Archive for "Community"
It’s a Big Dill Pickleball Tournament
Posted on April 24, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events, Pickleball.
The It’s a Big Dill Pickleball Tournament at the Wichita Country Club which benefits the Wichita Children’s Home fell on April 1 this year. This was my third year helping with the tournament and every year it’s a little bit different and every year we encounter different challenges. Last year one of our biggest challenges was having so many teams (four divisions worth) and not having enough courts. The WCC team tapes up 8 temporary courts to supplement the 3 permanent ones so we always have just 11 courts.
The first year that I helped, we only budgeted half a day and the tournament ran until a little after 1 pm. I couldn’t stay that year because I had a Saturday morning Aqua Zumba class at the time that I couldn’t get out of (or it might have been some other commitment that I had later in the day). I remember I was only there to get it kicked off and then I had to leave.
Last year we factored in lunch and allowed for play until 2 pm. Despite having a limited number of courts, everything ran smoothly and on schedule. I remember looking at my watch as we were pulling out of the parking lot to leave and it read 2:01 pm. That meant we were able to award medals and start tear down in time for everything to wrap up by 2 pm as planned.
This year they wanted me to work an exhibition match into the tournament schedule. Two of our top pros Jay Devilliers and Patrick Smith were being auctioned off at the kick off party on Friday night and the winners of the live auction would get to play with them during the lunch intermission at the tournament on Saturday. Because of the exhibition match, we added an extra hour to the schedule and planned to wrap everything up by 3 pm.
But that wasn’t even the biggest challenge I had to face. I always like to print all my round robin schedules in Excel ahead of time so I’m not having to cross-reference team numbers against team names. Well, about 15 minutes before the start of the tournament, I found that we had an extra team in the men’s doubles division. One of the sponsors didn’t sign up to play in the tournament ahead of time but showed up that morning. The sponsors donate a lot of money so we couldn’t turn them away. I basically had to scrap my pre-printed worksheet for the men’s doubles and just used a generic team round robin from printyourbrackets.com for the men’s division. At least I only had to do that for one division and mixed and women’s didn’t have to be modified.
Amazingly enough, everything once again ran super smoothly and on schedule. Bryce and Michael from the WCC were fabulous at keeping things going and helping me put matches on as soon as courts became available. We were able to finish all the round robin play by noon and start the exhibition match as the players enjoyed their lunch.
The exhibition match was a nice addition to the tournament day. Not only did it raise $10,000 for the Wichita Children’s Home (both of the winning bidders paid $5,000 each to play with Jay and Pat) but it also gave the players a nice break for lunch so that they didn’t feel like they had to rush through their food.
Here’s a link to the exhibition match video for those who want to watch it. Below are pictures of the winners of this year’s tournament.
- Mixed Doubles
- First Place – Matt Nola and Jackie Hall
- Second Place – Dave and Lori Belew
- Third Place – Tanner and Britney Blaske
- Men’s Doubles
- First Place – Mitchell Born and Klee Watchous
- Second Place – Zach Nguyen and Noi Sourinthone
- Third Place – Ron McMahon and Daniel Ritchie
- Advanced Women’s Doubles
- First Place – Karen Fox and Vickie Hancock
- Second Place – Beth Fischer and Zoe Rohr
- Third Place – Chandi Bongers and Krista Crawford
- Intermediate Women’s Doubles
- First Place – Krista Onofrio and Kristin Conrad
- Second Place – Brenda Bishop and Margaret Dechant
- Third Place – Trish Mueller and Karen Taylor
So grateful to our wonderful pickleball community and generous players for supporting the Wichita Children’s Home pickleball tournament. We had a another successful event. I’m already looking forward to next year!
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Updates are So Behind Because – Life
Posted on March 6, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events, Life.
Fifteen years ago today, we moved from the old Protection One building (now the LUX) on Main to the Ruffin Building on Douglas and Broadway. We have since moved again. Now we are at the old KGE building on East Central.
We left behind so much — my old whiteboard (which I am a little bit sad about), Zumba VHS tapes (I had donated them to our wellness center when we first moved and realized we would have our own fitness area — I didn’t want these back), and fax machines (who still uses these things, anyway) — but the memories we will forever take with us.
Besides moving offices, there was also the Leadership Wichita alumni reunion hosted by the Wichita Chamber at the IMA rooftop. I wish it hadn’t been cold that day so we could enjoy the rooftop terrace but, either way, it was nice to see some of my classmates. At least those who made it from the class of 2014.
Then there is the pickleball. Lots and lots of it.
So many DUPR sessions (because I try to squeeze them in whenever I can). We also had a Dream Team Doubles Over and Under event at Riverside, which I will write a separate post about but you can read about it some here. My friend Katie’s birthday weekend (also to be covered in a separate post). And then driving up to Kansas City to have some practice games with Parker yesterday.
