A game for the ages
<p>Vernon Slaybaugh, 78, far left, returns the ball while playing pickleball with his teammate and daughter Letha Rodrigues against the mother-son opponents Selina Hoit and Ryland Hoit, 11, during a gather at Cherry Hill Wednesday in Coeur d’Alene. Slaybaugh was the oldest competitor of the day, while Hoit was the youngest.</p>
<p>Jim Byrne, of Coeur d’Alene, focuses on the ball during a pickleball match.</p>
<p>Rose Henderson returns the ball during a pickleball game at the Cherry Hill courts.</p>
As the game of pickleball turns 50, enthusiasts across the country are warming up for the first "Coeur d'Alene Summer Pickleball Classic Tournament."
A U.S.A. Pickleball Association-sanctioned event, the tournament will be Aug. 28-30 at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d'Alene.
Pat Hoon, tournament director, said pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. DeAnne "Dee" Davison, pickleball instructor and co-director of the tournament, said in 2010 there were 1,000 courts across the country dedicated to pickleball and by 2014 that number more than tripled.
"The sport really started taking off in 2010 and the momentum has really built every year and it's exploding across the country just since about 2012," Davison said. "So it's really in its infancy even though it's been around 50 years."
With the nets smaller than tennis nets and paddles larger than table tennis paddles, pickleball is kind of a mix of different sports, according to Davison.
"If you take table tennis, tennis and badminton in a blender, you get a sport called pickleball," Davison said. "It's a great sport for all ages and all abilities."
Letha Rodrigues of the North Idaho Pickleball Association said she has 200 people on her email list of players in the Coeur d'Alene and Hayden areas with another 50 in Liberty Lake.
Of the 146 players registered for the August tournament, 49 are from Idaho. The rest are from 10 other states around the country and two people from Alberta, Canada. Hoon said the association hopes to get 200 people registered for the tournament.
Hoon, Davison, Rodrigues and a few others held a meeting earlier this week at Cherry Hill during pickleball open-play to discuss tournament preparations with Bill Greenwood from the Coeur d'Alene Parks and Recreation Department.
At the tournament there will be a first-aid tent, food trucks and snack tables available. Greenwood said he would try to get some bleacher seating brought in from another park for the tournament as well.
One of the biggest concerns for the regular players is there are very few permanent pickleball courts in the area. Typically area pickleball players set up on the tennis courts, so when Michael Kempton, Cherry Hill's lead worker, came by with some good news during the meeting, a cheer erupted from the committee - dedicated pickleball courts will be going up soon at the park because he could see the need for them with the growing number of enthusiasts.
Hoon said they went from having just two courts in Post Falls last year to now having 19 including the two at McEuen Park. He said 10 new courts are coming to Northshire Park on Atlas - six dedicated courts and four temporary courts are in the process of being resurfaced, though he and Greenwood were unsure exactly when they would be ready for use.
Committee member Shalia McHenry said sponsors and volunteers for the tournament are welcome. The primary sponsor of pickleball in the area is Selkirk Sport, a family-owned business located in Hayden where they craft and provide pickleball paddles and shirts for the players. The owner, Russell Heistuman, and his family are all pickleball players as well.
Another sponsor is Pita Pit, which will host the meet and greet dinner for the tournament on Aug. 28. More information on the tournament and the list of sponsors can be found at the website cdapbclassic.com.
Hoon said pickleball open-play is also available at the parks every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m.
"It's a sport that all ages can play and it's a very social experience," Hoon said.