Hi All,
If anyone is interested in the Women’s Intermediate Bracket Challenge, there are spots open at Dartmouth Pickleball and More on Tuesday, December 26, from 4-6 p.m. You can sign up on CourtReserve or contact Cathy Silva at 508-207-6433 for more info.
Happy Holidays,
Karen Butler

Good Afternoon!

I just posted a lesson on Pickleball & More for Tuesday December 19th from 3-4:30. We will be working on third shot drops vs third shot drives. If anyone is interested please sign up. The easiest way to find it is on the Calendar. The cost is $35 and limited to 4 people.

Jessica Rego

Hi gang!
Two items: pickleball beer and indoor Naughty or Nice “tournament” at Pickleball & More in Dartmouth…

1. Pickleball beer: you heard it here first! Zero Zero 2 IPA (8% ABV, yikes!) is on tap NOW at Lucky Goat Brewery, Main Street, Wareham! Congratulations to “Ranger” Pete Allard, resident pro at Maple Park Campground and RV Park, for suggesting the winning name for this first-of-its-kind pickleball-specific, post-game hydration, brewed right here on our beautiful Massachusetts south coast. Karen and I have seen several mockups of the label that will go on the 16oz 4-packs. Ranger Pete is likely to be featured! A must have with cookies under the Christmas tree for Santa!

Related… word on the street has it that Lucky Goat will follow up shortly with a less potent pickleball IPA dubbed “Dink Responsibly IPA.” 5.2%. I’ve seen the label. Diehard denizens of the Hammond School courts in Onset will recognize the venue and might even be able to pick out “The Cobra” and south coast legend, Mark “Rope-a-Dope” Robidoux in the mist…

2. Naughty or Nice… okay, who among us hasn’t been naughty this year? But… we do get to play with oodles of nice people all year long, right?. So, Pickleball & More in Dartmouth, the newest (and very nice!) indoor pickleplex on the south coast, is throwing a big Naughty or Nice “tournament” Saturday, December 16th. I hear Santa may be in the vicinity, presents awarded, but mostly, Santa’s elves will come down off the shelf to have fun, play, and try out the newest paddles from Franklin, Electrum, CRBN, Engage, etc. Spots are going fast! All levels welcome! Come tangle with Rudolph, Herbie (wants to be a dentist…), and other south coast pickleball misfits! Channel Dave “The Music Man” Rogers and wear your most flamboyant holiday attire! See you there on the 16th!
Dan

Hi gang!
Pickleball & More (718 Dartmouth Street, Dartmouth) is open for indoor pickleball action! Yesterday afternoon, Karen, Earl “The Pearl,” Sarah “Fighting” Frink and I officially baptized the courts with 3 hours of uninterrupted, Rock ‘em Sock ‘em play! Let’s get down to basics…

Pickleball & More got it right!

This pickle palace is well-designed. Plenty of room all around. Even Paul “The Lobster” Gillis will be gratified with this venue!

Big PROS:

Surface is EXCEPTIONAL! Quality, rubberized, high friction, contrast-colored court surface provides true bounce, no skidding (even on the white lines), traction, safety, easy on the knees. A “10” on the Dan Butler scale.

Viz: At first I thought the walls might suffer from dreaded “Lakeville White-out” syndrome, but I was wrong. Background walls are a subdued/pale gray… just enough to offer the contrast necessary to follow the ball up high. MUCH better than Hanover Pickles when it comes to ambient light from parking lot windows. The darker gray at Southcoast is better, but “Dartmouth Gray” isn’t bad.

Lighting: Sufficient. If you’re due for cataract surgery this year, stay outdoors or with Southcoast and Lakeville, but Pickleball & More is nearly enough. A bit more indirect, bright white lighting would be a nice enhancement, but younger players may not see any problem here.

Competition: I like how P&M has stratified skill level open play. With so many courts, they can pull it off. Right now, slots are easy to grab. That won’t last long. Grab a slot quickly when you see your desired skill level, day, times.

Atmosphere: Honest-to-goodness picklers designed this place and it shows. Ample room all around… quality equipment… nets between courts… snacks, hydration, clean ladies’ room, awesome background music! “Another One Bites the Dust!” Most importantly, the staff are picklers and they’re pumped, excited, helpful, happy, reasonable, knowledgeable, fun, etc. Kim, Denise, Chris, Suzette, Kirsten, etc., are welcoming and ready to jump in and play! Dan DeTerra was standing by to instruct.

Pro shop: What you’d expect… demo paddles. paddles to purchase, balls, attire. Disappointed there was no DETAGU attire to purchase…

Pros: Good line up of excellent instructors. If you can grab a slot with Jess “The Professor” Rego, you’ll be lucky! She’s OUTSTANDING and fun. Even though Karen claims I’m not trainable, I took several lessons from Jess this summer and LOVED it!

Capacity: With 9 courts, this pickle palace is a tourney director’s dream. Expect tournaments and league play soon.

Paparazzi: There were none in evidence today, but rumor has it that Katie Frink is playing tomorrow morning, so expect helicopters, Staties, t-shirt vendors, ESPN, crowd control…

CONS:

I could quibble over the lighting and wall color, but I won’t. The EXCEPTIONAL surface makes up for it…

Cost. Player ratios to available courts is lower than Southcoast, so expect longer wait times between games when the event is full. Otherwise, cost is comparable to Southcoast. Nobody beats the Y, of course.

That’s it for now. If you have a chance to try P&M and can offer additional insight to Buzz Bay players, post it here.

In summary, it’s “hats off” to the owner and staff at P&M. They’re adding much needed indoor capacity for our growing sport in our region, and a special thanks to Kim Mitchell for all she has done to promote the growth of our favorite pastime here along our beautiful south coast!