Friday Afternoon, Nov. 21th - MTA Gym (logan)

TANTRAMAR PICKLEBALL

FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2025

SUMMARY – SEPTUAGENARIAN EDITION

How many sports are there in which a team of 70 somethings can stand toe-to-toe with a team of millennials and, hey, the outcome is in doubt? Well, not many. Which is one of the brilliant

things about our game – it is truly cross-generational!

And I think that the expression “toe-to-toe” may have been created with the invention of

pickleball in mind! Have you ever stood with your partner at the kitchen line, trying to win a

hands battle with Saeed and Richard? If so, you know exactly what toe-to-toe really means.

Good luck my friends.

We all know, however, that we don’t play to get the win necessarily. We play for the fun and

the exercise, right? RIGHT?? But, that said…

“One should never worry about being in shape. Round is a shape.”*

Pickleball is one of the very best ways to get in your 10,000 daily steps. I don’t count any more, but when I did, I could get to 10,000 in about two hours on the courts. Today, we had six courts busy with 24 eager players striving for better conditioning and better shot-making. And some of the shots I witnessed were truly incredible. From across the gym, I watched Saeed perfectly land a backhand ATP, right down the sideline. Brilliant.

I had the opportunity to play a couple of times with Kirk today. He has mastered that backhand smash that, as Larry says, is totally unpredictable. Down the near sideline? Perfect. A cross court winner? Impossible to defend. You never know quite what to expect, but he landed it a couple of times as he and I took on Pam V. and Barb F. A nice tight game right to the very end.

I’m not sure if Pam qualifies for the septuagenarian club, but I can certainly say that she plays like she has the required experience but yet with the vigour of the millennials. The best of all possible worlds.

But this whole getting in shape thing is starting to be lost on me.

“Because, after all, some body parts should be floppy.”

This, of course, is a matter of opinion, but it’s a quip to which we can resort when the holiday season is approaching and that multitude of Christmas cheer invitations starts rolling in. Wine? Treats? Gravy? Dressing? We’ll allow the floppy bits to grow and then work it all off in January.

But you’d never know there was a question about being in shape when playing with our friend Mona. She is as quick and spry as any of the youngsters, and is an absolutely delightful doubles

partner. If Freddy is our greatest gentleman, then Mona qualifies on the women’s side. I don’t think I’ve ever made a bad shot when playing with Mona, if you get my drift.

In 2024, I had the great pleasure of playing in a couple of competitive tournaments with Mona as my partner. 3.0, 70+. We didn’t do much winning, but we had a great deal of fun. And speaking of getting older, I remember remarking to Mona as we watched a couple of other games that the likelihood of success on the court seems to be directly proportionate to the number of elbow and knee braces worn by your team! Yet another advantage of finally getting past the age of eligibility for the OAS!

“If your doubles partner thinks that you’re the best person in the world, don’t seek a second

opinion.”

Now I know that none of my doubles partners think that I’m the best person in the world. I

have a little dog at home for that. But it’s important for all of us to remember to support our

doubles partner with words of encouragement at every possible opportunity. “Nice shot!”

“Good try!” “Just missed!” And to quote Pam V.: “You had a plan!” Everyone plays to feel

good. And it’s up to each of us to help each other along in this respect. Every time, we ought

to leave the gym feeling better than when we went in.

But back to fitness…

“As a group, we are dedicated to keeping physically fit and parking as close to the gymnasium as possible.”

Today, we had players from far and wide. Memramcook of course, River Hebert, Amherst, and Clarence and Joan joined us once again from Pugwash. Just wondering if the parking crisis around the University is really to be blamed on the poor little students using their cars to get to campus, or if it’s a product of the crush of people visiting the gym for our pickleball sessions?

Dunno. Something to think carefully about. It may have something to do with the law of

unintended consequences. Growing popularity of pickleball = parking crisis in Sackville. Maybe I’m on to something.

Now, you may have heard that, beginning in January, Mt. A. will start charging for parking. The administration at the University is getting some pushback on this, but right now the plan is that all parking spaces controlled by Mt. A. will cost. Just something to be aware of. Arrive early!

Avoid the crush!!

“We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.”

And that’s the key, isn’t it? Keep going, no matter what. A couple of hours jumping around on the pickleball court is worth more than can be calculated, I think. But it’s not just the exercise,

is it? It’s the camaraderie. It’s the friendly faces.

And it’s the joy of serving out the game with a couple of those pesky millennials on the other

side. 11-9 for the good guys! Hey, at this point we’ll take it.

*Thanks to my late father Joe Atkinson for the quips.

New players especially, don’t forget to pass along your name, email address and phone number

to Logan Atkinson. He is helping the Steering Committee by building a database of players in

our group. Send your info to tantramarpickleball@gmail.com and it will be forwarded on to