By BOBBIE GREEN
The Progress
The first ever REMAX Pickleball Tournament drew players all the way from Australia. The three-day tournament, a fundraiser for Special Olympics, was held at the Mesquite Recreation Center pickleball complex on February 27-29.
“Re/Max goal was to raise $6,000 for us and they have already surpassed,” said Special Olympics representative Kathy Sheetz on the second day of the tournament. “We use the money to fund the special needs kids play in their own tournaments, travel expenses, uniforms and the like.”
The REMAX Tournament drew 26 teams, to participate. Two of them were from Australia. Julie Andrews and Greg Russel had come to Las Vegas, with their friends Louisa and Geoff Mortimer, to watch their favorite rugby team play in the U.S. for the first time.
Geoff Mortimer said that before leaving Australia they had looked online at an international site, pickleballbrackets.com for a place to play pickleball while visiting the states.
“We found this tournament listed,”he said. “This is great we love it.”
Julie Andrews was determined to come and see more of Mesquite in the future. “Next time we come to the U.S. we are going to stay in Mesquite and see the local sights,” she said. “Everyone is so friendly here.”
Geoff Mortimer said that they had visited the U.S. before. But they had never come to Las Vegas or to Mesquite. “We find everything in the United States is done at a much faster pace than in Australia,” he said.
Louisa Mortimer said that she was very impressed with the Mesquite courts and with the Recreation Center. “My husband and I have been playing tennis since we were kids and recently switched to pickleball,” she said.
Mesquite Pickleball Coordinator John Rosen was pleased with how the tournament went. “It was fun and fast-paced with some very exciting matches,” he said. “Everyone seemed to enjoy the camaraderie and fun of the competition while realizing that they were contributing to an extremely worthwhile cause.”
