December 1, 2011 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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December 1, 2011 |
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Arnold Lofthu: ets
low
to return a serve during a
at the Mason Transit Community Center
on Wednesday, Nov.
Journal photos by Emily Hanson
23.
By EMILY
It started with a
gressman, a success
dog named Pickle
i965.
According to the
tion website,
and his friend Bill
bridge Island in the
"The property h
court so Pritchard
badminton
"full set of rackets," usap'a.org st~
~mprovised, cutting shafts of th,
: state con- rackets and found a
The rackets didn't
Associa-
ummer of 1965.
was Pickle's ball."
tes. "They
, damaged
[astic ball.
ell, so the
similar to
hards had
ho became
henever a
take the
it
!l, a game
senior citi-
zeus.
"It's one of the fastest growing sports
in America," Perry said. "It's designed for
those over 55 and it's a much slower game
than tennis so it's easier to play at high in-
tensity."
Perry began playing pickleball on Harst-
ine Island eight years ago when his neigh-
bor put in a court. Before that, he'd never
heard of the sport. He said there are now
seven or eight courts on the island.
"It rains all the time out there, so I asked
the city if there was an indoor place to play
and they said 'no,'" Perry said. "I saw some-
one coming in [to the Mason Transit Com-
munity Center] and asked then~ and they
said they'd love to have us play here."
During the seven years that seniors have
been playing at the center, located in the old
armory building on Franklin Street across
from Safeway, Perry said an average of 15
people, mostly men, play on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon.
"We ask players for a $3 donation, which
mostly goes to the county for renting the
building and the rest goes to buying pick-
leballs," Perry said. "Players provide their
own rackets."
Playing pickleball keeps Perry, 78, active
and competitive, he said.
"How many people who are 78-years-old
can play any sport and compete?" he asked.
"You would be surprised to see how much
better a lot of these guys are after playing
here for a couple of years."
Since there are not many indoor courts
in the area, Perry said seniors come from as
far away as Panorama, a retirement com-
munity in Lacey, to play,
"This sport makes you fee] like you can
still be athletic," he added. "There isn't a lot
of running because we play in doubles and
that's one thing we all like about it. It's a
definite health benefit."
Some of the players at the center enjoy
the game so much, in fact, that they play in
the Washington State Senior Games, Perry
said.
"We'd love to have more people, men and
women both," he added.
For more information, contact Perry at
426-7330.
COMPLETE
SOMP:S'rS
%ale offered ot~
360-426-5254.
• 61 W State
(Located next to Little i
Page C-4
I Ravor lOOs & Higl~Air ~OOs Sale offered onAdditive-Free Fult flavor lOOs &
quality product& plas
to expect from a
daily
108 • Shelton WA 98584
ason County Journal - Thursday, December 1,2011
Andy Hospader serves during
a recent pickleb | retch, .......