Bend pickleball group gets donor, sponsor

Bend Pickleball Club has received a major donation from Bend business Big Country RV for the Pickleball Community Courts Project and to sponsor the August pickleball tournament, now called the Big Country RV Pickleball Open.

Their donation brings the total raised by the club to $50,000 for construction of eight pickleball courts in partnership with Bend Park & Recreation District.

This is one of the first USA Pickleball Association tournaments to be named for a corporate sponsor, bringing Pickleball much more into the mainstream of competitive sports.

The courts will be built by BPRD at Pine Nursery Community Park this fall and will be owned and managed by the district for the benefit of the community, with the Bend Pickleball Club assisting with programming, lessons and outreach.

The club still must raise another $50,000 for a total of $100,000 to meet a 50% match from BPRD; the total cost is $200,000. An auction and garage sale in June are expected to raise another $15,000. For more information and to make a tax-deductible donation to the courts campaign, go to the Club’s website, www.bendpickleballclub.com, or call A.J. Fraties, president, at 916-257-2097.

There are an estimated 600 regular players in the area, and the club anticipates an increase of 5,000 more over the next 10 years, based on the rapidly growing popularity of pickleball and the percentage of Bend seniors, adults and youth who enjoy active sports.

There is a severe shortage of courts in Bend; during summer, there is only one regulation court in the whole city for 600 people to share, at Quail Park.

Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court across a net two inches lower than a tennis net. A ball similar to a Whiffle ball is hit with a composite paddle that resembles an oversized table-tennis paddle.

The sport is simple to learn, and beginners are often playing on their own by the end of one lesson. Pickleball is a game of shot placement and patience, not brute power or strength, which is one reason why it appeals to players of all ages.