Archive for "Hobbies"
Picklemania MMXXI
Posted on July 1, 2021 by Ching under Community, Events, Hobbies.
My Rotary club held our first pickleball fundraising tournament a couple of weeks ago at Terradyne Country Club and it was a huge success. We had a goal of 64 players (32 teams) and we actually had 70 players sign up.
Here are some pictures from the tournament.
We had eight courts for the tournament so we had two brackets going in the morning and also two brackets in the afternoon. In the morning, we had a competitive bracket and also an all women’s bracket.
I loved how some of the ladies wore matching outfits like Michelle Pease and Lesli Toubassi (aka Tou Pease in a Pod).
Karen Fox and Jody Vinson (aka Drop It Like It’s Hot) won the women’s bracket.
As you can tell, we love our Electrum paddles.
After a long championship battle against Kim Knotts and Chris Heck (aka FSU) that ran all the way past lunch, Lori and Dave Belew (aka Notorious D.I.N.K.) won the competitive bracket in the morning.
My friend Erica and I won our bracket in the afternoon, which felt a little silly to me. I think I won’t play in the future. Mostly I signed up because I wasn’t sure if we could get enough players.
Erica and I wore our matching BIA shoes for Steve. LOL.
Mike Ellison and Adam Korfhage (aka Mike and Adam) won the all men’s doubles bracket in the afternoon.
I am so grateful to everyone who played, volunteered, and came out to support our event. I’m look forward to making this an annual fundraising event for our club.
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ICT Classic Pickleball Tournament
Posted on June 22, 2021 by Ching under Events, Hobbies.
The ICT Pickleball Tournament is our big pickeball tournament in Wichita every year. Last year the tournament got pushed to September because of the pandemic but it was as huge success so this year they decided to have it twice, calling the June tournament the ICT Classic and the September tournament the ICT Fall-out.
Here are some fun pictures from the tournament.
Me with Tiffany and Karen
MariAnn and Jody
With Fong and Chef Jen
Brandon and Tommy
Michelle and Krista
Erica and Traci
Kimberly and Brooke
Ramon and Karen
Matt and Sammi
The tournament was a two-day event with men’s and women’s doubles on Saturday, June 12, and mixed doubles on Sunday, June 13. I really only had a mixed partner lined up because Mason asked me to play with him but it was only $5 more to play a second event so I decided to play women’s doubles on Saturday also (knowing it would be crazy with Symphony in the Flint Hills that same night). I originally asked Karen to play 3.5 19+ women’s doubles with me but then she decided she would prefer to play 4.0 50+ with Tiffany so I was left without a partner. I knew that Amy wanted to play in women’s and since I didn’t have a partner, the two of us teamed up last minute.
Amy and I have played a handful of times together but I haven’t played with her quite as much as the other ladies so I figured we would do decent but didn’t expect us to do quite as well as we did. Brian and I had plans to drive an hour and half (almost 2 hours) to Symphony in the Flint Hills that same day and so, when he asked what time I would be home, I told him I would be back by noon — which is reasonable considering we started at 8:30 AM that morning and there were only 7 teams in our bracket. Well, 2:30 PM rolled around and I was still at Riverside Tennis Center.
Amy and I somehow found ourselves in the the championship match against Krista and Michelle. We defeated them earlier in the winner bracket final but they came back with a vengeance and decisively won the best 2 out of 3 games to 11 and also the game to 15, earning the gold medal. They were fierce competitors and truly earned their win!
I didn’t really have the greatest expectations that day. I was just grateful to have a partner and be able to participate. Making the podium was just icing on the cake.
Me and my mixed partner Mason. You can tell the players that teamed up because their outfits coordinated for the most part.
I met Mason during the pickleball event of the 2019 Wichita Corporate Challenge. He was representing his employer and I was representing mine. We were competitors who were united in our common desire to beat the Koch Industries team. Little did we know that Genesis Health Clubs would bring in ringers to win the whole pickleball tournament. Fast forward to two years later when he asked me to play with him in ICT Classic. I’m not sure how many other female players he asked before he got to me but I was flattered to be invited to play.
I don’t get to play with Mason much because our schedules don’t typically align but I have always enjoyed playing with him because he gives me room to play on the court treats me like a true partner and not just a body to take up space. He allows me to play but is there to cover for me when I get myself in a bind. He is super solid and reliable and and encouraging. He did not yell at me one time for making errors, which I was grateful for.
I felt like we played pretty well together, considering we’ve only played together a few times. We didn’t stack and strategize too much but with stacking, practice, and more strategy, I think we would be a really strong contender in this division.
