With 15 dedicated outdoor Pickleball courts Hervey Bay is hosting the largest King of the Court (Ladder) in Australia!
Pencil in the first Sunday of the month for hours of games ranging from beginners to medal winning open players, followed by an optional lunch and drink at the Clubhouse Hervey Bay.
In time we can expand to two sessions to accommodate more players, for now capacity is strictly limited at 60 players so register ASAP to secure your spot!
How it works is simple:
Everyone starts on courts
Games are timed to 9-11 minutes
At the end, winners move upwards and split. Losers move downwards and split
This format gives you the opportunity to play different people at a similar skill level, as you move downwards you’ll win and jump back up, as you move upwards you’ll play better players and drop down.
Hervey Bay is excited to host a leg of of the QPT. The weather in August is usually 22-25 degrees and sunny, the whales are out and it’s the perfect time to visit 🥰
Summary:
We have 21 courts: 15 dedicated outdoor Pickleball courts at the club, and PCYC next door with 6 indoor courts. We are in the middle of town so dozens of food outlets & main shopping centre within just one hundred metres
We will use the biggest pools possible, maximum game time > jamming max number of entries is a priority
Shade, seating and water will be provided. If you have comfy camp chairs you can BYO
Hervey Bay is a direct flight from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne; and a comfortable few hours drive for most of SE QLD
Brief Runsheet:
Thursday there is a group whale watching and optional K’gari (Fraser Island) tour, with morning (whales + K’Gari) + afternoon (just whales) departures
Friday singles start approx 10am. Free social play before, and approx 3-5pm as pools condense into finals and courts become available. All singles games at on club courts outdoors
Friday 6pm, group buffet dinner at the Clubhouse function room overlooking the 9th and 18th green (RSVP form)
Saturday is Gender Doubles, the biggest day
Sunday is Mixed Doubles, so can head home early when completed
Our courts are bang in the middle of town! Google “Hervey Bay Pickleball” for complete directions. Below is a little map. Most outdoor courts are individually fenced so very few balls come running through mid game and have permanent nets. The remaining courts have temporary nets, as done the PCYC.
Within 100m to 300m walk we have Red Rooster, McDonalds, KFC, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Natural Noodle, Hungry Jacks, Guzman y Gomez, Stocklands with over a hundred shops and more! It’s an amazing location. You can see the Comfort Inn just across the road a quick walk away, details are further down.
Food and Facilities
The food options are couldn’t be better! On site – We’ll have drinks, basic food items (burgers etc), and snacks available all day Coffee – A coffee van will be on site from 7am Saturday & Sunday, until sales die off midday-ish Delivery – We’ll have Domino’s delivered hourly Nearby – Per the map above there are dozens of food outlets within 100m walk of the courts, so you can pop out and grab whatever you want very easily.
We’ll have shade, seating, water, toilets and on Saturday & Sunday when PCYC is being hired, showers.
Optional group activity, please book yourself ASAP to secure a spot (this is peak season, you will not be able to book a week or two out!), and RSVP on the Facebook event so everyone can see who is going 😀
Afternoon Whale Watching
View humpback whales during peak season with a 1pm departure. Because of the island protection and calm seas this area is full of breeding whales far more than down south
Complimentary tea, coffee and light nibbles
Informative commentary, local knowledge & history
Hydrophone equipped to listen to whale song underwater
Fully licensed bar for food and beverage purchases
5pm return back to the marina
TICKET
RETAIL
SPECIALQPT
Adult
$119
$89.25
Senior/Student/Concession
$109
$81.75
Child (4-14)
$70
$52.50
Infant (0-3)
FREE
FREE
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children)
$329
$246.75
Family (2 Adults + 3 Children)
$395
$296.25
Use code PICKLE24
This leaves the harbour, sees whales, then comes back. The best option for those only interested in whale watching.
View humpback whales during peak season in the morning with a 7am departure. Because of the island protection and calm seas this area is full of breeding whales far more than down south
Be dropped off to K’gari (Fraser Island) at lunch time
Use of the island’s western beach, four lagoon-style swimming pools, and walking trails along with full access to all resort facilities.
