Why I am returning to Rota,

Spain in May 24 with PBC UK

If you are a top player and are interested in medals it’s obvious why you would attend a tournament. But I am a very ordinary player ( All the gear but no idea) and am very unlikely to pick up a medal , so why am I returning ? This note is aimed at the 90% of PBC UK members who might be wondering whether to go or not

So I went in February 2024 with some misgiving, it’s out of my comfort zone and would my (lack of ) skill level make the week a long drawn out miserable affair ? Well I can tell you I had a great time and here is why :

1. I met a great bunch of new friends. It’s a truism in life that the older you get the harder it is to make new friends so this was a real bonus. Paula mothered me, Jane organised me and Sandy took the p**s out of me , we had a blast. (I wont mention Pete’s snoring)

2. I partnered someone  had never met which was a challenge, but Katrina was great and we played as well as we could have expected, we had the luxury of 4 days to get used to playing together

3. My game improved. We played a lot during the week , we had clinics, I played with  people who were better than me and so I never had a suboptimal session. I didn’t have a coaching session but will in May.

4. We played outdoors on real Pickleball courts (BTW the kitchen is MUCH bigger on a  real court)

5. The sun shone, the hotel was great , the deal was good , the beach was near, the group was fun.

So I am going back and would recommend it to anyone, not just the high flyers , but anyone who fancies a week of Pickleball in the sun

Howard Jones 21032024