Laie community enjoys newly added sport during annual “Laie Days” celebration
Gathering and celebrating as a community is the core objective of Laie Days’ activities, said Chauncey Lilly Ako, a community member and organizer of the pickleball tournament, held at the Cannon Activities Center.
Bringing ohana together
The Pickle Ball tournament was divided into three categories: Mixed doubles, men’s doubles, and women’s doubles, said Ako. He added, “$50 gift cards to Pounders were awarded to the three winning teams."
Martha Christensen, a former BYU-Hawaii academic advisor and alumnae, said she won three games on the first day of the games. Her execution of the “around the pole” move was a highlight, said Christensen. She said, “The opposing team hit this incredible cross-court shot, and I went up and did the backhand down the line.”
Betty Nikora, also a former BYUH academic advisor for the arts departments, said she was there to support her husband and son playing. She said she appreciated all the volunteers in the community who helped make Laie Days, especially the pickleball tournament. She said she and her family loved coming to participate in Laie Days activities every year.
A brief history of pickleball
Jacob Livesay, a writer and reporter from USA Today, said three friends—Joel Pritchard, Braney McCallum, and Bill Bell—invented pickleball in 1965. The game was created to provide a fun pastime for their families, says Livesay.
According to information from the Long Cove Club, ping-pong paddles and a wiffle ball were used to improvise due to the lack of rackets used in badminton in Pritchard’s yard. The game can be played as either singles or doubles, says Long Cove Club information.
Since then, the game has been developed to be more accessible for all ages as a source of family entertainment, reports USA Today.
Playing and scoring
A rectangular 44-by-20-foot court is used to play pickleball. Divided into two sides by a lower net, the court also has two sidelines, two baselines, and a center line on each side. The “kitchen,” which are two non-volley lines, creates two non-volley zones. The center line divides each side into two service courts, says Play Pickleball.com. The site shares a list of basic rules for playing the game. The rules are:
- You may only attempt your serve one time. Every point begins with a serve.
- A pickleball serve must be hit underhand from behind the baseline crosscourt into the opposing team’s service court.
- Neither of your feet may step into the playing area or baseline until after hitting the ball.
- The server must clear the net and not land in the kitchen.
- Double bounce rule: the ball must bounce once on each side before either team may start volleying the ball in the air.
- Players should not hit the ball when standing in the kitchen unless the ball has already bounced on their side.
Jack Fairey, a writer for pickleballunion.com, said the scoring system is linked to which team is serving and where they are positioned on the court. Additionally, Fairey said that a point is won when a fault is committed. “Usually, this happens by hitting the ball out of the pickleball court,” he added.