I was super proud of our 0-8 comeback in the first game against Deana and Michael (#TeamOklahoma). We managed to dig deep and win that game 14-12. We didn’t get as far as I hoped we would but our first loss was to the team that won bronze and our second loss was to to the team that won silver (#TeamKC — Williams/Gleason).
I was happy with how we played. It was just unfortunate that we ran into these two teams so soon in the bracket before we could build more momentum behind us. I look forward to battling against these teams again in future tournaments. We didn’t make the podium but I had a lot of fun competing with Mason.
Pickleball peeps are so much fun!
Here’s a link to the full results of the ICT Classic Pickleball Tournament. Last weekend was super hectic with two days of tournaments, Symphony in the Flint Hills, and the happy hour joint birthday celebration at the Belmont but so totally worth it. I live for crazy busy weekend. Until the next one. GNG.
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Chicken N Pickle League Recap
Posted on June 18, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies.
This has probably been the most uneventful league session I’ve ever had. Not enough people want to play singles so they stopped the singles league at Chicken N Pickle. I only had one league this session, Mixed Advanced (which is a step down from the Mixed Competitive league that I normally play in). Chris Wilson and I were playing together to practice for the Middle States Regional Championships tournament in St. Louis and he couldn’t play in the later league because he gets up super early everyday. However, it was clearly the wrong skill level for us because we never went to a third set and we gave up very few points.
Anyway, we really should have won that league but Chris was out on tournament night (vacationing in Minnesota) so I had to get a sub. The downside of getting a sub is you’re not allowed to get anyone better than your partner and, even when you try to get someone equivalent to your partner skill-wise, they’re never going to be as good because you haven’t been playing with them all session as you have your normal partner. I usually try not to drink while I’m playing in a tournament but I was drinking that night so you can tell how seriously I was taking things. LOL.
Obviously, I hoped that we would win but I didn’t really care one way or the other. I just wanted to have fun playing and Bryant was the perfect sub. He can be hard on himself sometimes but he is so fun to play with.
The one thing I learned that night is that doubles is truly a team effort and that I am not as good without Chris. Just as my some of my shots set up my mixed partner for put-aways, Chris’ shots put me in a better position to make my shots. I feel like, having played together for some time now, he knows what why weaknesses are and he does what he can to protect me from making these shots.
This past Tuesday night was the Mixed Competitive league tournament. Jen T hurt her knee so Steve asked me to fill in. I took advantage of the opportunity to wear my “Vetter Luck Next Time” headband from last year. LOL.
We ended up finishing in third place. The Conrads (Matt and his daughter Lauren) ended up second, and the Lesperances (Tiffany and Donnie) took first place. I think Steve is hands down the best male player in that league but he was a victim of the whole sub situation. It’s so hard to play with a sub on tournament night and I feel like we have absolutely zero chemistry on the pickleball court.
I have never been one to stick to one doubles partner but I’m starting to rethink my whole stance on this. There is a huge advantage to playing with the same partner on a regular basis because they know your strengths and weakness and you have plays and strategies that you can use in various situations and it is so hard to do this on the fly. And, I’m not very good at adjusting and being spontaneous. I can’t just do things without practicing it repeatedly first.
Anyway, I might take a break from league play this coming session. None of the other leagues fit my schedule and the Mixed Advanced league was not as fun for me. Mixed Competitive would work but Chris can’t do an 8:00 PM start. It’s just way too late. But it’s all good because I prefer playing in the mornings anyway so it’s not ideal to be up late when I’m trying to pay at 5 AM the next day.
That is all for now. Until next time. GNG.
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Fun Times with Pickleball Friends
Posted on June 11, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies.
A bunch of us went to lunch after pickleball play on Memorial Day. Debbie had a group playing at Riverside Tennis Center, while Kimberly, Tiffany, Karen and I played at Nahola. However, we all got together at the downtown Old Chicago after.
Some days later I snapped this pic of Dan Leddy (in red), Craig Clark (middle), and Lonnie Lollar (right) at Chicken N Pickle. These guys are so fun!
Here’s me with Michael, showing off our new Chicken N Pickle “Pride Month” shirts. I love how soft this shirt is!
Finally, here are some pictures that I took at the Port of Wichita on Saturday when a bunch of pickleball peeps got together for an “Epic” night there. Epic is the name of the cover band performing that night.
Donnie with his ladies.
With Vicky, Robert and Janelle in the background.
Robert and Bruce.
Dave and Debbie.
Credit goes to Debbie for reserving a bunch of tables for us on the dance floor.
