English OPEN newsletter 4

Are you ready to play?

The fixtures have been done and there will be 1044 competition games played over the weekend!  . That equates to an average of 6 games for each player with a guarantee of 4 games for each event you have entered.  

Players range from 2.0 to 5.0 rating and 14 years to 83 years proving that pickleball is a game for all ages and skill levels.  This is partly what attracted Trans World Sports to want to come to our tournament and see what pickleball is all about (see more information at the bottom of the page).

No more changes, please!

The last few days there have been a flurry of emails requesting changes.  Please note that the fixtures have now been made so we can’t accept any more changes.  Obviously if someone injures themselves and can’t play, we will have to deal with that but otherwise we would  like to operate on ‘lock down’ mode!

We have regrettably had to consolidate some brackets together because there were not enough players in the brackets.  We have tried to be sensible about the consolidation and if you have to play down in age or up in skill, you will still have a chance to medal if you come top in your original bracket.  

We will be sending you your own individual fixture list via email before the tournament and intend to have a printed copy in your tournament ‘goody’ bag.  

Getting to the Venue

By Car, the post code for the venue, the David Ross Sports Village (DRSV) is NG7 2RD.  We talked about parking in newsletter #2 (link at bottom of this newsletter)

Just four miles from Nottingham city centre, DRSV and the Orchard Hotel are just 10 minutes from J25 of the M1, 20 minutes from East Midlands Airport, with direct trains into central London.

The post code for the Orchard Hotel is NG7 2RJ.

BONUS!  Players staying at the Orchard Hotel can also enjoy free access to the state-of-the-art gym and 25m swimming pool at the DRSV.  Free, superfast Wi-Fi with a maximum bandwidth of 1Gb is available throughout the hotel.

By Train, it is recommended that you use the Trainline website to plan your journey: https://www.thetrainline.com

Floor Plan of the David Ross Sports Village

Ignore Level C, the top floor – all our activities will be taking place on level A, ground floor and Level B, first floor.

On Level A, check in will be in reception [8 on floor plan].

Games will be played in all 4 sports halls [10,11,12,13].  

Sports massages will be in the Physio room [6].

Food and drink will be available all day in the Club House Cafe [19]

Toilets, changing rooms and lockers are also noted on the floor plan.

On Level B, the Conference Room [24] will be the Players Lounge.  Some snacks will be available, together with phone charging station, place to eat any food you bring with you, games…….

The viewing gallery overlooking all the courts seats 190+[29 on the floor plan]

Free Clinics Thursday & Friday

On Thursday afternoon Jon Moore will be providing coaching for groups of players.  The clinics will be at 3pm and 4pm.  If there is a lot of demand we will add a final one for 5pm.

On Friday morning, we will have Seymour Rifkind (Rif), founder and President of the IPTPA and WPF and Steve Paranto providing clinics for players.  Rif and Steve are delivering the IPTPA Teach the Teacher training on the Thursday.  Jon Moore who has been providing clinics at some clubs during August will also be providing a clinic.  The Clinics will start at 11am.  There will be a focus area for each clinic and you can sign up to the focus area that you would like to work on.

Focus Area 1 – Serve, Return & 3rd Shot Drop

Focus Area 2 – Dink Strategies

Focus Area 3 – Volleys, Drop Volleys and Smashes

If there is a lot of demand, we may be able to do an additional clinic at 12 noon.

There is no booking process – first to arrive, get the places!

Announcing a yummy offer for players from Dessert Haven

20% off all desserts

Dessert Haven provides irresistible mouth watering desserts using fine quality ingredients allowing you to experience indulgent flavours. Dessert Haven is Beeston's first dessert parlour where you can eat in, take out or simply have it delivered to your door in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy quality desserts from belgian waffles, cookie doughs, crepes to sundaes, milkshakes and old school puddings. Dessert Haven has kindly offered all players a 20% discount on all desserts such as sundaes, hot waffles and premium shakes. You can have a home/David Ross Sports Village delivery service by calling 01159678282 or enjoy in the store at Beeston. Address: 123 High Road, Beeston, NG9 2LH. QUOTE discount code DH-pb 2019 to take advantage of this offer. You can find more information on its website - just click on the button below.

Calling First Aiders

If you are first aid trained, would you mind letting us know?  That way, in the event of needing some help at any stage, we know who to ask.  We do have a paramedic on site for the weekend and we are hoping that there are no emergencies.  Being prepared is important to us, so if you are first aid trained, please email us on englishopen2019@pickleballengland.org asap.

Announcing an award winning new sponsor - Nottingham Tourism Centre

City Map for every player

Nottingham Tourism Centre has kindly donated Nottingham city maps to every player which contains detailed information that a new visitor to the city might need including transport and landmarks. The Nottingham Tourism Centre also has a wealth of brochures and leaflets showing what's on and things to do in Nottingham so they are worth a visit, they can even book tickets for you to a variety of Nottinghamshire attractions. You can find more information on its website by clicking the button below.

Don't forget the special offer on the tournament paddle - £84 for a Tempest Wave - and £85 for a brand new net - from the UK Pickleball Shop

You can pre-order to make sure you are not disappointed.  The nets are the same as the ones we are using for the tournament – lighter weight than other nets but very sturdy and definitely tournament standard.  For more information, click on the button below.

Facebook

A reminder that we will be live streaming from the Championship Court (Court 10) during the tournament.  We will be streaming from the 2019 English OPEN Facebook page and sharing it to Pickleball Forum.  Hashtags for the event are #2019englishopen #pickleballengland #robinhood

Recycle your old paddle and donate to Nepal

Leo Gonzalez pickleball ambassador extraordinaire has been working with a Nepal charity for the last few years.  He will be bringing along a box where you can bring any paddles  you no longer need.  He will then take them to Nepal early next year when he visits next.

Trans World Sport

Trans World Sport will be coming along to film on Friday and Saturday.  For those of you that are not familiar with Trans World Sport, this is what Wikipedia says of them:
 
Trans World Sport (TWS), originally stylised Transworld Sport (still used in some television listings and electronic programme guides) is a sports-orientated television programme produced by IMG Media in London, England. It is shown worldwide, on a variety of syndicated television channels. It is world’s longest running weekly international television sports programme, and has been in continuous production every week since 5 May 1987; 32 years ago. Today, it is shown over fifty countries, with a household reach of nearly two-hundred million. For over 25 years, Trans World Sport has brought the top names and events, together with off-beat and esoteric stories from the world of sport.
The show was the brainchild of IMG founder, and sports marketing pioneer, Mark McCormack.  Since its very first show, Trans World Sport’s objective has remained the same; to bring its viewers the best, the most interesting, and most informative stories from the world of sport. Their mantra has always been that there is no hierarchy in sport, and the idea is that what happens in La Liga has always been as important as what happens at the Sepak Takraw World Championship. They have had features on several sports stars, including a 14-year-old Tiger Woods, a teenage Virat KohliUsain Bolt, and Roger Federer, and on a 12-year-old Venus Williams and her 11-year-old sister, Serena Williams.
Trans World Sport has covered hundreds of different sports, and filmed with a countless number of World and Olympic champions. Out of the 203 International Olympic Committee (IOC) member nations, they have been to 183 of them; including North Korea and Papua New Guinea, while in 2012, they even filmed in Somalia.

Links to earlier newsletters

For your convenience we have included links to our earlier newsletters below.