The Craig McGarraugh Memorial Dinkathon
Our Pickleball family recently lost the best dinker in the club; “Dinkmaster” Craig McGarraugh. Dinking was very high on Craig’s list and we all could learn a great deal playing (and practicing) his outstanding soft game; hence we honored Craig with the recent Craig McGarraugh Memorial Dinkathon for members of the Bend Pickleball Club.
It was a huge success! We had 122 players in 61 teams competing in 4 different skill levels playing the “Dinking Game”. In addition we had over 70 spectators at the event.
The Steel Magnolias Band….a popular Steel Drum Band from Eugene provided the entertainment during the Dinkathon and Baltazar”s Restaurant of Bend catered an excellent BBQ. Bend Brewing Company “manned” the beer and wine garden.
It was a beautiful late afternoon and evening in the spectacular setting of the Pine Nursery Park, and we raised $5,050 for the Boys & Girls Club of Bend – thanks in large part to Werner and Susan Zehnder who organized and sponsored the event!
Trophies were handed out to the top 3 teams in each skill level. The Dinkathon was a huge success. Not only did we honor Craig and raise money for the B&G Club, many of the players practiced dinking and the base line dink way before the event. And even after the Dinkathon you can see players on the courts to continue to “Think Dink”. Pictures available in the Gallery. Winners in the Dinkathon follow:
2.5
Gold: Jay Fournier, Charles Van Vleet
Silver: Nancy & Greg Pierce
Bronze: Jacquie Elliott, Ted Keener
3.0
Gold: Paul & Amelia Greathouse
Silver: Pam Pulzone, Linda Gillard
Bronze: Michael & Elaine Leroy
3.5
Gold: Dan Fuller, Heather Johnston
Silver: Scott McIntosh, Lisa Reckling
Bronze: Izzy McGarraugh, Tangi Garcia
4.0 Plus
Gold – Professional Level: Tony Tollenaar, Steve Paranto
Gold – 4.0 Plus: Susie Dougan, Boomer Lambert
Silver: Anne Reynolds, Ron Greene
Bronze: Peggy Conrad, John Friesner
General Meeting and Election Results
The General Meeting on July 23 at the Senior Center. Thanks to all of the members who were able to attend and participate. 3 new board members were elected and outgoing board members were thanked for their years of service to the club. Elected to two-year terms are:
Cheryl Dix, Secretary-Treasurer
Brian Firebaugh, Membership Czar
Terry Brown, Operations Director
Congratulations to the new board members! We want to thank outgoing board members Jamie Filipeli, Tom Sifferman, and Les Scott for all of the work they have accomplished over their terms! We also want to thank the incoming board members for stepping up and giving of their time and talents to help make Bend Pickleball Club as great as it is!
Tournament news
The USAPA Pacific NW Regional Big Country RV Bend Pickleball Tournament is a little over 2 weeks away. It will be a very busy 3 days and once again it will take lots of volunteers to pull this off! If you can spare any time on August 14, 15 & 16, we can use you! Check the Sign Up Genius page, Tournament Volunteer tab to sign up!
The English’s Thank You Party!
Linda and Kevin English have graciously volunteered to host a Thank You Party for all of you who have given of your time and energy to make the club a success. The event will be held on the evening of September 25th so please Save the Date. More information to follow…
Paranto/Tollenaar Clinics
About 90 members attended three clinics put on by Tony Tollenaar and Steve Paranto at Pine Nursery Park on July 22 and 23. The clinics were very well received by attendees who had a great learning experience from two pickleball greats!
Ratings
Gail Miller reports that volunteer raters have rated 82 club members in rating sessions since the start of the program. Ratings sessions are scheduled on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Sign Ups are available on the Sign Up Genius pages. Sign Up under the tab for your current rating.
Drills, Training, Simon
Court reservations are available several times a week so members can practice their skills in groups or with Simon, the pickleball ball machine. Drills & Training sessions are not staffed by a “trainer” and members utilizing these time slots should have a plan of their own on what drills they want to work on as well as a person or persons to participate in the exercises with them. (If you need some ideas for drills,www.pickleball.biz has as section with video instruction on a variety of things that will polish your skills.)
Welcome to our New Members:
Alan Bot, Cecilia Bryant, Barbara Clark, Joe Clark, Patrick Crabtree, Michael Fassette, Darlene Fassette, Sandy Federspiel, Tangi Garcia, Ellen Gibson, Juli Goff, Sherry Gusse, Jeff Heath, Ben Henson, Elena Horton, Barbara Hudin, Cheryl Johnston, David Johnston, Robert Jones, Susi Jones, Bruce Kaplan, Laurie Kaplan, Brenda Kelley, David Kelley, Brendan Layden, Sheila Lee, John Mounts, Scott Moyer, Steve Paranto, Craig Poole, John Schleicher, Demy Schleicher, Georgie Scott, Rodney Setnes, Diane Shanklin, Paula Steger, Jerry Steger, Gavin Sublett, Tony Tollenaar, Kim Tollenaar, Linda Warnholtz, Eric Womack, and Beth Workman. Thanks for joining and we look forward to seeing you on the courts!!
148 Shopping Days til Christmas!!