I was coming up for a DUPR Waterfall event but they canceled the 4.5 Division because of lack of sign ups and they wouldn’t let Parker play down because he is too good. Anyway, I ended up going up and was able to get some good practice games in so it was a productive trip. The best part is Parker showed up with the exact same pickleball bag as me. He didn’t know I had this bag (I literally had just gotten it a few weeks ago) and he just got his two weeks ago also. We just happened to order the exact same bag. Crazy! All I can say is — great minds think alike!
If you want the exact same bag for yourself, you can order it from Just Paddles here. Then we can all be matchy matchy.
There’s so much to write about. I’m hoping to find some time this week to get caught up before life gets completely crazy again. Until then, GNG.
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Kevin Coccetella’s Birthday Dinner
Posted on February 12, 2023 by Ching under Community, Events, Food and Drink.
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A new friend (Kevin Coccetella) I met through another new friend (Tim Satterfield) invited us to join his birthday dinner at Red Rock last weekend. I met Kevin at Tim’s 40th birthday celebration at Chicken N Pickle last October, which happened to be the same day as the pickleball cookout at Sedgwick County Park. There are no lights at Sedgwick County Park so we wrapped up pretty early. Brian and I drove separately that day so I could swing by Tim’s party on the way home. |
Kevin, who is a long-time friend of Tim’s, organized the birthday celebration at Chicken N Pickle, so that is how we met. The funny thing is, I met Tim through another friend I met through pickleball. So it’s kind of an infinite cycle — pickleball is a gift that keeps on giving.
I really didn’t know who else would be coming to dinner, other than I knew Tim would be there. Normally, I would avoid going out to dinner with a bunch of strangers because, believe it or not, I am somewhat anti-social; however, (a) Kevin is a nice guy and it was a good opportunity for Brian to meet him, and (b) Brian and I hadn’t been to Red Rock in a long time so it was as good an excuse as any to go.
The food was great as always. Here are some pics…
Kevin ordered some appetizers to share and he also ordered a couple of these amazing desserts. I remember it was one of our favorites too and really the main thing we liked about Red Rock when they change up their rotisserie chicken salad. Our table ended up eating all of our dessert and the other table’s dessert too.
As it turns out, Tim wasn’t the only person I knew. Braden and Stephanie McCurdy both attended the dinner also. Brian and I met them through Coley and Gina Cole. It was great to see them as we hadn’t seen either of them in ages. Stephanie and I used to attend Gina’s Zumba classes religiously ten years ago. Wichita is such a small world!
Anyway, I’m glad that we went to the birthday dinner. Kevin is such a nice guy and worthy of celebrating. Until next time, GNG.
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The DUPR Double Dip
Posted on December 9, 2022 by Ching under Community, Food and Drink, Pickleball, Travel.
My “DUPR Double Dip” weekend over Thanksgiving break is hands down one of the highlights of my entire pickleball year. It’s the best things about going to pickleball tournaments without actually playing in one.
My weekend started in Oklahoma City for my friend Tanner Rice’s Friday night group play at Hidden Trails Country Club. I arrived early enough to get my butt kicked at ping pong, which I am decent at, and, even though Tanner told me “he wasn’t very good” at it, his concept of “not very good” is still better than me. The guy is just good at everything.
I also learned the basics of Euchre, which is a super complex card game. Tanner teamed up with Erica Dennis against Katie Merrill and me. It helped that Katie is a ace card player, who is really great at Euchre, and so I think I understand the game enough now that, whenever she and I have to play our friend Ramon Lozano and Tanner at some point (when our #TeamBonding thing ever happens — more on this later), we are going to smoke ’em.
Anyway, we ended up not reporting the results of the Friday night session because one of the players had an emergency and couldn’t make it. I still had a ton of fun, though. I met and played with new people who I’d never met or played with before and that’s kinda my jam. Oh, and I hit a sweet ATP — even without the potential payout as an incentive.
Katie rode to OKC with Erica and then spent the night with me at Avid so the two of us got to do a little “team bonding” with just the two of us. The more I get to know Katie the more I love her. She is just an all-around great human being.
The next morning, the two of us rode to Tulsa together and bonded some more. She took me to her favorite lunch spot in Brookside called Blue Moon Cafe.
It’s hip little place that serves great sandwiches, salads, and other things. I don’t know much about Tulsa but apparently Brookside is kind of the place to go dining and shopping and such.
Here are some pictures of our food…
After lunch, we went to LaFortune early to help set up for the “Paddle Off the Turkey” DUPR event. Tanner was actually working in the area and decided to swing by to help Ryan and Caroline Luelf with their event by entering scores, taking some pictures and videos, and even helping with tear down. So I didn’t get any pictures from Friday because we were all playing but, since Tanner didn’t play on Saturday, I actually have some pics and clips to share. Thank you, Tanner!
I was super impressed with Ryan and Caroline’s DUPR event. They were highly organized and I love that they took the time to group everyone that that the games would be more competitive. Here’s how my rounds went:
Round #1 —- I played with Genevieve Eskridge and Amanda and Jordan Jones (this amazing mom and daughter duo from Edmond). I only won one game this round but the scores were super close. Genevieve and Iost 12-14 and Amanda and I lost 8-11. When I played with Jordan, we won 12-10. She was super excited bec she prefers left side and I prefer right side and so we stacked on our serves. It was my first time playing with the Joneses and it was a blast!
