Pickleball Classic coming to Pittsburgh
Sally and Lou Sherfinski’s passion for pickleball began innocently enough.
After being introduced to the sport six years ago while visiting friends in California, the Canonsburg couple responded to an item in The Almanac.
“The blurb stated, ‘Anyone interested … should call this number,'” said Lou. “We did, and the rest is history.”
He and Sally went from using the court in Bridgeville’s park on McLaughlin Run with six others to involving more than 50 players, who vie at South Hills venues from the recreation centers at Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair, where the Sherfinskis once lived, to the Southpointe Courthouse.
Today, they are the tournament directors of the GAMMA Pickleball Classic, which will be held June 3-5 at the Pittsburgh Convention Center. Admission is free.
Similar to how they discovered pickleball, the Sherfinskis fell into the directors’ chair. Their appointment began after a brief conversation last December with Wayne Dollard, co-founder with Mike Wertz of the Pickleball Classic. Because Lou was a USA Pickleball association ambassador, Dollard thought he would be interested.
”Obviously, I am a lover of the game,” Lou admitted.
“Not knowing any better, I said sure, but only if my wife could be co-director. We started planning in January, recruited others who we knew could help and here we are now.”
Only days away from the inaugural event, Lou had no idea the tournament would exceed its numbers. Some 225 players have registered. Many hail from nearby states, and some are from Canada.
“We had no good feeling for how many we might get or from where, but we are happy,” Lou said about the turnout. He anticipates next year’s event will expand to include high schools. Currently, the tournament will be held in Hall D of the convention center and be played on 15 courts. “We hope to see many more players (in the future) so that would mean we would need to double our space,” added Lou.
Many current players such as Diane and Bob Unetich have also pitched in to help the Sherfinskis. Diane was involved in registration along with Terri Flynn of New Castle. Bob, like Lou, is one of the sport’s ambassadors.
The Unetich family used to play tennis. In fact, their sons, Mike and Rich, were standouts on the Upper St. Clair High School teams. Diane and Bob also used to play paddle tennis, but since they have been going to Florida the past three winters, that sport has become less important.
“Although we think it’s wonderful,” said Diane. “But since I’ve started playing pickleball, I really don’t have time or interest in tennis.”
According to Diane, pickleball is much easier to play, due partly to the smaller court size (20 by 44 feet), which is approximately the same as a badminton court. Pickleball lends itself better for mixed doubles play than tennis, she added.
“It’s a very social sport and so fun,” said Diane, who also plays the game with her grandchildren. She noted that while pickleball is primarily a “senior” sport, “young people love it, too.”
Locally, in fact, high schools teach it in gym class.
“Pickleball is growing nationally at a tremendous rate,” Diane said, adding that the sport faces one daunting problem: “There are not enough courts.”
While the Sherfinskis play three or four times a week, they have had to travel at times. During the winter months, they play primarily at the Southpointe Courthouse and in the recreation center at USC. Outdoors they have played at Baker Park in USC, Fairview Park and in South Fayette on Millers Run Road. They have ventured to Cranberry, New Castle and Garrett College in Maryland to play, as well.
“Pickleball is a very social game,” Lou said. ” You are close to your opponents. There is much bantering back and forth, and the exercise is great. We know many husband-wife duos that play together, and we have made many wonderful friends in the process.
“It is also a sport where you just need a group to show up,” he continued. “It’s not important that you have a partner, as eventually you will play with and against everyone. The court is small, the balls and paddles are light, and it is easy on the bodies of us senior citizens.”
The Pickleball Classic is also a way to raise awareness for Parkinson’s disease as well as the need for more courts. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.
“We want to help contribute money to help fund programs,” said Diane. “We also want to promote the sport of pickleball and thereby help convince recreation departments that it’s a real sport and deserving of programs promoting play and building dedicated facilities, not shared-use tennis courts.”
Visit pickleballclassic.org or www.usapa.org for more information on the event or the sport.