Kona Pickleball Hui welcomes all
Kona Pickleball Hui, our local pickleball club, has always promoted “aloha.” As lovers of pickleball, and with the cooperation of the Hawaii County Parks and Recreation Department, we volunteers introduced pickleball to Kona in 2010. Little did we realize the few of us playing on one temporary court would grow into the number of players we must accommodate today?
Because of pickleball’s popularity, we have many challenges and need more courts for our local members and visitors. Now each court can handle four players. So with the five courts we have today, 20 players can play at any one time requiring 15 to 20 people sitting out and rotating on and off the courts (two or four at a time). Also, we have many new beginning players that want to learn the game. To accommodate them, we found it necessary to set-up a separate “Beginners” training court. When they improve their skills and feel more capable, they integrate with the more experienced players. At the same time, we have many “advanced” players who want a “challenge” court in order to play with other “picklers” at their advanced level. This leaves three “open” courts available to all levels. This approach is common among all pickleball clubs in the USA and Canada where court space is limited.
We welcome all to learn and play pickleball on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to Noon; and, Tuesday nights from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at our current location, which is located next to Kekuaokalani Gym in Kailua-Kona.
Hopefully, when the “snowbird rush” subsides, we will get continued support from the county to pursue building more courts before next winter and accommodate everyone better.
In the meantime, our Kona Pickleball Hui is “aloha;” regretfully, we cannot control the attitude or sportsmanship of any of our members or guests.
Much Aloha. Kona Pickleball Hui.
Bob Courtney
USAPA Kona Ambassador
How do they sleep at night?
I attended the recent Veterans Affairs town hall meting at the Kona VFW, and let me tell you, I think the director Wayne Pfeffer was genuinely concerned.
However, Tom Driskill never did answer any one of the questions, unless you consider lying to the veterans an answer, and to ask him again, why can’t a veteran be allowed to see his VA approved doctor? Because he does not participate in Triwest is not the answer. If he is approved by the VA, he should be able to be seen by the veterans. Unfortunately, the service provided by the VA here in Kona continues to decline, why you ask, because the powers that be, continue to put the horse before the cart, and put their finger in the dyke while it crumbles around them.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a few issues here in Kona with a few incompetent individuals that work in the clinic. But had they been fired five years ago before it got this bad, the veterans would not be suffering this badly. So I would say to Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in regard to her article last summer about wanting the director to resign, you need to look much further down the chain, and I would start with the clinic coordinator.
Tomas DuBois
Ocean View