Texas Open English Style
What a tournament! 139 happy pickleball players had a great weekend playing competitive games and enjoying each other’s company. The atmosphere was amazing.
A few statistics for you: 139 players (67 women and 72 men), 12 events, 376 matches, 6447 points scored; 8 courts.
Player information:
REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. We are not having to merge any events which is great news.
Dates: Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th October
Registration opens at 8am; Events start at 9am. All the round robins will be played on Saturday and the knockout rounds on Sunday. This means that everyone needs to attend Saturday. Those that don’t get through to knockouts on Sunday are welcome to watch the knockout rounds. An outline schedule is below the tournament rules section. Each player should look at Pickleball England’s Tournament Software (PETS) before arriving so that they know the time of their first game. You can access PETS here.
If you are not familiar with PETS, you can access a guide here. Don’t worry that it was created for the English Nationals, it still works the same way for the Texas Open!
Venue: England Badminton Centre, Bradwell Rd, Loughton Lodge, Great Holm, Milton Keynes MK8 9LA
PLEASE NOTE – You must wear separate footwear to the venue and put on indoor non marking sports footwear outside the sports hall before entering the hall. This is to ensure that there is no marking of the badminton floor at the venue.
The venue is dedicated to maintaining a non marked surface for badminton. Therefore, the only ball approved for use by the venue is the Jugs ball.
Dress up in Texan theme for a good cause!
Since the tournament is called the Texas Open, we have got some Texas themed decoration for the hall and for medallists to pose with their medals.
Additionally, every player that makes an effort to dress up with a Texan theme when they arrive* on Saturday, will generate a £1 donation to the Royal British Legion’s 11/11 Challenge fundraiser. Karen & Chris will make this personal donation on behalf of pickleball players. They have set a target of £100 so they need at least 100 players to dress up or they will be asking for donations!
*we don’t expect you to play in fancy dress but we would like to get a picture of you dressed up!
Catering
The restaurant is open for breakfast only. You can get a cooked breakfast for £6.00 if you are not staying at the on-site hotel.
Hot drinks vend and snack food vend available throughout.
Due to staff shortages the restaurant isn’t open the rest of the day. We recommend players plan to bring a packed lunch. The venue has given permission for us to have Deliveroo deliver to the venue and eaten in the restaurant area – this is good news for those staying over.
Fundraising Raffle
We have some great raffle prizes for the event including:
- Coaching session with Thaddea Lock. This can either be for a club coaching session or a personal coaching session.
- 3 prizes of Texas Open paddles
- 2 prizes of Franklin sling bags
- Pack of 12 Franklin outdoor balls
- Texas Greatest Hits CD
- Texas Hold Em Poker Game box
- Other various donated prizes
Entry is £5 for 5 entries or £10 for 15 entries. You can enter the draw here.
Covid Mitigation Plan
•Require all players to be double vaccinated (proof via NHS app) and a negative lateral flow negative test taken that morning or night before. •The venue will temperature check everyone on arrival. •Wristband to be worn once Covid check has been completed so that you are not asked again that day
IF YOU WERE PLAYING IN BOLTON, YOU WILL ALREADY HAVE BEEN SCREENED FOR DOUBLE VACCINATION, SO YOUR REGISTRATION WILL NOT REQUIRE A FURTHER VACCINATION CHECK. YOU DO HOWEVER STILL HAVE TO SHOW PROOF OF NEGATIVE LATERAL FLOW TEST.
•Encourage wearing of masks when not playing and indoors •Hand sanitiser will be available at the venue but we encourage you to bring your own bottle for personal use •Please touch paddles at the end of the game rather than shaking hands
Tournament Rules / Player Conduct
Remember pickleball is a friendly game, even when we are playing in a tournament. Treat your opponents how you would like to be treated yourself. Smile, acknowledge names, make new friends!
•Paddle tap and thank your opponents for the game.
•Give your opponent time to get into position before you serve.
•The server should clearly announce the score before they serve.
•If the opponent claims there was a major distraction while hitting a shot (e.g. ball bouncing onto the court), don’t hesitate to replay the point.
•Please do not walk behind a court whilst a rally is in progress.
•Please only call a ball out if it clearly is, if in doubt the ball is in!
•Players are responsible for identifying foot faults. Be the kind of player that identifies their own foot faults!
•Please refrain from swearing whilst on court.
•Please do not throw your paddle.
•Treat everyone with kindness.
•We will not tolerate bullying, verbal abuse or shouting.
•In the event of any dispute within a game, the game should be halted and the Tournament Director found to address the dispute.
•The decision of the Tournament Director is final. Any player not accepting the decision will be withdrawn from the event. No discussion will be entered into following the decision.
Outline schedule for the weekend:
The majority of players will have finished playing by 8pm. There will be approximately 24 games that will finish between 8- 9pm at the latest.
The sports hall is free for recreational play until 10pm if you haven’t had enough games or want to play some pick up games with people you didn’t get to play with!
NB The schedule may change – please refer to your personal fixture schedule and check scrolling screen on day of play.
Do you have any injuries that you could do with a sports therapist for?
We are happy to confirm that Jo White, a Sports Massage Therapist will be at Milton Keynes for the weekend.
She will be offering 10 minutes massage for £ 10.00 – paid directly to her either by card or cash. Taping will be available at an additional cost upon request.
Jo is fully insured and will be bringing all her own equipment.
Link to Jo’s website: www.themuscletherapist.co.uk
Mobile # 07739 894177
