The Bandeja summer 2024 issue

Friends Anne Wodhams
& Diane Caulkett.
Anne & Diane entered last December’s Super Seniors Padel Festival at
The Padel Hub, Slough, coming second in the Phoenix Cup for females
aged 69 years+. They lost out to Rosie Connell and Louise Dalgleish.
Pictured with them is The Padel Hub’s Charles Winterton.
you’re never too
old... for padel
Certainly the first part of
Kassem’s claim could have
been penned specifically
to sum up Diane Caulkett and
Anne Wodhams, who play at Padel
United in Maldon, Essex. Respectively
septuagenarian and octogenarian,
the ladies took up padel some 18
months ago and haven’t looked
back. But don’t think they are on
court for a gentle game (or even
worse say it out loud!) for the friends
are fiercely competitive and most
definitely in it to win it.
And neither do they expect
concessions because of their
age, as Diane, who plays up to four
times a week, explained: “I’m quite
competitive and the thing about
padel is you are always involved,
it’s just so fast but it’s also tactical
and I like the challenge of working
out the tactics.
“I still play tennis and sometimes
that is a bad thing as some padel
players don’t like tennis players as
we can hit the ball too hard!”
laughed Diane. “Fortunately I’ve
learned to temper that but also a
long while ago I played squash so
the back wall isn’t too much of
a problem.
“We have ‘mix-ins’ at the club
and so I play with a wide variety
of people but because Anne and
I joined together we tend to play
together if there is a competition.”
Social
When it comes to the benefits
of belting a padel ball Diane -
who has amazingly used padel
as part of her rehab from a knee
replacement - was in no doubt:
“Socially I get an awful lot. The
club is really sociable and the
people really friendly and activity
wise it’s great.
Robert Mitchell
reports.
The American writer/artist Suzy Kassem famously said ‘you are never
too old to learn something new or too young to learn too much’.
“I think padel is an addictive sport
as you know you can do it, so you
want to keep doing it and keep
practising difficult serves and taking
the ball off the back wall, and we’ve
had lessons.
“In fact our best lesson was with
Aimee (Gibson, GB No 2) and she
gave us one very useful tip which
was to send balls down the middle
and we’ve just built on that and it’s
such fun, I just love it.”
Next into bat is Diane’s padel
partner in crime Anne, who has little
doubt about the type of attitude
that is required to make a success
of a sporting pursuit found later
in life: “There seem to be a couple
of attitudes to playing any sport.
One: you just play for fun and tootle
around. Two: you are competitive
and you want to improve and Diane
and I have a similar attitude in that
we want to improve.
“As with tennis you play every point
to win as otherwise there is no
point in playing but as to the actual
outcome that is not the be all and
end all. That said I’m just keen
to get better as I don’t like doing
things badly.”
Structure
When it comes to the benefits that
most appeal to her about padel, Anne
said: “The pluses are enormous. We
both play tennis so we are still clearly
active anyway. We thoroughly enjoy
padel because there are different
challenges with it and our club in
Maldon is full of nice, friendly and kind
people and it works really well.”
“Sport gives you a structure to your
life and it’s a huge benefit. Obviously
I am not particularly young and the
smaller area in terms of the court is a
blessing in terms of charging around.”
For both of the ladies there is one
huge plus which elevates padel
above other activities, as Anne
explained: “Everyone is younger than I
am and it’s absolutely magic to play
with them. That is perhaps the most
special thing about padel, despite
the disparity in age I am accepted
and welcomed to play with them no
matter their age.” •
Sally Bickerton & Rosie Connell winning
their team match against Italy.
GB ASpirations
Put a racket in Rosie Connell’s hand
and it’s likely you’ll get a winning
shot back, whether the sport is
racketball, tennis, squash or more
recently padel, her new love of some
three years standing.
For Rosie, who’s in her seventies, has
notched up a host of achievements
in the first three sports, including
playing up to national standard.
But it’s padel that delivered her first
taste of representing her country -
and she’s delighted.
“I could never have dreamt that
within two years (of starting to play
padel) I would have been training
to represent the country,” said Rosie,
who plays mostly at Rawdon and
Chapel Allerton clubs in Yorkshire. “I
am very proud, I am the first one in
my family to play for my country.”
Libby Horn with her
daughter Nicola.
racket sport number 4!
Racket sports have been a huge part
of Libby Horn’s life for decades - and
she’s determined not to give up her
love of hitting a ball despite injuries
that have ruled out tennis and squash.
Four years ago, as she was heading
towards her 80th year, Libby
discovered a new love thanks to
daughter Nicola, a GB padel senior
player, Yorkshire padel force of
nature and champion for female
participation in the game.
Libby said: “Nicola started playing
padel about four years ago and then
coaching it. I joined in and enjoyed
it immensely. It is fabulous. I play 2/3
times a week and with ladies quite a
lot younger than I am. I am the eldest
in the club by about five or six years
but they all treat me very kindly.”
Padel has filled a potential rackets
void for Libby, who had to give
up squash some 30 years ago
following a hip replacement, and
tennis after breaking a wrist. “I
found it difficult to hit the (tennis)
ball back as I wanted,” said Libby.
“Tennis is very different to padel
because you have a much bigger
court and more court to cover. With
padel you have the walls, and the
ball can’t get any further.”
Libby’s ‘home’ club is Harrogate
Sports & Fitness but she also plays
at the North Yorkshire town’s sixcourt
Surge and admits to being
spoilt for choice with courts at
Harrogate Spa Tennis and Ripon
Tennis Centre, adding to those
already at Huddersfield Lawn
Tennis & Squash Club and Rawdon
Golf & Lawn Tennis.
Given that she captained the
Yorkshire lacrosse team at one
point, was squash county No 2,
played in the tennis vets team and
has coached all three sports, it’s fair
to assume she’s no push over on a
padel court. But she’s modest about
her padel aspirations, despite
continuing to play tournaments:
“Padel just means that I can get
out a lot more; I have got a ‘thing’
apart from dog walking!”
Her introduction to padel, which she
described as a ‘wonderful’ game,
came when Rawdon added two
padel courts to its golf and tennis
facilities and she hasn’t looked back
since. She was soon trialling for the
GB senior squad, securing her place
and going on to help the team claim
a raft of impressive wins at home
and abroad.
Rosie firmly believes that you are
never too old for padel, which she
likened to a game of chess, working
out the strength and weaknesses
of opponents, and advised other
players to just keep playing for as
long as possible. •
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