01/09/2026
What a weekend that was!
I just want to say this after everything that happened this weekend… I appreciate you, OPK family. Really.
We all traveled from Kabankalan to Bacolod just to join and support this tournament. Some brought their own cars, some hitched a ride, some rented a car, some took public transpo. Some stayed in hotels, Airbnb, pension houses, and yes, may ara pa gid nagsiksik sa boarding house sang friends 😂 Basta makakadto lang, makahampang kag makasuporta.
And all of that takes effort and money. Some were blessed enough to have sponsors, but most saved from their salaries, and some even from their school allowances. Registration, gas, fare, food, accommodation…indi man na barato. So please know that we see your effort and we appreciate it.
Then there’s waking up early para indi ma-default. Some had breakfast, some wala, and somehow there’s always that generous person in our community nga may dala pagkaon or will make sure somebody gets to eat. Amo na g**o ang nami gid sa OPK. We look after each other.💕
It wasn’t a perfect weekend though🥺
There were things about the mechanics that we honestly weren’t happy about. There were moments when we felt that eligibility was being applied very strictly to our players, while there were other players we felt were obviously already beyond the category they were playing in.
But you know what? We chose to keep our composure and just play.
Our patience was tested this weekend. More than that, I think our character was tested.
And this is where you guys made me proud.
I saw teamwork. I saw humility. I saw everyone supporting each other. When one OPK pair was playing, the rest were there cheering. When someone lost, may ara man dayon ga-comfort. When someone won, daw kita tanan ang nagdaog.
And one thing I’ve noticed every time we travel for tournaments—we always come home with more friends.🫶🏻
I honestly don’t think we’ve ever gone to a tournament and came home with an enemy. 😂 Instead, we meet people, laugh with them, cheer for them, and sometimes even cheer for the people playing against us.
Of course we want to win. Who doesn’t? We train, we spend money, we travel all this way because we also want that medal. But I never want winning to change who we are.
Play hard. Fight for every point. But play fair.
If we win, stay humble. If we lose, congratulate the other team. If someone makes a beautiful shot against us, clap for them. If something doesn’t go our way, we can be disappointed without being disrespectful.
That’s the kind of OPK I want people to remember.
And maybe that’s also why, bisan kapoy gid sometimes, I still enjoy supporting all of you. From the newbie joining his or her very first tournament, kulbaan pa mag sulod court 😂, to those who have been competing for a while and are already chasing bigger goals—I enjoy watching all of you grow.
Maybe that’s just the Nanay of OPK in me. 😂
I see how much you train. I see the sacrifices. I see the frustration after a loss and the happiness after a win. And sometimes I’m probably more nervous watching from outside the court than you are playing inside. 😂
But medal or no medal, what matters to me is that when we carry the OPK name, we carry it well. Not just through how good we play, but through how we treat people.
So thank you, OPK family🩷. Thank you for showing up for each other. Thank you for the laughs, the food, the rides, the cheering, the friendships and even the stressful moments😂 These are the things we will probably remember more than the scores someday.
And when we get back to our home court, I hope we bring the same spirit with us and pass it on, especially to our new players.
Compete, but be kind.
Play hard, but play fair.
Win with humility. Lose with grace.
Cheer for your teammates—and don’t be afraid to cheer for your opponents too.
At the end of the day, pickleball is just the game. The friendships and the kind of people we become while playing it—that’s the bigger win.
Proud of you, OPK family. Always.
Love,
Nanay Cathy
