Looking Back at 2022

The season began with a flurry of activity in February 2022 when Street Paddle launched its inaugural year as a true entity and force on the paddle scene. Daniel Wulff had been tinkering with different visions starting in 2020 with The League, then evolving to Paddle Legends in 2021. When Wulff and Andrea Carrano teamed up, this vision was put into full moon intention as Street Paddle. The two co-heads say they are extremely proud of their first year and feel like everything they set out to do has been an absolute success.  Their goals were to create The Tour, implement an official ranking system, have monthly mixers, and stage tournaments to gain traction with more people who want to play and support paddle.

Street Paddle launched their most ambitious idea “The Tour”  – the ten-month tournament that ends with a $12,250 total prize for the finalist doubles team for Open and A-1 levels. Congratulations to 1st place Open finalists: Michael “Mikey” Riordan and Daniel Wulff who won in straight sets: 6-4; 6-4. They played exceptionally well against Ernesto Russo, who battled his way to the 1st seed over the last 9 months, and Cliff Nguyen, who came in as the dark horse seed #7 but pulled into 2nd seed during the Quarter and Semi Finals. Riordan & Wulff entered the tournament with the “golden ticket” reserved for players who had won other Street Paddle Tournaments this past year. Since the bleachers are yet to be replaced after the pandemic, many people brought chairs and sat on court #8  to watch the grand finale on court 4 since Court #1 is still under fence construction. Being together as a community was almost as fun as watching the top players compete. New players, veteran players, champions inducted into The Hall of Fame, Morgan Bowman and Fernando Sartorious, and enthusiasts huddled together on benches and sat on the courts with a happy party vibe.

 

When paddle is played fast and furiously at the net, it truly showcases our sport and why it is so appealing. The downside of this speed, however, is that the points, the games, and sometimes the sets end too quickly.

Watching our gladiators, our rockstars of Paddle: Ernesto, Cliff, Wulff and Mike play, each with their unique skills and style, left us wanting more. I didn’t want it to end, not the points, nor the feel of us all together watching great paddle.

 

 

Over the past 9 months, it has been interesting to see different players rise or fall in the rankings each month and eventually land in their group of cohorts. Who can forget those exciting sets when all four players seemed perfectly matched, trying to edge out even a single game to stay on top of their group? Round 6 (Open) with Becca, Ernesto, Fernando, and Cliff comes to mind or Round 6 (A-1) with Neil, Chef Mike, Justin and Mike Krauss with a tight game differential. The Tour has greatly improved the games of so many players in A-2’s – Jorge, Strawberry, Sunny and Nancy come to mind. Beginning level: Christian, Maria, Alba and Tran – novices no longer.

Everyone’s level of play evolved this year. Did you see an incredible match? Let us know.

The Tour has become a part of our paddle lexicon. When playing doubles socially, someone will suggest we play “tour style” – meaning each person plays with each member of the group. Another phenomenon is when you see four players who belong to different cliques playing together. Our community is so small that it takes a moment to comprehend how such disparate players could be on one court and then there’s the realization – “that must be a tour match.” For most of us social players – that has been the best part – getting to play with new people who are as good or even better than us. Of course it’s a different kind of trial when playing someone who is, bluntly- not as good – and the level of play changes. What do you do in this situation? Do you play harder and win or does your game suffer?

 

Andrea & Wulff said that the biggest problem with The Tour 2022 was when a player had to default. Many people would not play a meaningful match for many months and said it was more difficult to schedule the match between 3 busy people than actually just playing the match. These kinds of problems, including the ranking points awarded to each player for each match, have already been amended and improved upon for this coming year of The Tour 2023. You can read about the changes in the Tour here. I would also add that I was confused as to why the Open Finals were a different format than previous 10 months of The Tour. The ranked finalists played the best of three sets. The challenge and fun of “The Tour” format is being able to shift gears to play with each player. To have seen that shift at the top Open level would have been a more satisfying ending to such a creative and unique idea for a tournament. 

If you missed the Final of the Open level, you can still catch the A-1’s and Beginning levels play on January 28th, 2023. See you there!

 

Those tired old fences and more politics:

I started The Paddle Times as a way to help convey issues about the courts – and at the time last February, the most pressing item on the agenda was The State of the Fences. Our community weathered the construction well when courts 4-11 closed. Many people played with new people on courts 1-3 while others took a break or tried other courts in Culver City and Fox Hills. The outcome of having to share three courts was that we got to play with more people who were all different levels. This and the monthly mixers helped to make our community closer.

 

Courts 1-3 will open imminently, I’m told by Larry Nagler, who has been negotiating with Recreations & Parks along with Steve Gumplo and myself for many months now. They report that new bleachers will be installed on the boardwalk along courts 1 & 8 which will help to showcase our sport. Tourists and enthusiasts will once again be able to sit on the bleachers and watch our community play whether it’s during the week or during a tournament. Having them back will be a lift for our sport. Benches on every court will be installed. Plans to re-surface are also in the works. A huge thank you to Larry for truly spearheading our cause and helping us to make the case that these courts are historically Paddle courts and should remain this way in perpetuity. Props to Esmé Gregson, paralegal and paddle champ, who found important documents that have helped us to form our case. I also would like to thank the many people* who called in to voice opinions and concerns at the Venice Neighborhood Council meetings and Rec & Park Board meetings last year. 

For now, Pickleball use still has use of the courts Tuesdays & Thursdays from 8-12 on courts 7, 10, 11. However, there will hopefully be no more flagrant permit giving to Pickle ball groups on busy paddle hours and hopefully no more Pickleball tournaments. The first ever non-Paddle Tennis tournament was staged last July. Read about it here. We must stay vigilant about keeping people aware that these are paddle courts. Protect Paddle!

