Richmond Pickleball Club hosting first tournament
RICHMOND, Ind. – Imagine combining the skills of tennis, badminton and ping-pong into its own sport and then discovering some 36 million people played the sport during a 12-month period.
Would you call that a craze? You'd actually call it pickleball, and, with the rest of country, Richmond is joining the club.
The Richmond Indiana Pickleball Club, a 501c3 organization, will host its first tournament, the “Richmond Indiana Open,” June 15 through June 18 at Clear Creek Park.
The cost is $60 for one event, $10 each additional event with a maximum of three events. Registration at pickleballbrackets.com continues through Sunday.
There are 36 events, according to the organization — Men, Women, Mixed Doubles ages 18-49, 50-59, 60-69 and 70+ for different skill levels.
What is pickleball?
Invented in 1965 near Seattle, Pickleball — to be "pickled" is to be held to zero points — is played with a plastic ball and a large wooden or composite paddle. Think a ping pong paddle, with the face about the size of a tennis racket.
Key rules of pickleball, according to the USA Pickleball Association, include:
No volleying in the "kitchen area," the lined box located seven feet off the net on both sides of the court.
One bounce per side.
Serve at the baseline.
Serves cannot land in the non-volley zone.
Game ends at 11, 15, or 21 points.
Richmond's first pickleball tournament
The tournament answers a common question within the Richmond community, said Wayne Mullins, marketing chairman for the organization.
“For the last two or three years our club members have been asking, 'When are we going to have a tournament?' And the time has come!" Mullins told the Pal-Item. "We feel that the tournament will not only benefit the club, of course, but the community as well. We’ll have visitors from the region visiting Richmond, thus providing a boost for the economy and tourism.
"This is a great experience to expose everyone to the fastest growing sport in America.”
Of the 36.5 million pickleball players in America, the organization stated, some 28.8% are between the ages of 18 and 34. Participation — on the nearly 10,400 courts across the country — has grown 158% in the past three years.
The mission of the Richmond Indiana Pickleball organization is "to grow the sport of pickleball in our community, increase the physical activity, social opportunities, the well-being and overall health of our residents, members and surrounding communities."
The event is free for spectators, and food trucks and other vendors will be available.
For more information, contact Mullins at richmondindianapickleball@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Richmond Pickleball Club hosting first tournament
