Oswestry 7/20 Pickleball Club

14/09/2026

The weekend’s tournament fun didn’t stop at the WMPL, Sunday also saw 7/20 crew competing all over the place.

We thought we’d get the full age spectrum covered early with Paul & Aled and Jamie & Zak competing in the Telford Autumn Open in the morning. This was Zak’s first tournament and they had some tough games but still managed to get a win. Better this way round than going straight in with gold and never achieving the same success again!

You’d think the seasoned tournament players would show them how it’s done in the afternoon but no, Andy and Steve didn’t get out of their group. They did however beat Chris Carswell and stop him from doing an Ernie, and that’s really what counts. Plus Andy got an ATP 🥳

Shaun & Ryan and Richard & David did better, although they all managed to lose their semi finals meaning they met in the bronze medal match 🙄 It was a battle of experience vs youth, perfectly matching outfits vs whatever was clean, BTBs vs tweeners, West Felton vs West Felton. The stakes were high. In the end it was Shaun and Ryan who came away with the medal 🥉 but I’m sure a rematch will be on the cards.

Elsewhere (Solihull), Mark & Carla, Vlady & Andrew, Julie & Craig and Brett & Clare were playing in various categories at the Solihull Open Mixed Doubles Tournament. Highlights of the day were photographic evidence of Mark being in the kitchen, Brett & Clare getting to bronze playoffs, Carla enjoying a nice cup of tea and then… Vlady went and got bronze in the challenger division🥉 doubling her medal tally 👏🏼

We think that’s everything, it’s getting hard to keep track!

13/09/2026

Saturday 12th September has been a big date looming in the 7/20 calendar. It was the start of season 2* of the WMPL and we had two focused, determined (and slightly nervous) teams primed and raring to go.

Based on last season’s performance, The Ringers got the pleasure of going straight into division 1 whilst new team The Sandbaggers started their foray into division 6.

The prep for this has been intense: Captain Andy has been running weekly training sessions with drills, stats and partner swapping; Club Leader Adam has been designing new kit that may or may not have come to fruition in time; Shaun bought new trainers, Georgia sacrificed netball coaching and Chris got a haircut.

So how did it all pan out? Two divisions, six opposition teams, eight different partnerships, 24 games, a sausage roll, some brownies, multiple coffees…

Results wise, The Ringers managed to summon all their power and win one game. That’s 1/12 😬 But that’s ok, we’ve probably done worse in the past and it can only get better 🙏🏼 They’ll be in division 2 next month.

In case they weren’t aware of that not being a great result, The Sandbaggers hammered the point home by winning quadruple the amount of games 🥳 and remaining in division 6.

In conclusion, it was a really great day. It’s fantastic that 7/20 now has two teams entered into the league, meaning that even more people can get involved, some who have never entered tournaments before or played at that level 👊🏻

*Disclaimer: this may not be season 2 of the WMPL, it’s just the second one 7/20 have entered and for this post that’s all that matters

06/09/2026

Today was the first of the Telford Autumn Opens, starting with the mixed doubles. A few 7/20 partnerships created for the Welsh Open decided they enjoyed their time in Wrexham so much they’d brave a slightly longer car journey in the hunt for medals.

It proved a highly successful morning with Andrea and Mark getting bronze in the Intermediate group, and Clare and Clwyd winning silver in the Intermediate Plus 🥳

It was just Kat and Ryan representing 7/20 in the afternoon and they have a history of doing pretty well in Telford. This time they thought they’d collect the one colour missing from their Telford medal tally, by winning bronze in the Advanced group.

Great work everyone 🥉🥈🥉

We look forward to seeing how the men get on next Sunday (no pressure…)

30/08/2026

WELSH OPEN: DAY 5. THAT’S A WRAP.

Five days. Medals every single day.

And somehow, the final day included grudge matches, Ryan nearly taking Jess’ head off and another FIVE medals for 7/20. 🥉🥈🥈🥈🥉

🥈 Ryan & Millie: SILVER, 15+ 3.5

Both already had medals and decided one each clearly wasn’t enough. Another brilliant run to the final.

🥉 Andy & Jess: BRONZE, 15+ 3.5

Another medal for Jess after Saturday’s silver, this time alongside Andy.

She also survived Ryan nearly taking her head off as the 15+ 3.5 delivered some epic grudge matches. Friendships and family relations were temporarily suspended.

🥈 Kat & Kevin: SILVER, 35+ 3.5

Kevin stepped in at the last minute for injured Adam, became an honorary 7/20 legend and helped Kat battle through to silver.

🥈 Krem & Chris C: SILVER, 35+ 4.0

A fantastic run through a tough 4.0 category and another medal for the rapidly expanding collection.

🥉 Leah & Rob: BRONZE, 35+ 4.5

A brilliant bronze in another tough field.

At this point, the medal table is starting to look more like a 7/20 shopping list.

🏆 WELSH OPEN 2026: DONE

What a ridiculous five days.

7/20 and the wider Oswestry contingent descended on Wrexham and brought home medals every single day, across almost every age and ability category.

Golds, silvers and bronzes. First tournaments. First wins. Comebacks from 8-1 down. New partnerships. Sibling partnerships. Last-minute replacements. Grudge matches. Centre-court drama. Near-fatal overheads. And far too much pickleball.

The limited-edition Welsh Open shirts turned heads, while our increasingly ambitious livestream kept everyone back home involved.

What started as a few people playing pickleball in Oswestry has become a club capable of turning up at a major tournament in numbers, supporting each other and bringing home medals every day.

That might be the best result of the lot.

Congratulations to everyone who played, medalled, supported, streamed, shouted, coached, travelled or wore 7/20 on their back.

The medal streak and Jess’ head survived.

Now for a few days off pickleball.

Oh wait, Monday has two sessions.

Diolch, Welsh Open

30/08/2026