 

Our courts are a unique place because their beautiful location and has been inspiring to a lot of people not just with athletic abilities but artistic ones too. Street Paddle has done an amazing job of framing our sport with great graphic design, photography and asking artists to lend their talents to our sport. Ron Monahan @RontheKiller created three Video installations, Streetoon Paddle, and a line of clothing. Robin Antiga @bit.of.raf continues to find inspiration at the courts for his t-shirt designs. He also created the art banners that patched those pesky holes in the fences. Remember those? A huge thank you to amazing photographers who capture the spirit of our game: Saman Assefi @samanassefi, Joe Jackson @jackson_photo, Katie Monds @listenhunni Panos Lykidis @panos_lykidis , Jorge Zavala @hiphipjorge  and also the super multitasker Alba villaronga @alba.vcat for making us look better in Social media, pictures and, of course, a passionate player.

Let’s not forget @PaddleLegends, Fred Zhang, who shot many exciting matches that feature the best generation of players on the scene. His highlights will continue to draw new top level players to our sport and keep the rest of us inspired to get better.

 

Thank Leslie Martino for her drawings and art used in many blogs. The Ukraine inspired, Peace Paddle, reminds me of how lucky we are to have a sport we can play every day for free. 

Thank you to writers who contributed articles like Trash Talk by Esmé Gregson, Which Court is Best? By that guy with the flappy hat (have you guessed who this is?) and a poetic article, Paddle Origin Story, about the nature of competition by our own auteur, Louis XX @losangelesmayor. Does the way you play reveal your character? Let us know.

Kathleen Elkins and Daniel Wulff, doubles team and co-creators of the “On the Bench” series highlights some of the most loved and best players in our paddle world: Mike “Chef” Payne and Michelle Greco. I was able to help out on an article about the 16 year old champion of the 2nd Annual Street Paddle Singles tournament, Avatar. We first met him when he was 13 years old – learn about this outstanding young champion. Coming soon – Kathleen and Wulff have profiles on Ernesto Russo & Becca Weissmann.

The Mixers were a huge success last year. When so many people attended the 2nd mixer last March on a sleepy Wednesday at James Beach (RIP), I realized that Wulff and Andrea were really onto something. Players need off-court play time too. The city of Venice is a small enough where one could easily hop over to the local bar or venue and bring a few friends.

Drawing together venue owners, sponsors, players, artists, non-players, and the healthy mix of people who transit through Venice creates a vibrant scene. The after effect of these mixers helps to create a friendlier atmosphere at the courts and helps to break down barriers between skill levels. This coming year Andrea & Wulff say there may be less mixers but they will continue to be in different venues with new ways to explore the Street Paddle vision.

 

Last thoughts about 2022: 

You win some:

Seeing all the new players and younger generations who embrace paddle has been a very positive development for our sport. Our last mixer we* raised $500 for Coeur d’Alene Elementary school. Prior to the pandemic Wulff used to teach after-school paddle classes and with these kinds of relationships, we hope to engage new generations to play and draw new audiences to the courts. It’s awesome to see all the new people playing and bringing their friends for a healthy dose of competition and community. Paddle tennis has seen many peaks and valleys since 1962 and thanks to all of you, we are climbing to new heights.

You lose some too:

The Street Paddle community has also lost some notable players for now, it seems: Kent Seton and Brian Wan. Losing these top Open players deprives the rest of our community from seeing the best of the best, though you can still see them playing Paddle Tennis in Venice or Pop Tennis events. They are stellar players and well-loved people but we have to move forward with the hope that fences can be repaired in the future.

Now that I’ve come full circle with the fences, it’s time to close out 2022 and note that if you have read this far, thank you. This blog came about for fun and because this community truly inspires me. I’m addicted to paddle tennis, and like you, I can’t stop.

BRAVO Team Street Paddle and that includes everyone who has so generously given their time to the cause of our great sport. Special thanks to all our sponsors and to amazing human beings:

Aaron Bencid, Adam & Gillian Schoenfeld, Adam Pokornicky, Alba Villaronga, Alex & Edizen Stowell, Alexia Holov, Alia Na, Andrew Fair, Anita Razzano, Budge Offer, Bruno Seros Ulloa, Chris Korn, Cristina Kaiser, Fernando Sartorious, Garret DeBease, Gordon Lee, Greta Cavazzoni, Jack Geren, Jamie Reid,  José Ortega, Justin Wisniewski, Kathleen Elkins, Katrina Glusac, Keith Rojas, Kent Seton, Kimberlynne Borja, Kristin Dossetti,  Leslie Martino, Manolya Adams, Melissa Miller, Michael Payne, Moncef, Nathan Jones, Pedro Arteaga, Robin Antiga, Richard Kohan, Ron Monahan, Seth Goldstein & Kristi Coronado, Scott Freedman, Stephen Dempsey, Stuart Rush, Tamara Reed, Zeus & Mercedes Rojas, and Fernando Wulff.

And if we have missed anyone, please let me know and I will gratefully add you in. It takes a community to keep the movement going.

Happy New Year and see you on the Courts,

Christine

 

*Community activists: Adam Pokornicky, Brian Condon, Christine Lee, Daryl Lemon, Dan Factor, Daniel Wulff, Esmé Gregson, Fred Zhang, Jonathon Le, Jon Pardeon, John Kim, Katrina Glusac, Larry Nagler, Mike Cohen, Mitch Kutner, Paul Friedman, René Michelle, Russ Garber, Steven Gumplo, Tom Murphy.