FROM THE USAPA
Pritchard’s Pals and a Pretty Amazing Player
BY JOYCE JONES
M
y dad, Don Jones, grew up playing badminton with
Joel Pritchard, one of the inventors of pickleball.
Many decades ago, my dad entered a pickleball tournament
in a suburb of Seattle called Magnolia, which happened to
be Joel’s neighborhood. My dad and Joel were scheduled to
play a semi-finals match, and Magnolia residents came out
in force to cheer Joel on. Every time Joel made a good shot,
or made a point, the crowd cheered. When my dad made a
point, it was quiet. My dad was a very easy-going, fun-lov-
ing guy, and after losing a very close first game, he decided
he’d have a little fun with the crowd.
In the second game, when my dad made his first point
and the crowd was quiet, he turned to the audience and
asked if they thought he’d made a good shot. They nod-
ded and agreed that he had. Then he said with a friendly
smirk on his face, “Then don’t you think it deserved a little
hand?” From then on, most good shots from both players
were applauded. His claim to fame was that he ended up
beating Joel in a close, three-game battle, and went on to
win the gold medal in the tournament.
That was my dad’s pickleball claim to fame, and here is
my mom’s... In three consecutive years (2009, 2010 and
2011) she won national titles in three racquet sports:
badminton, pickleball and tennis. (I’m curious to know
if anyone else has accomplished this.) She’s now 87 years
old and still competes in all three sports. But, she’s con-
sidering retiring from competition because she’s had 14
surgeries and her complaining body is telling her, “Enough
is enough!” She loves pickleball, and if she hangs up her
paddle, she’ll miss seeing the wonderful friends she’s met
over the last 30 years. If she chooses to retire, she’ll have a
big void in her life, but what a ride it’s been!
As you can tell, I have pretty awesome parents! Sadly, my
dad passed away in January of this year, but he left us with
a lifetime of great memories to cherish. •
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