Clinic in Hawaii is quite successful

A pickleball clinic aimed at teaching community leaders and staff in Oahu

Submitted to the USAPA by Annette Cottle.

On Thursday, January 29, Oahu pickleball ambassadors Annette Cottle, Teresa and Kevin Kimball held a pickleball clinic near the beautiful sandy beaches of Ala Moana.  We were invited by Michele Nekota, the newly appointed Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation for Oahu, to introduce “the wonderful world of pickleball” to more than 100 key Parks and Recreation managers and staff.

We started off by providing a quick introduction to the basic strokes and rules of the game, then played 5 minute games that included lots of laughs and Aloha Spirit; which is a perfect match for pickleball.

The City and County of Honolulu has painted permanent pickleball lines on one court at Wilson Community Park, Beretania Community Park, Pililaau Community Park, Waipahu District Park, and Kaneohe District Park. Many of the Parks and Recreation managers talked with us about how to obtain equipment so we referred them to various suppliers as well as to USAPA.org.

We are grateful for Michele’s leadership in developing and sharing pickleball with the citizens of Oahu.  Who knows, one day Honolulu might host a National pickleball tournament near the beautiful sandy beaches of Waikiki!