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The national buzz around our sport this winter is the still-reverberating festivities at Indian Wells last November. Over 2,200 participants of all ages competed in a remarkable 4,293 matches, the most in the history of pickleball. Much of the excitement that continues to echo among players all over the country centers on the facility in our backyard that hosted the event and will do so for years to come. The Tennis Garden is known in the tennis world as the site of the BNP Paribas Open tournament that draws a half-million spectators (widely considered the "fifth major" in that sport.) They outdid themselves in creating 45 pickle courts and offering great amenities. For all the great competition, one quality that defines pickleball, sportsmanship, is well illustrated by this account posted by Wayne Dollard, publisher of our sport's bi-monthly magazine: "One of my favorite moments at Nationals occurred during the Mixed Doubles final match between Simone Jardim and Wes Gabrielson against Sarah Ansboury and Tyson McGuffin. Wes and Simone felt there were two line call errors against their opponents. To rectify the situation, they intentionally served two balls into the bottom of the net to give the side-out back to their opponents. I've been around competitive sports for more than 35 years and I've never seen anything like that. But, that's the pickleball community and there's no other sport like it." Well said, Wayne! And certainly his anecdote speaks to the kind of camaraderie and high-spirited fun that our club demonstrates here at Sun Lakes whenever we have the courts. It's always great to win, but enjoying the competition is what is truly important. Way to go, Simone and Wes. Just a couple of other notes that show the explosion going on in pickleball: Above it was mentioned that the Nationals saw players of "all ages." To be precise, they ranged from eight to 90! We Sun Lakers were beaming at the success in the 85+ division by our former resident George Kilmer. He took the title in singles for his age-group! George is a phenom and a joy to be around. Lastly, the Indian Wells event was the tenth championship tournament. The inaugural match was held in Buckeye, AZ in 2009 with fewer than 400 participants. Pickleball is booming! We welcome newcomers to the game and have equipment to share until you decide if it's for you. So feel free to join the fun on our official club times of Monday, Wednesday, Saturday at 8 am. You'll also see us playing afternoons and evenings as the courts are available so stop by whenever you can! | SUN LAKES LIFESTYLES | FEBRUARY 2019 | 53 Pickleball Club