonne Stredder                           70+     Gold
  • Christine Neyndorff                      70+     Silver
  • Linda Shanley                                70+     Bronze
  • Ceri Why                                        65+  3.5 Gold
  • Amanda Smart and Pippa Bull     50+  3.5 Bronze
Men’s Doubles: 
  • David Stoten                                     70+  3.5 Gold
  • David Horsey and Nick Antoniou    65+  3.0 Bronze
  • Nigel Darcy                                        60+  3.0 Gold

Mixed Doubles: 

  • Mike Varney and Yvonne Stredder    70+   Silver
  • Helen Hills:                                            3.5 50+ Gold
  • Karyn Duggan:                                      3.5 60+ Gold
  • Amanda Smart and Nick Pomery:       3.5 50+ Bronze

Winners 8

Image 3 of 11

 

Showing girls how to play the game

On Wednesday, 22nd March 2023, Wodson Park Leisure Centre, Ware, hosted an event for the Hertfordshire School Games Programme under the banner of Sport England’s “This Girl Can” campaign.

Year 7 girls from six schools across the county visited for the day to participate in a number of sports they were unlikely to have encountered before. Volunteers from Braughing and District Pickleball Club provided instruction on the basic skills of pickleball and were very pleased to see the girls engaging in the sport.

The accessibility of pickleball enabled them to have some fun in a very short space of time. It was a lovely day and it is hoped that the girls and supervisors (some of whom took part and were very enthusiastic) will spread the word.

Christmas Fun Day

Members got together on December 10 to play some fun games with refreshments after to raise funds for two charities – Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and Helping Herts. There was a lot of festive spirit and laughter

Friendly v Norfolk

A fun and frantic match against a very strong team from the east! Bad put up a good fight but we were rather humbled by some excellent play from our visitors. Final score Bad 14 Norfolk 47.

Pickleball England English Nationals

13 players went to the English Nationals in Bolton. It was great fun and we managed to come back with quite a few medals.  Whilst getting medals is not the main purpose, participating is, and it was good fun to be able to celebrate achievements from players who hadn’t played in such a tournament before. 

Results
Amanda and Pippa got gold in the 50+, skill level 3.5 
Pam got a silver medal (with Elaine) in the 50+, 4.0 skill level 
Mike and Yvonne got gold in the 65+, 3.5 skill level 
Kath and Christine got silver in the 65/70+, 3.0 skill level
Kath and Murray got silver in the 65+ , 3.0 skill level 
Steph and David R got through to the quarter finals (50+, 3.0 level) 
Nick got bronze in 60+65+ 3.5 singlesDavid R and David M got gold in 60+65+ 3.0 men’s doubles
Murray got through to 3.0 singles quarters.
David R and David Mills got gold in the 60/65+ 3.0 level

Below are some of the winners and their medals. Well done team members!

Cambridge Summer Tournament

The Cambridge Pickleball club International Summer Tournament 2022 came to Wodson park in August with over 135 players and helpers.  Again, we had combined BaD and HTC players. Each team was made up 2x males and 2x females. We had a semi-final from both clubs competing for a gold medal final place. Team ‘The Paddle Beaters’  went through – congratulations to Paul, Nigel, Claire, and Trish, who won gold medals. 

Open champions

Twelve club members descended on the English Pickleball Open,  2022, at David Lloyds in Southampton. There were 19 courts and 485 participants from 24 countries.  HTC Hoddesdon and BaD came home with 9 medal winners. Congratulations to Mike, Ceri, Yvonne, Christine, Dee, Paul, Nick, David and Pam. You are officially winners !! 

Party time

A belated but much enjoyed post-Christmas get-together for club members and their families. Delicious food, fun quiz, great company and entertainment from the Ware Ukulele band.