Depart on the 2:30pm or 5:00pm barge back to River Heads where you’ll be greeted with a bus back to Great Sandy Straits Marina or your accommodation
TICKET
NORMAL
SPECIALQPT
Adult
$169
$126.75
Senior/Student/Concession
$159
$119.25
Child (4-14)
$110
$82.50
Infant (0-3)
FREE
FREE
Family (2 Adults + 2 Children)
$509
$381.75
Family (2 Adults + 3 Children)
$619
$464.25
Use code PICKLE24
Please only do the morning if you are also doing lunch at Fraser Island as capacity is limited. This tour also takes a bit longer given it goes to Fraser Island.
PCYC Hervey Bay generic social session, $8. Useful for those who want practice on the indoor courts before the tournament
Free social play for all tournament players available before singles start from 8-10am.
10am to 5pm
Singles. Approx 3-5pm as pools finish and games condense to less courts for finals, social free-play available on free courts.
Evening
Dinner function at the Clubhouse Hervey Bay private function room overlooking the 9th and 18th greens. $60 per head for all you can eat buffet, veg option available. Drinks available for purchase at the bar. Please RSVP on the website, we’ll contact 3 weeks out to confirm and take payment so we can pre-pay the venue.
Saturday
8am to 5pm
Gender Doubles all day. Expecting older age groups to be first cab off the rank getting younger as the day goes on
Sunday
8am to 3pm
Mixed doubles. Will maximise amounts of courts used, knowing a lot of people will want to finish so they can make it home for work.
Venues
Hervey Bay Pickleball Club
14 outdoor dedicated courts with 2 practice courts (not taped tennis courts 🥳)
Food, coffee, drinks and main admin desk outside. Showers and toilets will be inside the PCYC.
8 courts have permanent nets, the remaining courts are mostly PickleNet temporary nets. Balls will be Franklin X40s.
Hervey Bay PCYC
Oddly the other venue for Pickleball in Hervey Bay is the building right door!
PCYC has 2 basketball courts we’re using, one is a multi-purpose court so we’ll tape over the badminton lines, the other we’ll tape the lines.
They are using PickleNet temporary nets, and the balls will be Onix Fuse Indoor Balls.
Being indoors it’s out of the elements. The toilets and showers are inside the PCYC. We will have another desk so you can check in, drop scorecards, and purchase some drinks inside.
Pools and semi finals will be played indoors. For gold/silver, bronze/fourth matches, the default location is inside for consistency, however if you wish to join the queue for the outside live streaming court for gold/silver, or outside for bronze/fourth, if both teams agree you are welcome to 😀 Because of the different conditions, lighting, balls some will prefer to keep the consistency. From an admin point of view it doesn’t matter, only thing is finals could be played immediately indoors, vs a queue for outdoors depending what other pools are ahead.
We’re investigating having a camera setup to stream to Facebook or Youtube so while no commentary, anyone at home can watch the 2x ‘show courts’ inside all day long.
Depending on the final number of entries, at the moment gender and mixed doubles 50s < 2.99, 60s < 2.99, 60s 3.0 – 3.5 are planned for the indoor courts. The younger kids can hike to the facilities from outside 😀 All singles matches on Friday will be outdoors.
Parking
There are two carparks you are welcome to use, the landmarks for your SatNav being the Hervey Bay PCYC or Hervey Bay Library.
We ask you please not park alongside the PCYC gravel driveway where the 4 cars are pictured as this will be used for suppliers, volunteers and walking between the two venues. Minimal traffic will be safer for everyone 😀
Events
With 37 divisions there is a spot for everyone! We have aged divisions or all ages 4.0+ skill level division.
19 years +
Juniors are eligible to enter in the 19+ or Opens (4.0+) categories. If sufficient demand we’ll create a dedicated junior division.
By staying at the Comfort Inn guests receive a 20% off discount of all meals at the Hervey Bay RSL and the Clubhouse Hervey Bay (excluding Friday pre-dinner function being a set menu function).
Our beginner skills and drills session is a great way to learn the fundamentals of Pickleball in a no pressure, fun environment!
