November 2, 2023 Chris_1

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Herts Open Mixed Doubles Tournament, 21 September 2024

This has been a well received event for the last three 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. This format will mean more games for all players than traditional tournaments. Everyone will have 10 games minimum (played to 11 gap of 2), 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 postcode is 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. One partner must send an application email, with Mx Doubles in the Subject, to hertspickleball@gmail.com containing ALL the following information for both players:
First Name
Last Name
Gender
Age
Skill Rating (DUPR rating if applicable)
Club(s)
Mobile Number
Email Address

Note: only one application email is required per pair but the sender should CC their partner. Once applications have been processed, but not before 15 June, payment instructions will be issued to those allocated places.

The registration fee will be £35per 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 pickleball England code of conduct and uphold pickleball England 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.

You’re never too young…..

I thought I’d share this picture of Jessica, my six-year-old granddaughter with you. She had to give a two-minute talk to her school class on any subject and she choose Pickleball after coming to watch me play in the county match.

Hopefully she has inspired some youngsters to pay Pickleball one day!!

Colin Walker

 Herts Inter Club League

Many of you will be aware the first Herts Inter Club League was held last year.  It was a trial league and some lessons have been learned but overall it was very successful. The matches are very sociable and players enjoyed competing against other clubs. 

The second Herts Inter Club League will be starting in mid March. BaD had lots of interest  from members wanting to be part of the team last year and I hope there will be lots of interest again ! 

If we get enough interest we would be able to enter 2 teams, West Herts Wizards had 2 teams in the league last year.  The teams would be distinct and once a member has played for one team they could not play for the other.  We therefore need a large pool of players to enable us to enter 2 teams (and maybe 2 captains) The number of matches you may be asked to play will be around 4 matches over the 4/5 month period. 

Please let Christine know as soon as possible if you would like to take part in the second Herts leaegue. If you were part of the team last year please also let her know if you would like to be in the team again.

Three Counties Doubles League

As some of you may be aware Trudie & Rex Ellis are organising a 3 Counties Doubles League across locations in Herts, Beds and Bucks across 2024.
 
Each league date will be restricted to 24 players entering as individuals who will be organised into 4 courts of 6 players playing with each other and against each other.
The Herts venue will be Batchwood Golf & Leisure Centre in St Albans with the following dates:
11th Feb, 14th July, 4th August, 8th Sept, and 13th Oct.
The Beds venue is in Luton (1 date) and Bucks at Wendover, Aylesbury (4 dates)
 
Cost is £20pp for each session.
 
Full details on this new League are available on the Pickleball England website at: 3 Counties Pickleball League – pickleballEngland
 

Club drill sessions announced

The recent BaD AGM agreed for the committee to investigate the possibility to have a drills session  possibly on alternative Fridays from midday until 1pm prior to the regular pickleball session.  Mike Varney has kindly agreed to lead the sessions. Dates for new sessions to be updated soon.

The drills session is for players who want to improve their game and possibly want to participate in tournaments etc.  There will not be any social games at the drills session.

We need multiples of 4 players and have provisionally booked 3 courts to accommodate 12 players for each session.  There may be less players interested, in which case we will reduce the number of courts.  However, there may be more players interested and it will be first come first served for the session.  We intend to set up a WhatsApp group so we can check/confirm who is attending at the next session and include others on the list of interested players if appropriate.  Someone from the BaD committee will be administering the session.  We will be charging £4 for the drills session on Sumup.

If you are interested in participating in the drills session please let Christine cc to Neil know at the earliest opportunity chrisneyndorff@btinternet.com  and neil.trantum@ntlwoorld.com 

Club playing guidelines

As the sessions are becoming busier, the committee would like to remind members of the guidelines and introduce them to our newer members.
 
There are a few changes so please spend some time to read them. In particular, note that the composition of play can be different during the second hour of a session. Whilst play should be inclusive with variety for the first hour of a session, in the second hour players can choose to have games wholly with players of similar abilities. 
 
Please always be considerate and respectful.
 
The guidelines include pickleball England and USAPA codes of conduct on pages 2 and 3. Not all of the points are directly applicable to our club, but the general principles are the same and are worth a read.
Above all. Enjoy. Have fun.
 

Click here for updated guidelines

New Saturday sessions

BaD will soon be starting a regular session at Wodson Park on Saturdays. Initially this will be once every four weeks 1pm to 3pm. All members (and members of HTC) are invited to attend.

There will be graded play on 3 or 4 courts, depending on numbers interested. The grading will be determined by people’s performance at these sessions (after an initial ranking) and it is hoped that players will be able to participate on a regular basis. The charge will be £5.

The other 2 or 3 courts will be used for beginners, coaching and play for members who are unable to attend week-day sessions. The exact use will depend on requests from members or prospective members. The charge will also be £5 for the two hours.

The first two sessions will be on January 13 and February 10.

Please let Pam know if you would like to attend and, if so, for graded play or otherwise.
If these sessions are popular there will need to be a team of six people to manage the sessions, two at a time in rotation. Therefore, each manager will be in attendance once every 12 weeks or so.