Hinsdale Paddle

Chris Gambion says "The Red Zone concept is very interesting and in some ways it changes the game for the better. It does this by decreasing the number of lobs in each point, which makes defense more difficult, thus shortening the points. The shorter the points, the more appealing and fan friendly our sport becomes to the public."

Faux scientist Al Gore would have us believe that Greenland is becoming beach-front property, Florida will become part of the Atlantic Ocean, and that tennis will become a four-season sport in Chicago. Despite the source, paddlers take this threat of global warming as a deadly serious matter. It's certainly reassuring to know that the White House is all over it. (Click the link above to view today's CNN footage from Crawford, Texas).

Men of the Square Court – What do you rule?

You’re on your way back from a lengthy road trip to Onwentsia when one of the seven guys in the Suburban starts to fidget. Do you have to pull off the road?

No. You keep driving. The strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the weakest.

You just got hooked on a sideline call and there’s no doubt that all four guys know it. What do you do – ignore or hook ‘em right back?

The Paddle Man Law ideal would be to ignore the infraction. But if you just can’t, don’t hook him right back, hit him with a drive to make sure the message is louder and clearer.

Man law.

The Hinsdale Platform Tennis Association is a volunteer organization created to promote the wonderful game of paddle in Hinsdale and surrounding environs. Each year a portion of the HPTA board comes up for election by its members. This year five board members are up for election:

President: Bill O'Brien (term 2006-08)
Vice-President, Instruction: Charlie Usher (term 2006-08)
Vice-President, Membership: Nancy Ballantine (term 2006-08)
Vice-President, Treasurer: Jay Pollitt (term 2006-08)
Vice-President, Women's Programs: Margaret Hawn (term 2006-08)

In addition, the HPTA Board unanimously has voted to create a new board position -- Vice-President, Youth Programs --which will be filled by Lynn Kuessner (term 2005-07). Paul Wiggin (term 2005-07) will move into the role of Vice-President, Communications, which had been filled by Keith Medick, but who is stepping down from the board to spend more time with his family. Lynn and Paul are two of the four board members will continue to serve out their terms for another year. The other two board members are Vice-President, Events: Mary Doten (term 2005-07) and Vice-President, Men's Programs: Ed Usher (term 2005-07)

Please respond to this poll to hinsdale_paddle@yahoo.com by November 7 with one of the following responses:

1. Affirm election of Bill O'Brien, Charlie Usher, Nancy Ballantine, Jay Pollitt, and Margaret Hawn.
2. Oppose election of Bill O'Brien, Charlie Usher, Nancy Ballantine, Jay Pollitt, and Margaret Hawn.
3. Write-in vote for ______________.

The election results will be posted on http://hinsdalepaddle.blogspot.com and http://hpta.blogspot.com .

As a courtesy to all of us, Linda Copp from the Parks & Recreation Department will be at the KLM hut from 9 AM until noon on Saturday, October 21, to provide key fobs for the hut. Bring a credit card, check, or $11 in cash to get one. Your old keycard won't work after Monday. Limit is two per family. You have to be a passholder.

Dear Paddle Tennis Enthusiast:

Great news! We are replacing the old key card system with a new and improved computerized key system at the KLM Paddle Hut. This new system will allow us to have more key holders than our current system. The new system is scheduled to be installed and available for use on Monday, October 23.

New keys will be available at the Parks and Recreation Department, located on the lower level of Village Hall – 19 East Chicago Avenue. The keys will begin being available for purchase as of Thursday, October 19 between the hours of 8 AM – Noon and 1 – 5 PM. You will need to complete a brief form and pay an $11 fee for each key you request. There is a limit of two keys per household. Lost keys will be replaced at the cost of $10 per key.

The new system utilizes Key Fobs with internal computer chips that can be attached to your key ring for easy access. Simply slide the key fob across the security unit and the door will open.

Also enclosed is a new Paddle Tennis Court Reservation Special Event form. This form must be filled out and returned with the $100 deposit for any private parties to be held at the Paddle Hut.

Please call the Parks and Recreation Department if you have any questions regarding the new system at 630/789-7090.

Sincerely,
Carrie A. Haupert, CPRP
Director of Parks and Recreation

Men of the Square Court -- What do you rule?

