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Stafford seniors take a swing at Pickleball Date published: 4/13/2010
"So, I call up my brother who lives in Florida and I say, 'Hello, how are you?' and his reply is, 'My record is now 12 and six.' He's giving me his current standing in the local Pickleball tournament! My brother, he lives near Orlando, he's a Pickleball champion down there."
So said Manuel Mathew Sr. He had just finished his opening game in Stafford Parks and Recreation's recently introduced Pickleball program for seniors. Pickleball is appropriate for the 55-plus crowd, for those whose reflexes may have slowed slightly and whose strength may have slipped somewhat. Pickleballs flutter through the air weirdly, but lightly and relatively slowly. Paddles swing easily. However, the game, while an appropriate challenge for seniors, wasn't created for seniors. It was invented during a summer vacation in 1965 near Seattle by a young political activist named Joel Pritchard. He created the game for his family and friends to enjoy--regardless of skill level. Pritchard combined a paddleball-size racket with a Wiffle ball, adopted basic tennis rules, and played on a badminton-size court with a lowered net. Decades later, paddles and Wiffle-type balls are custom-designed for the sport. The game is now played by 75,000 people in the United States, and in eight other countries, principally in the Far East. It is the rage in Northern Virginia, where league play is common. Last summer, Derrick Carr and Lois Nedza from Stafford went to Vienna, took a look at the Pickleball program there and decided to try it here. The county's first six-week session was in January and February, with six attendees. Two of the Stafford pioneers, Dee Misenko and Margaret Mi, were back to join four newcomers at the end of March for the spring session. In addition to Mathew, three other new faces were Bonnie Pauze ("I want to play it because I want to stay young"), Kathy Taylor ("I'm here because my friend Gwen convinced me") and Gwen Gesswein (who signed up "because I wanted to know what Pickleball was"). The initial hour-and-a-half session, in the gym of the Rowser Building on U.S. 1, was divided between an instruction period and a series of introductory seven-point games. (Eleven is the usual winning score.) Carr was both instructor and umpire. The steady "bonk" of the ball through the morning reflected the players' increasing skill. "It's all about recreation," said Carr, "to have fun and good exercise. As soon as we have enough people trained, we want to open it up, to schedule more sessions." Added Nedza, "We hope to get T-shirts at some point." Pritchard, who watched his sport expand so famously, went on to be elected to six terms in Congress from Washington state's 1st District, then returned home to be elected lieutenant governor in 1989. He died in 1997. Hugh Muir: 540/735-1975
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 4/13/2010
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