Paddleball enthusiasts will soon gather at several predominant Quaker Valley venues for the 61st annual Sewickley Invitational Paddle Tournament.
This year’s contest features 160 players to be paired off into 80 co-ed teams competing in five different divisions.
Many are from the Sewickley area.
Festivities begin with revels at the Edgeworth Club on Feb. 20.
Competitors there also will find out who their partners are for the first round.
Games begin the following day at 8 a.m. and continue through 4:30 p.m. at the club as well as the Sewickley Valley YMCA and the Allegheny Country Club, which will host a party that evening and the finals at 1 p.m. Feb. 22.
Paddleball is played with smaller rackets and smaller courts compared to tennis. It also has tight wire fencing surrounding the courts.
The Sewickley Invitational is one of the longest running tournaments in Western Pennsylvania.
John Moyer, director of rackets at the Allegheny Country Club, credits the sport’s success to a number of factors.
“I think the strong sense of community within Sewickley has really helped it grow,” Moyer said Feb. 11.
“The game of platform tennis, or paddle tennis, kinds of lends itself to a winter sport. What also has helped is Pittsburgh is one of the few cities in the country that actually has municipalities that allows it to be played.
“Traditionally, paddle tennis is played only at country clubs. … You have a bigger pool of people that are engaging in it.”
There are public courts in North Park, Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair as well as the Sewickley Y.
Moyer has been involved in the tournament for the past nine years. He said more families join each time.
“It’s been fun to kind of see it grow and be part of history,” Moyer said. “We’re thrilled to host it this year.
“The professional staff here at the club is really just here to help facilitate and make sure courts get on on time and matches are all completed, and (helping) people to their next court assignment. A lot of the behind the scenes are really done by the host family.”
Each venue has a host family that coordinates with officials and staffers at their respective locations.
Hosts help set game brackets, work on food and entertainment, fundraise and set the weekend’s theme. This year’s theme is Miami Vice.
Folks are welcome to dress up in white suits, neon-colored shirts and other flamboyant 1980s apparel.
AJ Carna of Sewickley and his wife, Amanda, are the host family for the Allegheny County Club.
They joined the club about five years ago.
“Before that, I wasn’t frankly very familiar with paddle,” AJ Carna said. “Sort of got pulled in through different friends who were actively playing. It’s just an incredibly fun game, fun sport, and it’s great to have this activity available in these long winter nights, where frankly there’s not a whole lot going on.”
AJ and Amanda Carna are tournament competitors. There is a chance they could be on opposite sides of the court.
Players sign up individually, and partners are selected at random.
Those who win move on as their team while those who lose move into a different bracket and pick up new partners.
“Your first-round partner may be somebody you’ve never met before, and they become a great friend of yours because it’s such a fun weekend, such a fun tournament,” AJ Carna said. He is in it for the fun and fellowship rather than championships.
“The hang and all the time that we spend with our friends doing it (is what we’re here for),” AJ Carna said. “I think what my wife and I and most people that play paddle or (are) pretty active in paddle really enjoy is every bit the time, the hang and the people that you’re doing it with.”
Ben Kopel of Edgeworth echoed those comments. He and his wife, Nicole, are the host family for the Edgeworth Club.
They got in a warmup earlier this year at a couple’s competition.
“It’s a very nice community event,” Ben Kopel said about the tournament. “There are sponsors. There are people that come out and not even playing paddle, just to watch.”
Ben Kopel said the game can be addictive once you start playing and the tournament provides the right level of competitivenes.
Players range in age from 19 to 80.
“It’s been a very positive impact,” he said.
Jay and Christen Dundon are hosts for the YMCA. They also play at the Edgeworth Club.
Admission to spectate the games is free. Player registration is closed.
More information about the tournament is available on the event’s Facebook page or email siptonline@gmail.com.