I've been playing in South Florida for a week now and am disgusted by how nasty people are to newcomers. I can handle myself so this isn't woe is me but my least favorite thing about the game has always been the cliques and down here it is absolutely out of control.
I have had people lie about needing a membership to public courts, I had a group of three people tell me they're "just drilling," and at the Diadem complex yesterday a group of very mediocre goons hogging two courts during open play and not even having a paddle stack.
None of this is ok. In addition to being childish and mean, it's cowardly. I'm a competitive player - why wouldn't you want to play with someone who is better? In almost any other sport it would be unthinkable to reject a challenge. So why is it so common in pickleball?
I'm proud to belong to a club at home near Boston where we embrace good players who are swinging through town and dropping in on us. We love it. We're old school about it. We play hard, try to defend our turf, and hopefully win. But we NEVER send people away. Because that's what chumps and losers do.
