Pickleball is the fastest growing sport you have probably never heard of, and this weekend it is taking over Holua Tennis and Pickleball Center in Keauhou as part of the Aloha State Games Senior Olympics. ADVERTISING Pickleball is the fastest
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport you have probably never heard of, and this weekend it is taking over Holua Tennis and Pickleball Center in Keauhou as part of the Aloha State Games Senior Olympics.
The action started Friday with the men’s tournament, and will continue through the weekend with the women playing on Saturday and mixed play Sunday.
The event is hosting 52 pickleballers in its debut-appearance in the Senior Olympics. The athletes come from as far as Texas and California, as well as Kauai, Oahu, Maui and across the Big Island.
“The reception has been great,” said Jackie Frame, the pickleball ambassador for Holua. “The Senior Olympics have been going on for some time, but this is the first time they have included pickleball.”
Despite its somewhat silly name, the sport provided some serious action in the men’s division on Friday.
The doubles team of Dave Knittles and Kevin Teves won the 50-and-over division, outlasting silver medalists Jon Einarsson and Todd George in the championship. Tom Fedenuik and John Vallis rounded out the podium with bronze medals.
In 60-and-over, Jack Hodges and Steve Lopez earned the gold medal, with Steve Loney and Dave Larson settling for runners-up. Fran Graziano and Mike Whitley took bronze.
“It was terrific competition,” said Hodges, who is the Hawaii state ambassador for pickleball. “It is a ton a fun and really designed for the 50-and-over crowd.”
The game is played with oversized ping-pong paddles and a wiffle ball — which leads to many calling it “puka-ball”. While it resembles tennis, the court is much smaller, with four pickleball courts being able to fit inside of a single tennis court. The smaller court doesn’t require as much legwork as tennis. Instead, pickleball athletes rely on hand-eye coordination.
“Most of us just can’t cover the court the tennis court way we used to,” Hodges said. “But that doesn’t make it any easier of a sport. Just easier on the body.”
As the ambassador for Hawaii, Hodges primary job is to help grow the game. He is based out of Kauai, where he said organized play started just two months ago. The game has already caught on at eight different locations across the Garden Isle.
Hodges said the Big Island was chosen as the location for the state tournament because it is the hot spot in Hawaii for pickleball and Holua is among the best facilities in the state.
Another statistic Hodges added to back up the “fastest growing sport” title are the large-scale growth numbers.
“Five years ago, only 100,000 people were playing pickleball,” Hodges said. “Now, 2.4 million are playing.”
Tournament officials had less than two months to organize the event and expect it to only get bigger.
“In 2016 we will have more time to organize, so of course, it is going to grow,” Frame said.
