The Kitchen Report: February 23rd

Hello Pickleball Family and welcome to this week’s Kitchen Report — where the dinks are soft, the competition is fierce, and apparently Mother Nature thinks we’re training for the Desert Olympics.

First off… WOW.

This past weekend’s Shootout was fantastic. Great play, great energy, and only a moderate number of “Was that ball in?!” debates. You’ll hear more about all the action in the full Kitchen Report below — including heroic gets, questionable line calls (kidding… mostly), and some impressive hustle from players who later admitted they hadn’t stretched since 1987.

Now… drumroll please… The show must go on!

We are back at it again this weekend

• Saturday @ 10:00 AM — Women’s Shootout

• Sunday @ 10:00 AM — Men’s Shootout

And yes… the time is staying at 10:00 AM.

We are not changing it. We are standing firm. We are holding the line like a well-placed third-shot drop.

Why? Because we’ve got to think about all members of our club and keep things fair. Also, if we start changing times, I’ll need a spreadsheet, three committees, and possibly a therapist. We’ll have plenty of drinks and snacks both days (all members are welcome)— because nothing says peak athletic performance like pickleball followed by pretzels and laughter.

Important survival tips for desert play:

• Eat something before you come (coffee is not a food group… I checked).

• Hydrate. Then hydrate again. Then maybe one more time.

• Bring a cooling towel if you have one.

• Sunscreen is your friend. Looking like a lobster is not a badge of honor.

We want everyone playing smart so you can still bend your knees on Monday. Alright, now let’s get into the nuts and bolts in the full report below.

If I forgot anything important, I’ll send out one of those famous “Oh! One more thing…” emails later in the week.

Until then…