July 15, 2015 at 2:58 p.m.
Big turnout for pickleball tournament at Burnside Park
Big turnout for pickleball tournament at Burnside Park
People traveled from all over for the event, with some coming from as far as California.
Steve Dennis, ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association, said he was extremely happy with the turnout.
"Excellent turnout! We had a big crowd not only players but spectators," he said. "I don't know the numbers, I am guessing close to 100 people total, players and spectators."
Dennis and Chuck Radtke teamed up with a group of other pickleball players in the area to run the Three Lakes Pickleball Club which began hosting the tournament last year.
Radtke agreed the turnout was great and tournament participants were happy with the outcome.
"Feedback from players and planners has been most positive," he said. "Many players are planning to return with their hometown pickleball friends for next year's tournament."
Saturday hosted tournament play for men's and women's doubles.
"There were two men's divisions, two women's divisions and we finished around 1:30 (Saturday). There were a total of 87 games. (It was) A lot of fun," Dennis said.
Sunday featured a mixed doubles tournament play with nearly the same turnout. Many players from Saturday returned on Sunday to change things up and play again.
The Three Lakes Pickleball Club provided shirts to participants as well as food and beverages for everyone over the weekend. Entry fees and sponsorship donations made that purchase possible.
During the tournaments scheduled time the Three Lakes Pickleball Club also hosted a trial day on Friday for anyone interested in learning the game.
Dennis said several people came to learn how to play pickleball and he was very surprised by the amount of people interested in learning.
"That was wonderful! Yes, we had, I would guess 30 people show up," Dennis said. "I was very encouraged, very surprised. We took over two courts. We gave them a quick demonstration of the rules and we let them each play for five minutes or so and we had quite a few people express interest in coming back when the tournament's over and playing. So that was really nice to see. Some people had no clue what pickleball was."
Later this summer Three Lakes Pickleball will team up with Eagle River Pickleball to host another teaching event.
"On Aug 6, 7, and 8 Three Lakes will host the famous Pickleball Coach Mo from the Villages in Florida," Radtke explained. "There are still clinic lesson openings for Saturday. This clinic is sponsored by the Three Lakes and Eagle River pickleball clubs."
Anyone interested in signing up is encouraged to contact Chuck Radtke at (715) 546-8145 or Steve Dennis at (715) 546-8195.
Note: See Page 2B of the Thursday, July 16 edition of the River News for pictures of the event winners.
Lindsey Nylund may be reached at [email protected]
Comments:
You must login to comment.