If the goal of this weekend’s Pickleball Classic tournament in Virgil was to put Niagara-on-the-Lake on the sport’s map for all the right reasons, then it was mission accomplished for John Hindle and the NOTL Pickleball Club.
With nearly 300 competitors vying for medals in a number of different categories based on skill level and age, the Meridian Credit Union and Centennial Arenas were converted into a pickleball palace for three straight days.
And the efforts of Hindle and more than 100 volunteers were certainly appreciated based on the rave reviews The Local heard from visitors to the town and local competitors alike.
Referee Steve Hast came all the way from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to officiate Friday night’s pro exhibition. An in-demand pickleball ref who first took up the game in 2016 while on an Alaskan cruise, Hast says he was on another cruise in January when he met some members of the NOTL club. They mentioned the tournament, and he offered to come up and help work with club members who volunteered to officiate on the 12 courts this weekend.
“I am really impressed with this tournament,” Hast told The Local Saturday. “Especially for a first time effort, for them to have almost 300 players, that’s an incredible turnout. And the attendance for the pro night was fantastic.”
Hast, whose home club boasts a whopping 1,500 members and 19 courts, referees matches all over Canada and the U.S. He’s scheduled to work the Canadian Nationals in Regina, Saskatchewan and the U.S. Nationals in Dallas, Texas, where 3,500 people will compete. His expertise on officiating was invaluable for the volunteers.
Competitors Jim Kostin and Mike Bowcott were visiting from the Toronto Pickleball Club. They were competing at the 3.5 skill level, the highest at this weekend’s tournament, in the 50 to 64 age group.
“We’ve been playing in a few tournaments,” Kostin said. “We just played up in Barrie and won that tournament. We love the location of this one. We usually come here twice a year, so it’s great to come here and get a chance to play pickleball.”
Kostin and Bowcott were playing in the same men’s doubles category as NOTL players Enzo Mancuso and Ron Pychel, who went on to capture the gold medal Saturday against fellow club members Ian Sutherland and Peter Si.
“It was a close game,” says Mancuso. “We went back and forth a few times. It was a good battle between the two teams, but we ended up winning 15-10.”
Mancuso also played in Sunday’s mixed doubles event in the same skill level and age categories, paired up with Christine Bozek. They lost in the semi-final to Shirley Ancker and Colin McAdorey, and went on to capture bronze with a relatively easy 15-5 win over Dale Anne Courtney and Ken Forstinger.
When asked if his shoulders were sagging from wearing both a gold and a bronze medal from the weekend, Mancuso said no, but his thighs were feeling a little tight. He played a lot of games over the two days.
“Overall it was a great tournament,” Mancuso added. “Everybody had a great time from Friday night through Sunday. The play, the sportsmanship, it was all great. Everyone was pleased with the tournament, with the grab bag, and with the Friday night exhibition as well.”
After Mancuso and Pychel made quick work of Paulo Melo and Jorge Lujambo of Mississauga in their first game Sunday, The Local chatted with the visitors briefly.
“We’ve been playing a lot of tournaments this summer so far,” Melo said. “You end up seeing a lot of familiar faces in all of them. This is a big one, there’s a lot of people here.”
“And they’ve got a nice set-up with the sponsors,” added Lujambo, “one of the nicest I’ve seen. The loot bag, by the way, is the best one we’ve had in any tournament we’ve been in.”
Mancuso and Pychel were not the only local players to top their categories. At press time the club was working on compiling a list of members who medalled.
“Our members represented the club very, very well,” said Hindle, the club president. “It will be interesting to see what percentage of club members won medals. A number of folks from out of town came up to me and mentioned how competitive our club was, how high their calibre of play was.”
The weekend also featured a dinner and party at the community centre Saturday night. Hindle says it was an amazing night.
“Great band, great music, great food,” raved Hindle. “Everybody was up dancing. We sent them all home at 10 o’clock, though, because they all had to play the next day. We had 160 people there. It was an unbelievable night.”
Hindle says the club gave all participants exactly what they promised them — a classic tournament with a combination of fun activities, good competition and a great collegial atmosphere.
“Everyone from the committee is just delighted with how it all went,” Hindle told The Local Monday afternoon after finishing the clean-up from the weekend. “We overachieved on the professional night with the number of people who showed up. And the players that night were thrilled to play in front of 400 fans.”
The number of people not connected to the sport who showed up to watch may be another indication of the success of the tournament. Hindle says a few people approached him about trying the sport out in the future, and the St. John Ambulance staff, who provided emergency medical assistance all weekend, inquired about booking a session so they could learn the game.
When asked if next summer will see the Second Annual Pickleball Classic in Virgil, Hindle was elusive in his reply.
“It was an enormous amount of work,” he chuckled. “We’re all exhausted. It’s too soon to make that commitment. It would be my hope, though, that there is enough enthusiasm from the club to do it again.”