Ruth Hall is off to the Pickleball World Cup this year to represent New Zealand.
It was a surprise honour for the Ashburton-based pickleballer.
When the call came from New Zealand Pickleball confirming her acceptance, Hall said she couldn’t quite believe it and double checked it was real.
‘‘I asked if they were kidding me,” she said.
‘‘No we’re not, you have been selected for the masters team, they said.’’
Hall said being chosen to represent New Zealand at age 64 was ‘‘something very special’’.
‘‘I have only been playing for four years and I never ever thought in my whole life I would represent New Zealand. I still can’t believe it’s my name on there,” she said.
The competition is in Da Nang, Vietnam and runs from August 30 to September 6.
Hall is leaving 10 days earlier to acclimatise to the weather and get some games in before the main event.
‘‘We are encouraged to play in a tournament there on the 28 and 29 of August, so we can have some really good practice games.”
Ahead of the world cup, Hall’s calendar is a mass of highlighted dates marking New Zealand and Australian tournaments and training camps.
The last training camp is mid-August before she leaves on August 20.
To keep her eye-in between tournaments, Hall has installed two outdoor pickleball courts at her home and purchased a pickleball launcher.
It is controlled by an app on her phone where she can set the height, length, frequency and speed of the ball.
“It is good for me to be able to practice shots over and over, and practice my two handed backhand.”
As fundraiser for her world cup trip, Hall plans to hold a mini tournament on her courts.
Hall, who plays in Christchurch, is known in pickleball circles for her competitive spirit.
“People know my name now, and they know that I don’t just play in the 60-plus category.”
In January last year, Hall played in the open grade with a younger partner in the New Zealand Open and narrowly missed the bronze medal.
‘‘We played against 16-year-olds and I would have been the oldest one on the court in that category.”
After the world cup is over Hall plans on taking time to look around Vietnam.
‘‘I’m going to stay on for a couple of weeks afterwards because I thought, I deserve it,” she said.
