AROUND THE POST
Tournament Love!
You may not play in pickleball tournaments,
but thousands of us do.
BY JENNIFER LUCORE & ALEX HAMNER
T
he first-ever pickleball tournament took place
in spring 1976 at Southcenter Athletic Club in
Tukwila, WA. Joel Pritchard (one
of our game’s founders) was there to kick
off the event and gave everyone the rules.
According to “The History of Pickleball—
More Than 50 Years of Fun,” this tournament
was billed as The World’s First Pickleball
Championship. Back then, the matches were
3 out of 5 games to 11, not the 2 out of 3
games like today. And most of the brackets
were co-ed, including singles! There were
60 to 70 players that participated in the first
tournament. One participant, Steve Paranto,
who still competes today, was quoted in a
1976 article, “With the right kind of promotion,
pickleball could grow like tennis.”
We’ve come a long way since 1976 and we’re
still just getting started! Prize winnings for tournaments
have been growing each year
too. From the beginning,
when winners at the National
Championships in Florida in 2002
won cash to the USAPA Nationals
that began in 2009 with prize
money, each year a handful of
big tournaments keep breaking
records with more participants,
bigger prize pools and more
spectators!
If you don’t play tournaments
for the prize money, no problem—
you’re in the majority. You may play
for a charity or to help build more
courts in your area, but whatever
the reason, the bottom line is tournaments are FUN and a
great experience.
If you’ve never played in a tournament, you may want
to try it sometime. And with the way pickleball is growing,
there are tournaments all over the world, and probably in
your neck of the woods. So get on out there and play! •
ots
Here are a few snapsh
:
of past tournaments
2004 Huntsman World
Senior Games,
St. George, UT at
SunRiver. Photo credit
to Beverly Youngren.
Above:
2014 Nationals crowd watching the finals
at Sun City Festival in Buckeye, AZ.
Left: 2018 Nationals crowd enjoying a
match at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Jennifer Lucore and Alex
Hamner started playing
pickleball in 2010, and have
competed in tournaments
across the USA (and
internationally). Between them,
they have 26 National Titles,
including winning gold in the
Women’s Open Doubles at
Nationals for four consecutive
years (2011–2014). For more
pickleball fun see Jennifer’s
blog at www.allpickleball.com.
MARCH/APRIL 2019 |
MAGAZINE
23