Massive medal haul for West Herts Wizards Pickleball Club at English Open

The even attracted nearly 2,000 players from 43 countries.

Based at Berkhamsted LC, the club had an incredible squad of 46 players attending the championship, aged from 21 through to 70-plus years from all over Dacorum and beyond.

Gold Medallists:

Tim Gill, Singles (Tring); Lyn Epps, Skinny Singles (Hemel); Wendy Randall + Phil Cohen, Mixed Doubles (Harpenden); Keith Pollard + Lyn Epps, Mixed Doubles (Berkhamsted/Hemel); and Roy Eastwood, Men's Challenge Award (Stanmore).

Silver Medallists:

Glenn Beadle, Singles (Hemel); Stuart Foster, Singles (Hemel); Mark Eggleton, Mixed Doubles (Tring); Mike Hickey + Keith Pollard, Men's Doubles (Berkhamsted); Sue Andrews + Lyn Epps, Ladies Doubles (Tring/Hemel); Moira Batterby, Mixed Doubles (Berkhamsted); and Tim Gill, Mixed Doubles (Tring).

Bronze Medallists:

Wendy Randall, PRO Singles (Harpenden); Andrew Tallyn, Singles (Aylesbury); Gary Elkington, Skinny Singles (Berkhamsted); Simon Beddall + Andrew Tallyn, Men's Doubles (Berkhamsted/Aylesbury); Moira Batterby + Helene Shields, Ladies Doubles (Berkhamsted); Jen Hewitt, Ladies Doubles (Chesham); and James Borrell, Men's Doubles (Rickmansworth).

Club highlights included Wendy Randall gaining a bronze in the 55+ Pro Open singles, playing against top players from the US and Europe on the show court, that was live streamed on YouTube.

Several players gained two medals including Wendy, Moira Batterby, Andrew Tallyn, Tim Gill and Keith Pollard, while Lyn Epps won three.

West Herts Wizards celebrated its second birthday in March and has grown from 12 members in 2022 to over 200 members today. WHW club coaches, Andrew Tallyn and Simon Beddall, with international coaching qualifications (IPTPA), have run coaching clinics, small groups and individual coaching over the last year which has contributed to the club's success at Telford.

The club runs six sessions per week at Berkhamsted LC, plus one at Hemel Hempstead School and some additional sessions at Batchwood, St Albans.

West Herts Wizards A team won the inaugural Herts League last year and are unbeaten so far this year.

The club has also gone into Dacorum schools this year to provide taster sessions for students, as well as running tasters for wheelchair users at Stoke Mandeville.

A junior development programme is being planned for the autumn to follow up on school visits.

Wizards are now looking forward to going to the English Nationals at Bolton in October, and adding further to their success. This has been a magical time for the club, with lots of brilliant performances on court.

*Pickleball is a mixture of tennis, table tennis and badminton. It is played with paddles and a light weight wiffle ball, on a badminton court with a net at tennis height. It is an easy game to pick up, but to play at the top level you need to understand the specific intricacies of the game and learn how to play strategically. Pickleball is a fun game, and people of all ages can play it.

If you want more information on pickleball, or West Herts Wizards Pickleball Club, email [email protected] or message them on https://www.facebook.com/WestHertsWizards/