Each player is on a court with 3 or 4 players and a helper.
We cover the fundamental skills and techniques of Pickleball:
Serving
Returning
Positioning and Footwork
Volleying
Shot selection
Basic strategy for winning
These drills involve 2 people so you can practice with a friend these exact techniques on your own time if you wish to hone them. Otherwise, you understand the fundamentals to pay attention for during a game environment. It can be hard to learn during just playing a game because there is a large focus on winning, rather than understanding how a point is constructed and what shots are good and bad.
Please submit a registration form per player. Our skills and drills sessions are only $20 for a non member ($15 for members) for a 90 minute, hands on session with an experienced player. Can free play for 30 minutes afterwards and try to put into practice!
There is a lot of text below for new players to make sure all possible questions are answered, rest assured it’s simple 🙂
For the first night if you are available please come 30 minutes early so plenty of time to setup a net, meet your team, ask any questions and warm up before games.
For usual nights please arrive 15 minutes before to setup nets if you’re on a court without a permanent net. Unlike social everyone starts together so please make sure you’re on court warming up by 6pm.
Games
The teams are ranked from 1-4.
All matches are doubles and 3 games per combination.
1 and 4 will play 1 and 4 on one court, while 2 and 3 play 2 and 3 on the other court.
1 and 2 play while 3 and 4 play, then lastly 1 and 3 play while 2 and 4 play.
You’ll play your opposite number all night who will be a similar level, with one partner swapping for a variety of different skilled games.
Please note your teams court allocation as it changes each week
Scoring
Write down the scores of each game into the corresponding sports on the scorecard. Do this each game otherwise you will forget!!
At the end of the night tally the amount of wins.
The wins each week add to your season score. Simply, the team with the most wins by season end is the winner!
Finals
For the finals it will be 1 v 2, 3 v 4. For B grade, 5 v 6 also.
Should the final week unfortunately be rained out, the ladder will remain as-is.
Reserves
If you know future dates you are away please let Matt know so reserves can be scheduled in advance.
If you can’t play this week a reserve will be organised for you as similar skill level as reserve availabilities allow.
If you have a reserve already arranged at a suitable level that is fine, just let us know in advance.
If your team is short a player those games are forfeited so will lose points plus have only half a night of games due to missing team mates, please don’t let them down by leaving a reserve request to the last minute!
Rain
If it rains the week is skipped unfortunately. No team receives any points including the bye team.
This session is played as a doubles format. Each week that you “opt in” you will play in groups based on games results ranking and will partner with each player in your group. The ‘league’ session runs through Pickleball Brackets which allows all game scores to be entered into the system and then contribute to your club ranking score. Players can move up and down groups each week depending on their game results. It runs from 6pm to approx 8 – 8:30pm.
Session details:
All players who select ‘opt in’ via pickelball brackets each week are ranked and grouped with players of a similar skill.
Pickleball Brackets will sort players into groups based on skill levels and will automatically create the partner pairings based on this ranking and create game cards.
Scores will be entered into Pickleball Brackets which will change ratings weekly
Pickleball Brackets will automatically move the bottom 2 from group above down and top 2 from group below allowing players to progress to more competitive games as their rating improves.
Benefits of this league:
You will play with and against different players each week
Expect competitive games due to players being of a similar skill level being grouped together
There is no commitment to playing every week. If you are unable to play or wish to have a week off, simply don’t ‘opt in’ via the Pickleball Brackets website
Results of games in this league do NOT affect your skill ranking in Pickleball Brackets
Session Registration:
One Off:
Become a member of Hervey Bay Pickleball Club (and by affiliation Pickleball QLD & Australia)
Create a Free Pickleball Brackets account (How to Guide)
Once you have joined the league, you can “OPT IN” to play each week. Cost is $10 per week for members ($2 for unlimited members to cover the PB fee) and registrations open 6 days before and close 24 hours (6pm Wednesday) before session. Make sure to do this each week you want to play because groups and sorted and game cards printed in advance.
If you need any assistance please message Bryant King (Facebook Messenger or 0403613926) or contact the club, or committee member.
