Helix hosts pickleball elite

Published 5:32 pm Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Pickleball anyone?

The sport’s moniker might be a tad misleading. The name doesn’t allude to fermented cucumbers, but rather to the name of a dog who kept stealing the ball early in the game’s history.

Pickleball includes elements of badminton, tennis, racquetball and ping pong and fuses them into a fast-paced, banter-inducing sport. Washington Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friend, Bill Bell, are credited with inventing the game 50 years ago out of boredom using ping pong paddles, a perforated plastic ball and a badminton net. Pritchard’s dog, Pickles, often ran off with the ball or so the story goes.

Another version attributes the name to Pritchard’s wife who said the combination of sports reminded her of the pickle boat in crew manned by rowers left over from the other boats.

Peggy Raymond, of Helix, discovered the game in Arizona two years ago while visiting her parents at their retirement community. The game, she admits now, seemed kind of silly at first. Still, when someone convinced her to give it a shot, she did.

“As soon as the ball hit the paddle, it was an addiction,” Raymond said. “It escalated from there.”

The interior designer searched for other pickleballers and found a contingent at the Walla Walla YMCA, where she honed her game. Eventually, Raymond began competing in out-of-area tournaments and got to know many of the elite players.

This weekend, more than 80 players from around the West will converge on Raymond’s hometown for a tournament. Raymond said she lured numerous high-level players to Eastern Oregon with the promise of Helix hospitality.

The tournament kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Helix School gym with women’s doubles. On Saturday comes mixed doubles and Sunday, men’s doubles. Action ends about 5 p.m. each day.

The tournament is a chance to showcase a sport that was once mostly popular with retirees, but now is exploding into the general population, Raymond said.

“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America right now,” she said, adding she wouldn’t be surprised to see pickleball as an Olympic sport someday.

Play takes place on a badminton-sized court. Players can hit the ball out of the air or let it bounce. There is a seven-foot strip on either side of the net where players can’t swat the ball out the air.

Dee Davison, a semi-retired Arizona business woman, found pickleball in 2011 and now is an instructor. She helped organize two national tournaments. Initially, however, she was dubious.

“Then someone put a paddle in my hand,” she said. “I got hooked.”

Davison hired a coach and did the pickleball circuit — yes, there’s a pickleball circuit. Now, she is rated at 5, the highest ranking for a pickleball player. Davison and Raymond will compete in both mixed and women’s doubles during the Helix tournament.

The event includes some unconventional elements, such as a mentor’s hour each morning where low-level and high-level players mix for casual competition. Veterans will give novices strategic advice before the games begin. The weekend also includes horseshoe and cornhole tournaments, country western music and a jambalaya feed at the Helix pub, and a barbecue.

Pickleball’s popularity seems to be growing. At the Walla Walla YMCA where Raymond plays, the facility once barely had enough players to do once-a-week doubles matches. Now, there is action three hours a day, Monday through Friday, on three courts with around 20 players waiting their turn.

New courts are popping up around the country, both indoors and outdoors.

“It really started exploding in 2010 or 2011,” Davison said.

“Players come from all walks of life,” Raymond said.

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Contact Kathy Aney at kaney@eastoregonian.com or call 541-966-0810.