T
he Huntsman World Games are a class
act—from CEO Kyle Case to the hundreds of
volunteers who help the players every step
of the way. A line of competent registrars
gets the 11,000-plus competitors on their way to pick up
their shirts, catch the free shuttle, and head off to play.
Photo IDs are printed on the spot and your badge gets
you into a free meal social, complete
with entertainment, in each sport
and a personal handshake and
“Thank you for coming” from
Kyle Case.
Pickleball staff Bryan
Enarson, David and Nancy
Jordan, Bob Klarich,
Bob and JoNan LeRoy,
George McCully, and
Ken Schoonover have it
down to a science and
this year was no exception.
The city of St. George, Utah,
provides the sunshine and a
stunning backdrop of mesas at two
locations, Little Valley and Sun River.
This year there were lots of new faces. Keith
Washington of Florence, AZ, had two goals when he
came—”to win medals and to make friends”—and he
did both. “Everybody was great, from the participants to
the volunteers, and you will definitely see me again,” he
said. “Dee Rochel encouraged me to come and I’m so
glad she did.” In addition to being top players, Dee and
her husband Rick organize the coffee and the fruit for
the nearly 800 players and schedule the volunteers who
maintain the distribution booths.
What is especially nice about Huntsman World Games
pickleball is that competition is divided into five-year
increments. It is a qualifier for the NSGA national
championships. But it also has B, C, D, and E divisions
for players who want to compete at their level but not
qualify. For example, the 50-54 A MXD doubles was
high-level pickleball when Takako Tourangeau and
Glenn Spivey defeated Erica Gonzalez and Steve Cole
15-8 in the final game for the gold medal. There were
lots of top players in that draw. The 90-94 MXD division
was won by perennial standouts Doris Castaneda and
Armand Matern.
The number of crossover athletes was interesting this
year. Joyce Jones competed in tennis and won gold
in pickleball WD with Marion Lisahora. Ted and Barb
Biggs of Edmonton, Alberta, competed in badminton and
pickleball. They enjoyed the opening ceremonies, the
numerous ice cream shops, the free medical testing—
and being able to play multiple sports. They competed
in the Nevada Games prior to Huntsman so they were
able to play two tournaments in one trip. Mike Cooper of
Edmonton won the triathlon, got silver in mountain biking,
bronze in MD pickleball and silver in MXD!
California badminton stars Sue and Curt Dommeyer
won the 65-69 D MXD in pickleball. Karin Sobotta of Ft.
Mojave, AZ, has three national racquetball titles. She
played college tennis at the University of Idaho and
still holds the career assist record there in basketball.
She said, “I was a serve-and-volley tennis player so
pickleball fits my style of play.” She is now a home health
physiotherapist. Those are just a few of the crossover
athletes who have become attracted to pickleball and
play the Huntsman World Games in order to compete in
multiple sports.
Players enjoyed the many national and state parks near
St. George. Many took advantage of the opportunity to
see Snow Canyon State Park and Zion National Park.
Some went to Antelope Canyon, the Grand Canyon, and
off-roading in Great Basin National Park. St. George is
definitely a destination that combines great pickleball
with lots of fun restaurants—if they aren’t fun before the
Games, they sure are fun when the players arrive.
This was a record-breaking year for this first-class
sporting event. Pickleball was a large part of the
Games with 775 players in 1,764 matches overseen by
167 referees. Players came from 35 states and three
Canadian provinces. Thank you to the beautiful city and
people of St. George and the wonderful Huntsman staff.
See you next year! •
Pictured (l to r): CEO of Huntsman World Games Kyle
Case, David Jordan, TD of Pickleball, and his wife Nancy,
and John Morgan, founder of the Huntsman Games.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 |
MAGAZINE
67