American tournament January 2022

Twenty-four pickleballers took over Wodson Park for another successful American tournament, followed by pizza and a quiz. The winners were, from left, Nick (men’s winner) Karen (women’s winner) Nigel and Clare (runners-up). Well done to all those who took part and especially to Pam and David for organising

Charity Fun Event December 2021

Members of the club got together on 11th December 2021 to enjoy some fun pickleball and skills games followed by a quiz and refreshments. Much fun was had by all and £360 was raised in aid of the Herts Disability Sports Foundation

Hertfordshire Mixed Doubles Tournament

We are very grateful for the many positive messages we have received regarding the tournament at Hatfield, and are glad that so many had an enjoyable day. Although the format was changed in response to lower than anticipated numbers it did seem to work and offered something a bit different.

Here is a list of the medal winners:

Division 1
Gold: Pamela Stoten & David Stoten
Silver: Wendy Marks & Andre Strachan
Bronze: Gillian Collinson & Stuart Stimson

Division 2
Gold: Emma Robins & Richard Basford
Silver: Sandra Ashcroft & Silvano Squizzato
Bronze: Yvonne Stredder & Gary Lovell

Division 3
Gold: Kathryn Burgess & Murray Allan
Silver: Carol Perry & Nigel English
Bronze: Linda Shandley & Miles Knapman

BaD/Hoddesdon inter-club friendly 

Seventeen Runnymede Royals players descended on the Wodson Park Leisure Centre in Ware on Saturday August 15 for an inter-club friendly match against a combined team from Braughing and District (BaD) and Hoddesdon Tennis Club Pickleball Club (HTC). 

The teams consisted of 4 men and 4 women in the A team and 4 men and 4 women in the B team. Sixteen rounds of timed games were played meaning 64 games in total were completed. One point was allocated to each team for a win and no points for a draw. 

The event was masterminded by David and Pam Stoten, and team captains Nicky Pomery (BaD) and Alan Speller (RRPC) were on hand to motivate and lead their respective teams. 

 When the results were counted, the scoreline of 44 to 14 with 6 draws in BaD’s favour led Steve Harris, the captain of RRPC, to say: “It has been a fantastic day, but clearly we need to go back to the drawing board.”

He added: “It was a pleasure to come to Ware and we have been treated to incredible hospitality from the team here. Huge congratulations on your win! We look forward to getting some revenge when you come to visit us in Berkshire later this year”. 

All in all, a very good time was had by everyone. 

Sue Harris 

2020 Herts Pickleball Festival

BaD organised the 2020 Herts Pickleball Festival on March 14 and faced a tricky decision whether to cancel or proceed in view of the developing coronavirus situation at the time. The event was a big success, enjoyed by all attendees and turned out to be the last big UK Pickleball event of 2020.

The American way

Club members gathered at the end of November 2019 for some friendly competition in an “American” Tournament. This consisted of 5 rounds of mixed doubles and 5 rounds of gender doubles.
The random nature of the format produced some “interesting” pairings and lots of exciting play, enjoyed by all participants. Although fun was the primary aim, trophies were presented to the players who amassed the most points across the rounds.


BaD players shine at the English Open

A team of 22 players from the club attended this fantastic event in Nottingham in 2019 – and came away with a clutch of medals, including golds!
The three-day event consisted of men’s and women’s singles, doubles and mixed doubles. 
The winners included:

Nick Pomery  Silver in the mens singles 50 to 60 age group 
Diane Derrick and Pam Stoten   Gold in the  ladies doubles, 60 to 70 age group
Pam and David Stoten  Gold in the mixed doubles, 60 to 65 age group
Christine Neyndorff and Ceri Why  Bronze in the Ladies doubles, 60 to 70 age
John and Linda Shanley  Gold in the mixed doubles, 65 to 70 age group
Christine Neyndorff and Rick Kirby  Bronze in the mixed doubles, 65 to 70 age group
Tina Hughes  Nickel medal for the highest scoring pair playing in the age group below (she played in the 19 –59 age group and is 59 !) 
Mike Varney and Liz Batty Nickel medal for the highest scoring pair playing in a lower age group. (they played in the 65 – 70 age group instead of the 70 to 75 age group) 
John Shanley  Silver in the men’s doubles in the 65 to 70 age group

CONGRATULATIONS to all those who took part

Sport England grant

We are excited that Sport England have given us a grant award to develop pickleball in Hertfordshire. We are looking forward to implementing the award and believe we are the first successful pickleball related grant award from Sport England.