Merchant Centre Court was home to the world of pickleball this weekend as Rivertown Pickleball of Southern Indiana hosted its third annual “Throwdown in the Boro” tournament.
The three-day event, which began Friday and ended Sunday on the facility’s indoor courts, featured men’s and women’s doubles for those 50 years old and above, all-ages men’s and women’s doubles and all-ages mixed doubles.
Though RPSI is based out of Newburgh, Indiana, officials with the organization touted prior positive experiences holding the tournament in the Bluegrass Capital of the World in 2023 and 2024 that made it ideal to return to Owensboro for a third consecutive year.
“Merchant (Centre Court) is a fabulous facility — it truly is,” said Dale Todd, RPSI’s vice president, who highlighted the building’s upper level being utilized for spectators to watch matches occurring on all the courts. “... People like coming to Owensboro — they like barbecue — and so they come here and spend a weekend (here).”
According to Scottsdale, Arizona-based USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport, pickleball has continued to be the fastest-growing sport in the country. In 2024, USAP membership was reported to be 62,260 while 18,455 courts were added nationwide, bringing the total to 68,458 courts — a large increase compared to the 50,003 known courts in 2023. While Todd said RPSI membership has been “steady” with about 400 people, the “Throwdown” has remained to be a popular draw year after year. The 2023 event saw 378 players participate, while the 2024 brought in 486. As of Sunday, Todd said the event has continued to surpass previously set attendance records.
“This year, actually, we had over 600 (people) who wanted to play. We had to cut it off at 492, so we’re at full capacity. … I bet the youngest (player) this year would probably be about 15 (years old) and the oldest I think would be late 70s …,” Todd said. “... I humbly say (that) we do a good job — we work at it, we plan, we’ve got a lot of volunteers, we do our very best to run on time ….” And even though Sunday was the same day as Super Bowl LIX between Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, Todd said players would be on the courts well until 8 p.m. after 12 straight hours by choice.
“It pretty much is our Super Bowl,” Todd said. “It’s a big event for us. … It takes dozens and dozens of us (members) to do volunteer hours to put this together.”
Jerold Blackburn, RPSI board member, got into pickleball after being introduced to the game through friends following the coronavirus pandemic before getting acquainted with the organization.
“I’ve been playing for four years and haven’t stopped,” Blackburn, 61, said. “... I actually moved to Newburgh (from Evansville) to be closer to the courts …. “I play all the time,” Blackburn said.
Blackburn, who became a certified pickleball instructor and coach about two years ago, had some familiarity with racket sports, though he encountered some learning curves when becoming more involved with the game.
“I played tennis for years and then quit playing probably in my mid-30s, and really didn’t do any sports for that time period,” he said. “... I think there was a little bit of an advantage of having been involved in court sports before, but … (pickleball is) its own game that requires its own strategies (and) techniques.
“... I think it kind of helped me pick up on it maybe a little quicker, but I still had to work to kind of refine the skills of the game,” Blackburn said. “I think the hardest part was just not playing any sport in a while (and figuring out) the breath control — learning how to breathe when you play — because … as you progress and get better and better and play people who are harder and harder, the game gets harder and tougher.”
Gabe Miskimen of Boonville, Indiana, first played pickleball at a local church about three years ago with his niece and nephew. “... It became an addiction, I guess,” Miskimen, 51, said with a laugh. “... Next thing you know, you’re buying new paddles, and going church to church and court to court every night of the week ....”
Miskimen, who was involved in baseball, softball and wrestling, said becoming a pickleball player has helped his physical health. “I have probably dropped about 50 pounds since I started playing,” he said.
Besides being a sport open to all ages and genders, Todd and Miskimen find the foundation of pickleball is relationships.
“There’s a social aspect (to it),” Todd said. “... I personally have 50 friends, no exaggeration, … through pickleball — people I would have not known otherwise, some of them very good friends.” “... You just look around and you see smiles everywhere,” Miskimen said.
For Blackburn, he feels pickleball continues to attract new players because it’s open to all skill levels and experiences.
“People are looking for something to do; and I think people like sports (and) want to be involved in sports in some realm, but they feel like that it’s not attainable …,” he said. “This just gives people with absolutely no athletic ability an opportunity to come out ….”
Blackburn said two of his aims as both a pickleball player and instructor is to enjoy the experience.
“... No matter what you do — if it’s not fun, you’re not gonna get so involved in it, and it just loses its kind of passion and it loses its everyday drive to kind of keep you going,” he said.
Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/racket-fun-throwdown-boro-pickleball-045900835.html