Helping Pickleball Players Get Accurate Ratings
Posted on July 27, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball.
As a USA Pickleball ambassador, I can rate other players based on official USA Pickleball player skill rating definitions and assessment sheets. However, because most people think they are way batter than they truly are, even though there are objective checklists and assessment sheets that I can use, I have always found this whole business awkward. People often get butt-hurt and offended if you rate them lower than what they perceive themselves to be so I avoid this whole business at all costs. Thankfully, there’s DUPR to the rescue!
With DUPR any player can get a rating and you don’t need a third party to do it for you. You simply plug in the results of your matches and voila — a few matches later — you’ve got yourself a pickleball rating. I know I’m oversimplifying it here, which is completely unfair, because DUPR’s algorithm is sophisticated and beautiful. You can follow this link to learn more about it.
Anyway, nowadays if anyone wants me to tell them their rating, I just invite them to play in one of our DUPR Match Sessions. Then the amazing DUPR algorithm assigns them a rating based on how they performed against the other players. It’s not a rating that is subjectively assigned by me based on how I feel they performed but rather it’s assigned by DUPR after the algorithm crunches its complex calculations from the inputs (reported scores).
I started hosting DUPR Match Sessions last month in an effort to get as many of our recreational players rated as possible. Here’s a video from our most recent DUPR Match Session over the weekend.
I was originally hosting these events at Riverside Tennis Center. All of the players would split the cost of the court fees. Each session was about two hours. Players would have a different partner each round and I would record the scores and input them into DUPR later.
Here are some pictures from our sessions at RTC last month.
We typically have 16-24 players who participate. At Riverside we can book 6 courts but they don’t open until 9 AM on Sundays and lately it’s been too hot. I decided to move the sessions to Wichita State University where there are 4 public courts that are rarely used in the mornings. We start at around 7 AM and go through 10 AM, right before the temperatures get too hot. The nice thing about doing these at WSU is then it’s completely free for anyone who wishes to participate.
Here are a few more pictures from another session at Riverside.
These sessions have proved to be quite popular. Players not only want to establish ratings but they want to continue to improve and increase their ratings. Currently the Wichita Pickleball club on DUPR has about 300 active members and half of them are now rated. Until next time, GNG.
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Learning to Make Soap
Posted on July 26, 2022 by Ching under Community, Projects.
These are pictures from one of my most favorite Rotary luncheons of all time. It was the day that Isaac McNary came to present to the club (for the second time). The first time he visited our club, he talked about the Outreach Program. This time he showed us how to make soap.
He made it look easy but I’m still probably not going to try it myself. Some of the ingredients are caustic and must be handled very carefully. I can picture myself totally screwing everything up and getting burned by the acid. Anyway, I will just buy soaps from him which goes to a very good cause anyway. He makes and sells soaps to raise money for Rotary International’s End Polio Now initiative.
It was a really informative meeting. Also, Isaac is always very entertaining and engaging whenever he speaks so we always love having him visit.
Until next time, GNG.
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Dinner and Dessert with the Hubs
Posted on July 22, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink.
These pictures were taken on June 13. It was Brian’s birthday and we decided to celebrate with dinner at the PourHouse and dessert at Cocoa Dolce. Both are stops on the Wichita Wicked Brew tour so it worked out perfectly. We got to celebrate and get our passports stamped as well.
We cannot go to PourHouse without getting Scotch eggs. They are a must every visit. Everything else is kind of up in the air and just depends on our mood. Except for chicken strips are kind of an easy pic specially when you can’t decide what to have for dinner.
Brian made a dramatic face after eating a pice of Scotch egg. Don’t let the face fool you. He likes this appetizer just as much I do.
How do you not love this face?
Cheers to completing another revolution around the sun!
At Cocoa Dolce, I enjoyed a tipsy gelato. You can pick any gelato with any spirit. I chose Tahitian vanilla gelato with salted caramel whiskey, which is a popular highly-recommended combination but you can do anything you want really. In the past I’ve had vanilla with Bailey’s Irish cream and that was great too.
In this pic, it looks kind of like mashed potatoes and gravy. LOL.
It was too late in the day for coffee so Brian opted for a chocolate milk and a truffle. SIDE NOTE: Cocoa Dolce gives you a free truffle on your birthday!
Thankfully, Cocoa Dolce isn’t as strict as other places and any “drinkable” menu item gets you a stamp.
One of my favorite things about the Cocoa Dolce downtown lounge is the wonderful lighting. We always choose to sit next to the window and it makes for the best selfies. I am so grateful to have this man in my life and for the wonderful milestones we get to celebrate together. Until next time, GNG.
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Team Outing at the Pennant
Posted on July 20, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink.
I’m part of a team that is spread across Kansas City, Raytown, Topeka, and Wichita. Most of the time we meet virtually via Microsoft Teams. However, we all decided to get together in Topeka last month. It was the perfect time to get together because we had so much to celebrate (birthdays and Alex’ wedding).
After meeting in the office, we went to the Pennant for lunch. Here are some photos of all the delicious food we enjoyed that day.
We also ended up bowling that day but most of us didn’t realize and didn’t wear socks that day. Thankfully, the Pennant thinks of everything and they also sell socks. They happened to have cherry print socks which I ended up getting.
Check ’em out.
Anyway, I hadn’t bowled in years and I’ve never really bowled well without my own ball and shoes. I had the worst score that day! Despite this, it was a great day overall. It’s nice to be able to meet in person and get together with your teammates from time to time. Until next time, GNG.
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Miscellaneous Food Pics
Posted on July 19, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink.
In an effort to catch up the blog, I’m just going to dump a bunch of food pics.
These were pictures of food from Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. I’m pretty sure this was to satisfy the letter F on our alphabetical dining tour. We are on G but we’ve been too busy so we have been stuck for a couple of months.
These next two pics were from my lunch with my coworker/friend Chris Townley. We went to Bite Me BBQ, which would have worked for the letter B also. If we’re keeping track, that is.
These next set food pictures are from Sabor. It was when my boss (Jeanie Trueit) took me and a couple of teammates/friends (Carmen Estrada and Alicia Grissom) out to lunch for my 20th service anniversary.
I hadn’t been to Sabor in years and I’d almost forgotten how much I love their food. It’s so good! The only thing that could have made the celebration better was if we didn’t go for lunch but for happy hour instead so we could have had some of their delicious sangria. Might have to ask Brian to take me out there some time.
Until next time, GNG.
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