The David L. Lawrence Convention Center’s Exhibition Hall A reverberated with the sounds of "Pop. Pup. Whip. Pop. Whohoo!" as pickleball took center stage at The National Senior Games on Sunday morning.
At 9 a.m., the room maintained a consistent noise level of 65 decibels (as measured on the iPhone app NIOSH SLM), which increased to about 75 decibels during heated moments of the 30 or so active women’s doubles games.
Those games were high energy, with teams engaged in friendly yet competitive matches. Some rallies extended for minutes and occasionally a powerful smash delivered a winning point.
On one court, Nancy Brown, 70, from Butler, and Donna Zukas, 67, from Apollo turned up the heat in the third set of their first round match to grab a victory.
"We should have beat them in two. We got a little sloppy in the second game. But once we got excited we got our momentum going,” Ms. Brown said.
With eight year’s experience each, they’re relative veterans of the budding sport. Although Pickleball was created in 1965, it’s only in the past few years that the game has become part of the national sports conversation.
"We like the competitiveness and the camaraderie," said Ms. Zukas. She and Ms. Brown have played together in doubles tournaments for six years.
According to a Feb. 2022 report from The Sports & Fitness Industry Association, Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States, with 39 percent growth in the past two years and approximately 4.8 million players.
"It helps keep me healthy. I have three stents in my arteries and had a full hip replacement two years ago. So this keeps the blood flowing," Brown said.
It’s particularly popular as a competitive sport with seniors, which explains why it’s one of the hottest events at this year’s National Senior Games. More than 1,500 people are registered to compete in the Pittsburgh pickleball tournament, which runs through July 15 across various age groups and skill levels.
Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas were among the players participating in three skill levels of the women’s 65 to 69 doubles tournament. Eleven other teams competed in their bracket at a middle skill rating of 3.5. Women 70 to 70; 75 to 79; 80 to 84 and 85 and above also played tournaments in various skill levels on Sunday.
Pickleball is a type of crossover sport, combining elements of tennis (which it most resembles), badminton and ping-pong. It’s played with a wiffle-ball-like plastic ball on courts 20 feet wide by 44 feet long separated in the middle by a net 36 inches high at the sidelines and 34 inches in the middle.
Play is similar to other paddle and racquet sports – you win a point when your opponent is unable to return your volley or hits the ball out of play. In standard pickleball, points can only be won by the serving side. Games go to 11. Some games last 15 minutes, others can go on for longer than an hour since you have to win by two points. It takes two game wins to earn victory in the match.
There wasn't much time for Ms. Brown and Zukas to celebrate their first round win. Break time between matches at the NGSA National Pickleball Tournament, overseen by USA Pickleball, can be as brief as 10 to 15 minutes.
Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas drew Kathryn Hassenger, 69, from San Antonio and Barbara Castillo, 72, from Canton, as opponents in the second round.
That was the first time Ms. Hassenger and Ms. Castillo competed together, having connected online a few weeks prior when Ms. Hassenger's original partner dropped out. Their lack of experience as a team didn’t hinder them, and the duo defeated Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas in two well-paced games.
"In the last three or four years, the sport has just exploded. When we started our club eight years ago there were just eight of us playing regularly. Now there are about 250," said Ms. Hassenger.
Ms. Castillo's club (Hall of Fame City Pickleball Club) has more than 600 active members.
All wasn’t lost for Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas, as the tournament followed a double elimination format, allowing losing teams the opportunity to play their way back into contention by defeating every other losing team in a one game, first to 15 points match.
That's exactly what the two needed to do to keep their day alive.
“We couldn’t find a weak spot against them,” said Ms. Brown. "If we lose the next one we're done. If we win we need to just keep going through.”
"Now we need to slow the pace down and reset ourselves for the next game," Ms. Zukas said.
Both are now retired but live active lives. Ms. Zukas, who worked as a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, trains and lifts weights. Ms. Brown worked as an administrative assistant in a financial firm. She loves to make puzzles and volunteers at her local library. Both play pickleball as often as they can.
Ms. Brown's sister, Ginny Weaver, 73, of West Deer, was there to cheer her sibling on.
"She was always the athlete in the family. She has an interest, a determination and a competitive spirit," Weaver said. "They make good friends. They go to tournaments in other states."
Ms. Weaver has the pickleball bug, too. She loves to play recreationally.
"I really do have fun playing. I do it to be social and get a little exercise. But I could care less if I ever win," she said.
Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas were eliminated, losing to fellow Western Pennsylvania pickleball players Katie Bungo, 66, from Indiana and Mary Pianko, 69, from Greensburg. They were familiar faces – Ms. Pianko plays with Ms. Zukas every Wednesday and fairly often with Ms. Brown, too.
"Well, that's that," Ms. Zukas said.
"No shame in our game. We played well. We didn't give up. We pickled," said Ms. Brown.
Among the other events at the Convention Center on Sunday were a low-key cornhole tournament and a raucous second day of the basketball tournament, where seniors of all ages competed in half-court three-on-three games to supportive crowds.
The National Senior Games run through July 18, with nearly 12,000 athletes competing in 19 sports in venues across the region such as Schenley Park, North Park and AMF Mt. Lebanon Lanes. Jim Lachimia of SportsPITTSBURGH estimates that the event will bring in revenue of approximately $30 million.
Among those athletes still in the competition ranks: Ms. Brown and Ms. Zukas. They might have been eliminated from the doubles tournament earlier than they’d hoped on Sunday, but both are competing in the singles tournament on Wednesday, and in the volleyball tournament that runs Thursday through Saturday. Ms.Zukas is also involved in the track and field competition on Monday and Tuesday.
“I’m throwing the hammer and the javelin," she said. “I’m also going to run and jump.”
Hal B. Klein: hklein@post-gazette.com, Twitter @halbklein and IG @halbklein.
First Published: July 9, 2023, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: July 10, 2023, 9:50 a.m.
