7th Annual Pickleball Bash In Pocasset Is New Year's Day
Calling all pickleball aficionados: the annual tradition of the New Year’s Polar Bear Pickleball Bash continues this year and will take place on Monday, January 1, at 10 AM in Pocasset.
The Annual New Year’s Polar Bear Pickleball Bash had humble beginnings but, now in its seventh year, the tradition is going strong and only continues to grow. What started out as a group of pickleballers horsing around on New Year’s Day in 2018 alongside the swimmers participating in the longtime tradition of the Monument Beach Polar Plunge has become a tradition of its own that many in the Bourne community and the pickleball world get excited about.
Community members of all pickleball skill levels are welcome to join the bash, which is being held at the tennis/pickleball courts at Pocasset Park on Barlows Landing Road. Attendees are encouraged to bring nets, paddles, balls, food, snacks, dessert, hot beverages and anything else that might be needed to be comfortable spending a January morning outdoors.
Attendees are asked to make a donation to the Bourne Food Pantry, the designated beneficiary of the event. Last year’s pickleball bash raised $1,400 for the local food pantry.
Robert Zibbell, one of the pickleball bash’s founders, wrote a letter in response to a column written by Jack DeWitt about pickleball in Bourne. The two men play together often—they were partners during the very first Polar Bear Pickleball Bash in 2018—and in his letter to the editor, Mr. Zibbell said the group of pickleball players has carried on the tradition ever since.
Just before the start of the pandemic in 2020, they formed a group sporting the tongue-in-cheek name of “The Bourne Pickleball Dissociation,” which, in Mr. Zibbell’s words, refers to “when it is that cold and we are so bundled up, we are not even sure who we are.” The dissociation runs the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Pickleball Party and Play in Pocasset, which will kick off at 10 AM on Monday, January 1, at the Pocasset courts, weather and court conditions permitting.
In the event of rain or snow, the event will be rescheduled to next Sunday, January 7. Questions can be directed to Mr. Zibbell at razibbell@comcast.net or 508-395-5476.