community . They even designed and built a website called PickleballTherapy . com to help support their outreach initiatives by selling pickleball paddles and other pickleball-related merchandise online .
Since February 2017 , Kory has competed in more than 15 tournaments nationwide , including the USAPA National Championships in Arizona last November . There , Kory competed in both men ’ s and women ’ s doubles 4.0 divisions for ages 50 + and made it to the championship match in both divisions , winning both a gold and silver medal . “ So many wonderful people just wanted to thank me for my service and others were curious about why I wear patriotic clothing . They ’ d ask me questions like , ‘ Are you a veteran ?’ ‘ What is Pickleball Therapy ?’ ‘ How has Pickleball specifically helped you ?’ So many great questions , but the two questions most often asked were , ‘ What is your mission at Pickleball Therapy ?’ and ‘ What do you want to accomplish ?’ I was so thankful to have the opportunity
to share my story with so many amazing people about how pickleball has changed my life . It was truly a blessing and I look forward to seeing them all again .”
When asked how he was able to overcome so many things , Kory says , “ It turns out that having PTSD isn ’ t a weakness — it actually made me stronger . I ’ ve been able to accomplish my goals because of my PTSD , not in spite of it . It ’ s the difficult things in our lives , the challenges , and the hard times , that make us who we really are . Growth can ’ t occur unless you ’ re willing to step out of your comfort zone and take a chance . When you do , that ’ s when you ’ ll really find out just how strong you are . That is our mission — we simply want to help people of all ages and abilities realize how strong they are and what they can accomplish .”
For more information , visit pickleballtherapy . com . •
Drew Wathey , Director of Media Relations for the USAPA , contributed to this article .
THE 2018 USAPA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS EVENT SCHEDULE !
USAPA is listening ! In response to member feedback , the USAPA is pleased to announce a revised event structure at this year ’ s tournament . After announcing this year ’ s events , some members expressed concern regarding the 10-year age brackets offered at this year ’ s tournament . The initial decision was based on the idea that a National Tournament should have enough entries in each bracket so a player would feel he or she had truly earned a USAPA National Championships medal . We also wanted to ensure that brackets were large enough to accommodate the gold medalists from every USAPA region to accomplish the goal of celebrating every player at every level . However , we ’ ve learned we should take that goal one step further and “ Celebrate Every Player at Every Level at EVERY AGE !” With that , we will offer the following updated and revised event categories :
AGE
SKILLS Under 35 ........ 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 35-49 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 50-54 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 55-59 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 60-64 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 65-69 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 70-74 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 75-79 .............. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0 80 +................. 3.0 , 3.5 , 4.0 , 4.5 , 5.0
This year , we ’ ll allocate a pre-determined number of spots in each division so we can have ALL brackets be of meaningful size rather than allow one event to dominate . If there ’ s a particular bracket that doesn ’ t fill up , spots may be opened up in other events to allow for more teams . Additionally , in order to maintain our goal of larger brackets , divisions with fewer than eight teams may be combined with another age division at the discretion of the Tournament Director . For example , a 75 + 3.0 event that contains three teams may be combined with a 70 + 3.0 event that contains nine teams .
With this exciting change , given the number of courts and court hours available :
• Bracket sizes will be capped accordingly
• Pre-registration opportunities will be limited to one event of the same type per Gold Medal . For example , if a player wins a Gold at the Great Lakes Regional in ladies doubles , that player will receive a pre-registration opportunity for ladies doubles ( Note : it doesn ’ t have to be the same skill ).
We ’ re excited about this change and appreciate those who reached out to the USAPA and the Tournament Directors to share their feedback . At this time , we believe this change more accurately reflects the needs of the membership and the objective of the USAPA National Championships to celebrate the best of the best at every age and every level !
For more updated details , visit USAPA . org / 2018-usapa-nationalchampionships .
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