The largest pickleball event in Santa Barbara is taking place this weekend.
The sixth American Riviera Classic Pickleball Tournament has attracted a full field of 300 pickleball enthusiasts to the courts at the Municipal Tennis and Pickleball Center for three days of action, starting Friday.
The tournament is a benefit for children’s charities, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Shriners Hospital For Children.
The format is doubles competition in men’s, women’s and mixed divisions. Action started at 8:30 a.m. on Friday with women’s division play, which will run till around 5:30 p.m. Mixed doubles teams will take the courts on Saturday and the men play on Sunday.
Each division includes brackets of teams grouped by skill-rating (3.0 to 5.0) and age. The teams will play round-robin matches with the top teams advancing to the medal rounds. Medal matches will be played throughout the day.
The tournament matches will be played on 14 courts at the Municipal Center. There are viewing areas outside each court.
Richard Salzberg, the USA Pickleball Ambassador for Santa Barbara, said this is the sixth year of the tournament.
“We skipped a year for COVID,” he said. “We had four of these before the pandemic. We’ve been doing it as a fundraiser. This particular one is a fundraiser for children’s charities.”
The earlier tournaments raised money to expand the pickleball facilities at the Municipal Courts. They started with four courts and now have 12.
“The players have been in partnership with the city recreation department to install additional courts here and help with the maintenance,” said Salzberg.
He said the rise in the sport’s popularity locally is reflected in a monthly newsletter he produces online.
“I’ve been playing almost nine years. I took over the monthly newsletter reporting and at the time we had 80 players. Those were 80 permit holders at the municipal courts,” he said. “Right now, my email list has almost 1500 people. These are people I correspond with every single month, and these are players that are just playing at the Municipal Tennis and Pickleball Center.”
Salzberg, who will be playing with rock star and local resident Kenny Loggins, said the pandemic played a part in people discovering and getting hooked on the sport.
“During the pandemic, there were three “safe sports,” he said, referring to health guidelines at the time. “No. 1 was golf, two was tennis and No. 3 was pickleball. So, a lot of people who wanted to remain active and were looking for something to do were able to get outside, get fresh air and be safe.
“It’s been a life saver for a lot of people in many ways. It’s just been a real benefit for the community.”
And, with the success of the American Riviera Tournament, the sport locally is now at a level where it can help charitable organizations.
Here are the medal winners from Friday’s women’s play:
Womens Doubles 4.5:ALL Gold —Shannon Minne, Santa Barbara, Tracy Wilcox, Goleta. Silver—Katie Hatch, Camarillo, Amy Sanderl, Winnetka, Bronze—Laurie Harrington, Goleta, Paula Galbraith, Carpinteria
Womens Doubles 4.0:19+,35+,50+ – Gold—Jill Sharkey, Santa Barbara, Denise Tisdale, Goleta. Silver—Diane Humphrey, Thousand Oaks, Tracy McKeown, Newbury Park. Bronze—Katrina Shupe, Santa Barbara, Nanette Schooley, Santa Barbara
Womens Doubles 3.5 19+/35+/50+:19+,35+,50+ – Gold—Leslie Wells, Santa Barbara, Jennifer Robertson, Santa Barbara. Silver—Brenda Trejos, Fort Collins, CO, Lisa Wilcox, Santa Barbara. Bronze—Ahnika Johnson, Santa Barbara, Courtney Cox, Santa Barbara
Womens Doubles 3.0:19+,35+ – Gold—Lisa Hawkins, Santa Barbara, Michelle Cobb, Santa Barbara. Silver—Kelly Martin, Santa Barbara, Lacy Selby, Santa Barbara. Bronze—Adina McGarr Knabke, Santa Barbara, Kari Arcur, Santa Barbara
Womens Doubles 3.0:50+ – Gold—CathyAnn Simon, Santa Barbara, Teresa Selzer, Santa Barbara. Silver—Nadia Lyhitchenko, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Niki Sawyer, Thousand Oaks. Bronze—Nicole Bates, Santa Barbara, Lisa Streett, Santa Barbara
Womens Doubles 3.0:60+,65+,70+ Gold—Christie Boyd, Carpinteria, Heidi Poley, Santa Barbara. Silver—Kathy Hanley, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Sue Irwin, Santa Barbara. Bronze—Elizabeth Andrews, Fresno, Mary Wingett, Fresno.
Womens Doubles 3.5:60+,65+,70+ Gold Patricia Rosenthal, Newbury Park, Doreene Morgan, Thousand Oaks. Silver—Olga Pinal, Santa Barbara, Cie Gumucio, Santa Barbara. Bronze—Lisa DeMaio, Valencia, Cheri Gienger, Nipomo
Womens Doubles 4.0:60+,65+,70+ Gold—Lisa Sigaty, Orange, Kathy Isett, Simi Valley. Silver—Tina Brown, Aanta Barbara, Tara Sandford, Santa Barbara.Bronze—Judy Greenhagen, Pickle ball of Omaha, NE, Joyce McVicker, Omaha NE