Then this was the next day at Seneca Park. It was a crazy day. I started by playing at Edgemoor at 6 AM, then went to Seneca Park before going to Nahola for the noon open play. It’s been a while since I’ve played this much pickleball and spend so much time with my pickleball buddies in one weekend. I love it!
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Middle States Regional Championships
Posted on June 7, 2021 by Ching under Hobbies, Travel.
About thirty players from our #ICTpickleball family traveled to St. Louis last week to compete in the 2021 USA Pickleball Middle States Regional Championships. My friend Karen Fox rode with Brian and me. We left Wichita first thing in the morning and arrived in St. Louis around three in the afternoon. When we arrived, Dave New had already scoped out the location and grabbed the perfect spot for our crew.
They converted the Dwight Davis Tennis Center into 40 pickleball courts and we set up our #ICTpickleball base camp in the grassy area right by court 27. We really had the best spot there because it had great access to all of the courts and was pretty much the only grassy area available. We also grabbed one of the picnic tables tucked under the bleachers and moved it to Dave’s tent canopy, and claimed it as seating for those in our group who flew to St. Louis (instead of driving up) and couldn’t bring their lawn chairs.
Here’s a picture of the early crew. Besides claiming a spot for Dave’s canopy, we also decided to play a few practice games.
After playing some games with my #ICTpickleball fam, Brian and I went to meet “my friend I hadn’t met yet” Kat Tomlin at Des Peres Park. The park only has three pickleball courts but they are lighted and beautiful. The park itself is expansive and amazing and is a real neighborhood gem. The park is so nice that if I were looking for a house to buy in St. Louis, I would totally pick that area.
I made all sorts of new friends on this trip. This is Bob Myers, a pickleball player from Texas who also knows my friend Rodel Chiu who is another friend who falls under the “friend I haven’t met yet” category.
Here’s a picture of me and my friend Tiffany Lesperance on singles day.
These are Ramon Lozano and Kyle Starkel (aka Nick Soapdish). Ramon is from Hays but we claim him as part of our extended #ICTpickleball family.
My friend Kat and I decided to wear our navy Lucy Kovalova FILA pickleball outfits and be matchy matchy on singles day. It’s still fun to twin even though we weren’t actually playing together.
They had a roving professional photographer at the tournament who snapped this picture of me while I was playing one of my matches. I thought it was cool that you could see Kat in her matching outfit in the background.
This is the Women’s Singles 3.5 50+ podium picture with Karen taking Gold and Tiffany taking Bronze. Singles was a good day for our group, despite the afternoon portion of the tournament being pushed to the next day due to sudden torrential downpour. We took home ten medals altogether — 4 Gold medals, 3 Silver medals, and 3 Bronze medals. You can see the full results tally here.
Anyway, because of the rain, they canceled all of the matches for the rest of the day so Erica and I didn’t get our singles medals until the next day. Since the rain put a damper on things (literally, no one could play pickleball because it was pouring outside and the courts were wet), a bunch of us decided to get some BBQ instead.
Friday was Women’s Doubles day and our group did pretty decent. Karen and Jenny (Cole) took Bronze in 3.5 35+ division.
Jen Reifschneider and Jennifer Tiano (together they are known as “The Jens”) took Silver in 3.5 19+ division.
Laurie Newton and her partner Karen Fielding took Bronze in 3.5 50+ division.
While Erica and I took Bronze in the 3.0 35+ division. I thought it worked out great that all the ladies played in different divisions so we weren’t all competing for the same medals. We all had an opportunity to reach the podium in our respective groups without having to fight one of our friends for it.
I really liked their magnet board where you could tell which referee is assigned to which court and which refs are available or on break at a given moment.
Saturday was Mixed Doubles day. The roving photographer got some pictures of me and my partner Chris Wilson.
We marked our spot with a Wichita flag to make our group easy to find for #ICTpickleball players arriving later that week. I love this pic because the ladies were all sporting their Chicken N Pickle gear.
We were more spread out early in the day but then we had to move everything (and everyone) under the canopy when it started raining.
Just some of our group trying to stay dry.
Picture of me with Erica and Karen.
Friday was a cold and wet women’s doubles day.
Brian, pretty much the entire time we were there. LOL.
Saturday was mixed doubles day. Here’s a pic of Tiffany and Donnie. They earned Gold in mixed 3.5 50+ division. You can see the full results tally here.
This was such a fun trip. We get to do it all again when we go to the Great Plains Regional Championships in Colorado in a few weeks. Stay tuned for pics from that. Until then, GNG.
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