FROM THE USAPA
Friedenberg— a former playing partner of Mr. Davis in Washington— was the first president.
A national tournament began in 2009. It and all subsequent editions have been in Arizona, with the first several years set at Sun City Festival.
At that first tournament, organizers honored Mr. Hill. He received a silver bowl with an inscription that reads,“ Earl Hill – One-of-a-Kind Pickleball Pioneer and Founder of the USAPA Ambassador Program.”
While the groups tied to the Surprise senior communities and USAPA were still the heart of pickleball, by then the game had grown beyond senior communities and tournament players into the all-ages activity its inventors originally imagined.
“ It was a unique experience. The rules of the game are designed to create hits. The whole idea from the people who started it was the more hits, the more fun. People get into it and people who don’ t know one another end up having conversations. It becomes a highly social game,” Mr. Davis said.
Arizona Traditions still boasts 240-300 players in its pickleball club.
Fewer than 10 of the original players are still active in the game. On a melancholy note, a couple of them recently passed away.
“ It’ s not a real taxing sport. But at our ages, some of us are bone on bone. It’ s a great sport. I just think we were worn out before we started it,” Mr. Hamer said.
The game is no longer dependent on Arizona Traditions, the Senior Olympics, or even seniors for that matter. More than 150,000 players have 10,000 courts to choose from.
Pickleball has taken off in Canada and has small groups of players in places like Belgium, Iraq and Singapore.
Some top players stateside are converted tennis players in their 20s, Mr. Hill said.
In late October, Mr. Davis led a seminar for 15 Dysart Unified School District middle and high school teachers to pass on the game to students, with a goal set for a district-wide tournament in April.
“ I was a little surprised at how fast it grew. But the truth of the matter is, it appealed to a lot of people. It is so easy to learn and you don’ t have to be terribly athletic,” Mr. Hill said.“ That’ s the reason for the growth. It’ s not the tournaments at all. Of all the tournaments we have, only about 10 percent of the players ever play in one. Most of the players do it for exercise, fun and sociability.” • 10 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG. COM