Brien Center 'Rally for Recovery' Charity Pickleball Tournament

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Brien Center has announced its "Rally for Recovery Pickleball Tournament," a non-DUPR charity event hosted at Bousquet Sport.
 
The tournament supports the center's mission of "Serving Hope" and raising funds for recovery services. All proceeds go toward the Patrick Miller Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Program.
 
The main events will feature a round-robin format, ensuring that every participating team receives multiple opportunities to play. Larger brackets may be separated into pools, with the highest-performing teams advancing to a playoff round where the overall champions will be crowned.
 
The tournament will also feature a Mixed Moneyball Showcase, offering a "winner take all" $300 cash prize. This showcase event requires a minimum of four teams to run with the prize money attached.
 
The registration fee is $50 for the first event, with an additional $35 fee for each event added. A non-refundable software usage fee of $5 (for one event) or $10 (for multiple events) will also be applied to all registrations. Due to limited space, early registration is strongly encouraged. Teams must note the registration timeline: once the first partner registers, the second partner must complete their registration within seven days to secure the team's spot, or they will be placed on a waiting list.
 
Regarding refunds, players who withdraw before the registration officially closes—either by the deadline of October 8th or due to the tournament reaching capacity—are eligible for a partial refund. Approved refunds will be processed after the tournament concludes and will be the registration fee minus a $10 processing fee and the non-refundable software usage fee. No refunds will be issued for withdrawals made after registration has officially closed.
 
The tournament director reserves the right to adjust bracket formats and the number of rounds to ensure each team receives a minimum number of games, and groups may be combined or split based on final registration numbers. All start times are subject to change at the director's discretion. Furthermore, all players must use USA Pickleball-approved paddles, and paddle compliance will be checked at the event.
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Companion Corner: Princess at Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There is an energetic girl waiting to find her new home at the Berkshire Humane Society.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home.  

Princess is a six year old shepherd mix that has been at the shelter for just over a month.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about Princess.

"She's very social, very friendly. When you're out walking her, she just wants to go say hi to every single new person. Loves to make new friends. She's a lot of fun. She's very active. She's very spunky. She's very playful, and she's going to need a very very active family who's going to do a lot with her." 

But Princess is no stranger to the shelter. She was a puppy five years ago and got adopted quickly, but now she needs a new family to take care of her.

"She was adopted out fairly quickly as a young puppy. She's been in the same home for the past five years. Unfortunately, they were moving out of state somewhere," Olivieri said. "They could not take her with them, so she ended up coming as a return to shelter, and she came back to stay with us."

Princess needs to go to a home as the only animal or with other male dogs that are her size or bigger.

"Her perfect home would be kids eight and up. No cats. No small animals. She has quite a prey drive. She could go to a home with another dog around her size or larger, preferably a male dog. She does a little bit better with male dogs, and she's looking for a home where people are home quite a bit, so that she's not left alone for too long. She has some separation anxiety," Olivieri said. 

She also needs a very active home that can let her use her energy every day, as she is very rambunctious. Especially with playing with her favorite toy, the flirt pole.

"She could use a home where people are going to give her a lot of attention and more than just a few walks a day; she's going to need lots of exercise, lots of playtime, lots of mental stimulation," Olivieri said. "She likes to learn, so someone who would be willing to take her to training classes or work on some training with her, as well as hikes, getting out and about, doing new things, different things. She is very athletic. She'd excel at things like agility, some dog sports. Just someone who is really going to want to engage and do a lot of different kinds of activities with her." 

Once you let her get her energy out, she is a cuddler who wouldn't mind being held like a baby from time to time.

"She's very sweet. She's very cuddly. She's very affectionate, but she is not a couch potato. She will stay on that couch with you for a little bit, and then she's ready to go off and do something else. So she's very busy. She's very active," Olivieri said. "Once all of her exercise needs are met during the day, she will settle down nicely, and she will want to be right by your side, cuddle with you at night on the couch, sleep with you."

Princess is very healthy but does experience some anxiety and is not fully potty trained and might have the occasional accident.

"She does have a little bit of anxiety, so she is on some medication for it right now," Olivieri said. "So a lot of structure, a lot of outlets, and familiarity, getting used to a new routine and everything is gonna be really good for her. I mean, she's just lovely. Like I said, she's very social. She likes to play with other dogs. She likes to meet new people."

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