Do real men wear goggles for paddle?
Sure, they do, but just not those huge frosty colored doohickeys that Elton John used to wear.

Your partner keeps releasing his racquet into the snowboards after he misses an easy shot, permanently bending his paddle. Do you have to lend this caveman your back-up paddle?
Definitely not, unless he's buying for everyone at Belloumini's.

Man law?
Man law.

Men of the Square Court -- What do you rule?

Is it permissable to hide your team's Miller Lite when you're hosting Indian Hill?
Guys, this is an outrage. When it comes to beer, sharing is caring.

One opponent is giving you a short popsicle serve while the other stands tall at 6'5" at the net. Is it permissible to drive right at the net man?
What are you kidding me? Of course, you hit him hard. But not so hard he can't get up.
Man law?
Man law.

The Village of Hinsdale announced Monday evening that the sculptors Christo and Jeanne-Claude have agreed to make the KLM paddle courts their next installation. The couple will wrap the four courts and light standards in a manner similar to their work on the Reichstag in 1995.





If these names sound familiar, it's likely you are recalling their installation of "The Gates" in Central Park in Manhattan in February 2005.



Upon hearing the announcement, Hinsdale paddlers were confounded. "How can a facility used by more than 700 residents suddenly be turned into an object d'arte? Where will we spend the terribly long winter months?"

Members of the Burr Ridge council were equally aghast. "Our hopes are dashed. We need a whole new way to pander to our voters on Laurie Lane. We can't possibly complain about KLM, now that the "abomination" has been turned into a great work of art? We'll sue the whole village and the sculptors. They cannot dare get away with this!"

Perhaps useful. Definitely a map that evokes Saul Steinberg.
PlatformTennisMap.pdf

To league players,

The success of our program is overwhelming. One of the measures of this success is the lack of available court times.

We received numerous complaints about a few players monopolizing the courts. If you don’t remember, it was just over 2 years ago that the reservation system limited player reservations to one per week. We prefer to avoid reinstatement of this one-reservation rule. To help in this cause, let’s all limit our reservations to one 90 minute reservation per day. Specifically, let’s have no “back to back” reservations of one court by the same people, unless you have 8 or more players. If you need to play more, take the 8:30 p.m. time, the lights don’t go out until 10:30 p.m. so you can play 2 hours with this reservation. Or on weeknights, you can usually show up early for the 7:00 p.m. reservation and get more playing time.

Our goal is to maximize the number of people who get to play platform tennis each week.

I am optimistic that we can abide by this policy without having to modify the online reservation system. A few reported examples from last week, of reservations made by league players that we should be trying to avoid:

Tuesday: 4 players reserved one court at KLM from 7:00-10:00pm
Thursday: 8 players reserved both courts at Burns from 7:00-10:00pm
Thursday: all 4 courts at KLM were reserved by the same group from 7:00–10:00pm
Sunday: Multiple reservations for 3 hours, all day long
Sunday: 3 courts reserved at KLM by one team for Sunday evening but only two were used, leaving one vacant
Sunday: Court reserved at Burns during prime time evening, no one showed up
Sunday: One court reserved at Burns and one court reserved at KLM by the same guys at the same time. Even the most avid of us players can’t play that much.

Also, if you have made a reservation and cannot use it, please delete the reservation. Except for emergencies, this should be done at least 48 hours in advance to allow others to make plans to use the court, with weekend reservations being canceled by Thursday night.

Ed Usher
HPTA Representative, Traveling Teams

According to paddle enthusiasts close to the scene (aka Bernie Hancock), Governor Mitt Romney, a long-time paddle fanatic, has agreed to lead the Hinsdale Paddle Academy in September 2007. Romney said "Since I'm not ever running again in Beantown, I'll be in between jobs next September."

Romney is pictured here with local paddler Gary Klein, explaining how he generates a wicked inverse spin against his liberal opponents.

Romney became known in national paddle circles in 2002 when he floated the idea of paddle as an olympic sport in Salt Lake City.

Romney brings many weapons to the paddle court, not the least of which is his infamous big dig out of the backhand corner. Three-time national champion Mary Doten is reportedly considering whether to work along side the controversial republican figure.