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Rally for Hope and 21 Years

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Ching under Confessions, Life, Pickleball.

I don’t always play in charity pickleball tournaments unless (a) I get peer pressured into doing it, or (b) I have a personal connection to the charity organization. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Hanbeen You and I played in the Rally for Hope pickleball tournament benefitting HopeNet that was held at Chicken N Pickle.

HopeNet is a faith-based nonprofit organization that provides mental health services (coaching and counseling) to anyone at any income level. While I’ve not personally used HopeNet’s services, their Director of Community Impact Jo Lynn Bright, was the therapist/counselor that helped Brian and I get through some challenges we faced over ten years ago so I feel a special connection to the organization. Besides that, I feel like there is a need for mental health services to be accessible to everyone and not just those who can afford it. We all need help at some point in our lives and we may not necessarily have the resources to get the help we need so I am extremely grateful that HopeNet exists.

On this day, our 21st wedding anniversary, I feel extremely blessed and grateful that we are where we are today. And we would not be here if not for Jo Lynn.

Anyway, on a less series note, I played in the charity tournament because I really wanted to support HopeNet but we also got free food and free shirts (pictured above). Seth Mountain and I wore ours the next day at the iPickle Nation round robin at Riverside and ended up unintentionally matching. And then, I found out later from Nathan Peters (who I recently partnered with for another tournament so more on him next time) that the first place team got $200 each in prize money so I am definitely playing in this tournament again next year. LOL.

P.S. Thank you to Hanbeen for partnering with me. No thanks to Steve Vetter and Jen Tiano for knocking us out of the bracket. (Steve and Jen T took second and Nate and Jen Reifschneider took first.)

P.P.S. Happy 21st anniversary to us. Our marriage can now legally drink. Cheers!

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Y’s Men Pickleball Tournament at Chicken N Pickle

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Ching under Events, Pickleball.

Here are a few pics from the Y’s Men pickleball tournament at Chicken N Pickle a couple of weeks ago. As charity tournaments go, this is a pretty good one because Scott Wolford organizes it and he makes it as close as possible to a real tournament format — double elimination with best 2 out of 3 games to 11 in the main bracket and then one game to 15 in the consolation bracket.

Besides the format, the competitive group (social is in the afternoon) in the morning draws some of the best players in town. So, unlike other charity tournaments where you don’t even break a sweat, you really get a good challenge when you play in this one. For instance, our first round match was against the Sagers (above). After losing that match in three games, we went into the back draw (aka opportunity bracket) and played Susie Ternes and Matt Von Feldt (below).

Chris Wilson and I hadn’t played together in some time because we’ve been playing with other partners. It was fun reuniting for this event.

We were 2-2 for the day but I felt that we played pretty well and I had a great time. I live-streamed the matched on court 3 that morning, which you can rewatch here.

Here are some timestamps:

0:35 Daniel Nguyen and Fong Witte defeated Scott Wolford and Jen Tiano (main draw)
1:05 Zach Nguyen and Ling Wei Kong defeated Daniel and Fong (main draw)
2:00 Ching and Chris Wilson defeated Daniel and Fong (backdraw)
2:35 Katie Merrill and Ramon Lozano defeated Ching and Chris (backdraw)
3:08 Dave and Lori Belew defeated Nathan Peters and Jenny Cole (winner bracket final)
3:45 Scott Wolford (filling in for Zach because he had to leave) and Ling Wei defeated Nathan and Jenny (backdraw)
4:05 Championship Match between Scott and Ling Wei vs the Belews

Scott and Ling Wei had to beat the as yet undefeated Belews twice because they were coming from the back draw. Incidentally, Scott was paired with Jen (Tiano) and they were eliminated prior but then Zach who was paired with Ling Wei had to leave early so then Scott end up filling in for their final matches. He could since his team was already knocked out.

Scott and Ling Wei won the championship match by first winning the best 2/3 match and then also the game to 15.

Congrats to the champs and thank you to everyone who played (not sure how many played in the social tournament in the afternoon but competitive had 16 teams that morning).

Thank you to Scott and the Y’s Men for putting this tournament on and giving Chris and I a reason to throw it back. Until next year!

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Big Bang at the Pickle Club

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Ching under Pickleball.

Who doesn’t love a good team tournament? We celebrated the 4th of July weekend with a BANG at the Pickle Club on July 2. Six teams participated in a team event. Here are some highlights.

Thanks to all the teams that competed. It was so much fun watching the amazing play that day!

Smart Aces (first place) – Natalie Lubbers, Mitch Spencer, Greta Siemens, Mark Nola
Karen & the Youngsters (second place) – Matthew Rochat, Huyen Nguyen, Karen Fox, Ian Carr
Just Here to Bang (third place) – Kimberly Howe, Susie Ternes, Branden Stephenson, George Osborne
All in the Family – Tanner and Britney Blaske, Stacy and Daniel Lyon
Mid Court Crisis – Fernando Martinez, Amanda Ades, Krista Crawford, Sean McKinney
Explosive Dinks – Colby Fugit, Tommy Chau, Micah Jacques, Mandy Maness

I cannot wait until we can actually host a real Minor League Pickleball event here in town. Until then, we will have to settle for these knockoff tournaments which, while they are fun, do not compare to the real deal.

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More Pickleball

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

Pictures from Senior Services of Wichita’s Picklepalooza event last month.

And then, that same week, a bunch of us went on a road trip to Emporia for the Wichita Pickleball vs. Emporia Pickleball Club challenge.

We played at Reeble Park from about 9 AM to noon and then our hosts made reservations at the Pizza Ranch for lunch. Some players didn’t stay due to other commitments but several of us went and had lunch.

And then we stopped by Bazaar Cattle Crossing on the way home which prompted me to make this fun video clip.

That was such a fun weekend. I cannot wait to do it all again!

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iPN Nation Builders are Finally Here

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Ching under Community, Pickleball.

I’ve been working to bring the iPickle Nation Nation Builders to Wichita since the beginning of the year and they’re finally here. We had the first one on June 11 and participation has steadily increased ever since. The format is super fun and guarantees a lot of games — six in the round robin pool play and additional games in the single elimination bracket. There winners and medals so it’s like playing in a mini tournament every weekend. The end of the series the top male and female players for each division get a free tournament entry into one of the super fun pickleball tournaments that iPickle Nation runs throughout the year.

June 11 Winners:

June 18 Winners:

June 25 Winners:

We have a break this weekend because of the upcoming 4th of July holiday. The next session is on July 9. It’s actually already full but the other six future sessions are still open for registration. You can sign up here. For sessions that are full, you can sign up for the waiting list here. You have to come out and play in one of these sessions. They are so fun. Hope to see you at the next one!

The revolution is here. It’s time to join the Nation!