Round #2 —- I played with Caroline, Colby Fugit, and Kali Wilson. This was my favorite round of all because I won all 3 games. And, Kali and came back from being down 2-9 to win our game against Caroline and Colby, 12-10. It was epic!
Round #3 —- I also loved this round because we got to play mixed doubles and I love mixed! Mike Ward and I were paired against Jesse Mabon and Erica Dennis. It was my first time ever playing with Mike and first time meeting and playing against Jesse. The format was best 2 of 3 games to 11, win by 2, but if one team wins in straight games then you switch partners and still play a 3rd game. We split games so ours was a legit 2 out of 3. It went 11-4, 3-11, 11-6. There was clearly a better side but Mike and I pulled it out in the end.
Round #4 —- This was my 5-player group with Caroline Luelf, Erica Dennis, Jordan Jones, and Ben Meyer. This was my worst round. I think in part because we were in hour 4 of playing and also because there was a long break between the previous round and this one. You will see in my DUPR match history that my scores were not good this round.
Anyway, I loved getting to play with different people and I loved how they set up the groups so that the matches would be more competitive. I’m so glad that I made the trip to check out both Tanner’s Friday night session and Ryan and Caroline’s DUPR event because I learned so much this weekend. I can’t wait to implement some of the things I learned at my own events so that matches will be even more fun and competitive for all the players.
On Saturday night, after playing, a bunch of us decided to check out Roosevelt’s. We wanted to have dinner there but the wait was over an hour so we stayed and took some pics while we waited for everyone to arrive but then ultimately ended up eating a nearby Mexican restaurant called Chimi’s instead.
Here are some pictures of our dinner…
You can never go wrong with Mexican food!
We took some pictures on our way back to the car after dinner.
It was so great that a couple of friends from Wichita (Colby Fugit and Ben Meyer) came to check out the DUPR event and also joined us for dinner.
I am so grateful to Katie for letting me stay with her that weekend. I not only got to bond with her but also met and bonded with her sweet dog Rosie. It was the best weekend ever and one that I won’t soon forget, specially now that I’ve written about it here. Definitely one of the highlights of the year for me. I just love spending time with my Oklahoma friends and can’t wait to visit them again. I’m already counting the days until my next OKC tournament! Until then, GNG.
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Post-Pickleball Grub at Poblano Grill
Posted on December 7, 2022 by Ching under Community, Food and Drink, Pickleball.
We crashed the Bartlesville pickleball crew group dinner while at the Smash tournament a few weeks ago. I think my “party crashing” ways are starting to rub off on my friends. LOL.
There were so many of us that we had to take up two booths. I ended up in the same booth as Kumar Krishnan, Erica Dennis, and Marva Stroman.
The other Wichita peeps went to the larger booth. Clockwise from left: Ryan Kellenbarger, Karen Fox, Deana Holman, Kali Wilson, Cyndi Conley, Jenny Corley, Cindy Egan, and Chris Wilson.
Here are some pictures of our food…
I only got food pics from our booth because everyone else was far away. Anyway, there was a bit of drama at dinner. I think there was something wrong with Karen’s food. She is the one person whose food you really do not want to mess up. Everyone else will be super chill about it but Karen will not let anything slide. True to her name, she won’t stop until the situation is resolved to her satisfaction.
There was also a bit of drama surrounding dinner itself because some felt left out. Honestly, there was no official dinner invite. We just kind of crashed the Bartlesville dinner and, luckily, they had enough room for all of us party-crashers.
I had no idea what we were doing because Molly and Corey Sager were still playing in their championship matches and so I knew the Bartlesville people were going to Poblano Grill but was holding out for what the Wichita people were doing. When my friend Katie Merrill was ready to return to the hotel, I ended up riding back with her (because I didn’t have my own vehicle that weekend and was just hitching rides with everyone). I was literally in the middle of showering when my phone rang. It was Cindy and Jenny calling me from the hotel parking lot, asking if I needed a ride to Poblano Grill. They were both starving and wanted to eat early and Cindy said she cleared it with Molly and that Molly was okay with us not waiting for them.
As I did not have a car, I made a game-time decision to just roll with it. I have never gotten ready so fast in my entire life! I’m pretty sure I didn’t even put lotion or deodorant. I just dried myself off and put clothes on. I was in such a hurry that I tried to get in the first car that I saw was running in the parking lot, startling a total stranger. LOL. Ryan and Chris both said they were coming too. Luckily, there was still room at the big booth for the two of them.
Dinner was wonderful. I had a great time catching up with Erica, Marva, and Kumar at my table and I had no idea about the whole super awkward bill issue at that happened at the big booth until later. Oh, Tanner Rice (not pictured), also came to hang out but he arrived after everyone was pretty much done. Erica and I stayed while he ate dinner. The three of us had a really nice visit.
I just love my pickleball friends, specially my Oklahoma pickleball friends. I enjoy every moment I get to spend with them and always look forward to when we can all get back together again. Until the next time, GNG.
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