Arizona Senior Olympics expands pickleball lineup

Youth will be served at this year’s Arizona Senior Olympics pickleball competition. In addition to the standard events for seniors ages 50 and older, this year’s pickleball games will feature competition for high school students, families and even city employees.

"Pickleball has been introduced to a lot of younger people and it is one of the largest events at the senior olympics," said Bob Lanius, ASO pickleball commissioner. "But most of the tournaments throughout the year are for seniors, not young people.

"We hope these new events will get more people interested in the sport."

The pickleball portion of the Arizona Senior Olympics will be played Feb. 21-27 at Marinette Recreation Center, 9860 W. Union Hills Drive, Sun City.

Among the new events this year:

• Multi-Generation Event: This is a doubles event on Feb. 27 where the combined ages of the two partners must be at least 100. It is designed for grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren.

"We have discovered that residents in senior communities go home in the summer and play pickleball with their children and grandchildren," Lanius said. "We want to provide that same kind of fun in the Arizona Senior Olympics."

• City Challenge: This doubles event on Feb. 27 is designed for city employees, from police officers and firefighters to other city workers.

Lanius said the inspiration for this event was the large numbers of firefighters who play the sport in the Northwest. Lanius said that enthusiasm has spread to the desert, where firefighters play the game in Avondale and Buckeye.

• High School Challenge: The Feb. 27 event is designed for high school students who have learned the game in physical education classes or through their community recreation programs. It also gives students a chance to show off their school pride.

Lanius said he’s uncertain what the response will be to the new format. Registration began two weeks ago and no registration numbers will be available for another two weeks.

"We are going into uncharted waters," said Lanius, a Surprise resident. "But we thought we would offer something different in pickleball this year to promote the sport."

Marinette features 12 pickleball courts. Nearby tennis courts will be temporarily turned into pickleball courts, giving the Arizona Senior Olympics 16 courts for the weeklong event. Around 300 competitors are expected to participate in the pickleball games.

Mary Mahan will be one of the pickleball particpants.

Like many pickleball players, she never heard of the sport until she moved to Sun City from California.

"I was walking by the courts one day and was invited to try," Mahan said. "Now, I’m addicted to it."

Sun City has never played host to pickleball in the Arizona Seniors Olympics. The community was selected, in part, because it is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Pickleball competition will be featured in singles, men’s and women’s doubles as well as mixed doubles.

There also will be a separate skill level tournament on Feb. 24, an open division designed to showcase the top players in the sport. There also will be a rookie level open division on Feb. 21 for newer and less accomplished players.

All registration will be handled via an online registration process at www.seniorgames.org.

Registration fee is $20 for the first event, and $8 for every additional event.

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