English OPEN Newsletter #3
10 days to go before the English OPEN events start with Singles on Friday 23rd August!
When we embarked on this adventure, Sam and I thought that we could organise the tournament on our own. 10 months on and we have been blessed to attract the help of many people with many more signed up to help over the weekend. Thank you to all those helpers – we sincerely appreciate the time, effort and support.
We took delivery of the medals this week – we think they are gorgeous. When we ordered them registration hadn’t closed and we had to decide on the number of medals to order. We were then surprised by the last minute surge of registrations that would mean we could have more events but number of medals was now a constraint to work around. So if you are part of an event that has merged brackets but you think there were enough players in your brackets to form an event, it is likely the medal constraint responsible.
Dietary Requirements
In the last newsletter we shared the menu for the tournament dinner. We should have also asked for players to let us know if you have any dietary requirements for the tournament dinner. Please email us on englishopen2019@pickleballengland.org with any allergies/dietary requirements.
The Clubhouse cafe would also like to know high level numbers of vegan and gluten free players so that they can ensure they have sufficient supplies for the weekend. Can we ask you to email englishopen2019@pickleballengland.org if you think you might want to purchase snack/meal options from the conveniently located cafe at then David Ross Sports Village.
It would be helpful to receive this information by the end of the week. Thanking you in advance.
Event Brackets
Friday 23rd August
MENS SINGLES
– 2.5/3.0 19+
– 2.5/3.0 50+
– 2.5/3.0 60+
– 3.5 19+
– 3.5 50+
– 4.0+ 19+
– 4.0+ 50+
WOMENS SINGLES
– 2.0 – 3.0 60+
– 2.5 – 3.0 19+
– 3.5 – 4.0 50+
– 4.5 19+
Saturday 24th August
MENS DOUBLES
– 2.5/3.0 19+
– 3.0 60+
– 3.5 19+
– 3.5 50+
– 3.5 60+
– 4.0 19+
– 4.0+ 50+
– 4.5+
WOMENS DOUBLES
– 2.5/3.0 19+
– 2.5/3.0 60+
– 3.5 19+
– 3.5 60+
– 4.0+ 50+
– 4.0/4.5 19+
Sunday 25th August
MIXED DOUBLES
– 2.5/3.0 19+
– 2.5/3.0 50+
– 3.0 60+
– 2.5/3.0 65+
– 3.5 19+
– 3.5 50+
– 3.5 60+
– 3.5 65+
– 4.0 19+
– 4.0 50+
– 4.5 60+
– 4.5+
MEN’S DOUBLES
For men without partners
– 2.5/3.0
– 3.5/4.0/5.0
Competition Format
Pre-tournament practice
Bonnie & Ky Coffey from the USA are already in the Nottingham area and are looking for some pre-tournament practice at the Bingham Leisure Centre, The Banks, Bingham, Nottingham NG13 8BL. If you are looking for competitive play email them on rtww2k@gmail.com to arrange a session between now and the 22nd August.
On the 22nd August from 2-7pm we have 10 courts book for pre-tournament practice play at the David Ross Sports Village. Just turn up!
FILM MY MATCH Championship Court
We are creating a Championship Court on Court 10 which will be sponsored by our filming partner, FilmMyMatch, who will live stream all of the matches played on that court throughout the event. Established in 2012, FilmMyMatch uses the latest technology to capture the excitement and passion of live sporting events and showcase the talent that exists from grassroots to elite level. They work with a wide range of sports and organisations including governing bodies (e.g. English FA and Scottish FA) and independent schools (e.g. Manchester Grammar, Cheltenham College) as well as over 2000 grassroots sports teams across the UK in the last 5 years. FilmMyMatch Director, Dave Roe, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Pickleball England to showcase the sport to a wider audience in the UK and beyond. Although the sport is in its infancy in this country, it has a loyal and growing base of participation and we are excited to help fulfil its huge potential over the coming years.”
Announcing a yummy new sponsor - PhD
PhD have kindly donated a Smart Jack protein & oat flapjack – triple chocolate flavour – for every player. In addition to the Smart Jack range, PhD also have a Smart Plant range. You can find the full range at Holland & Barrett stores throughout the UK.
Accommodation
Hopefully everyone has got their accommodation sorted already but if you haven’t, Bonnie & Ky Coffey have a couple of spare rooms available at the airbnb they are renting, if someone wants to split the cost with them. There is a double room and a single room available. If you are interested email them on rtww2k@gmail.com.
Silent Raffle in aid of pickleballEngland
We will be selling tickets for a Silent Raffle over the weekend. Prizes include pickleball nets, paddles, bags and lots of other swag. Tickets will be £1 each or 15 for £10. You put your name and contact # on the ticket and the ticket goes into the raffle. We then find you if you won a prize when we draw the raffle. If you have already left the building, we will get in touch to arrange to get your prize to you. Definitely worth a little flutter for the chance of winning a pickleball net!
PickleballEngland is a not for profit association created to grow pickleball in England. We don’t charge a membership fee but we do undertake activities, such as the Singles League and tournaments to raise funds that will be used to help develop pickleball across the country.
Fun fact for you, of the 306 players taking part in the tournament, 178 of them are members of pickleballEngland. If you would like to learn more about pickleballEngland, everyone is invited to our AGM on Friday 23rd August at 6pm in the Orchard Hotel.
If you would like to register for pickleballEngland, you can do that by visiting the Players Lounge, where you can access our website and registration forms.
Any questions?
There will be one more newsletter before the tournament. If you have any questions you would like to see answered, please email us on englishopen2019@pickleballengland.org
Thank you to our sponsors:
