The third annual Fall Classic Pickleball Tournament will be held Oct. 22-23 at the Timbers of Eureka, 1 Coffey Park Lane.
Eureka Parks and Recreation supervisor Luke Hollman said the tournament will feature its traditional mixed-doubles competition, but this year men’s and women’s team tournaments will be added.
“Mixed doubles is on Saturday, Oct. 22, and then the men’s and women’s doubles will be on Sunday, Oct. 23,” he said. “We will start at 9 a.m. each day and probably go to about 3:30 p.m. or 4 p.m.”
Hollman said the format of all tournaments will be double-elimination, assuring each team at least two matches.
He said the bracket for the mixed-doubles tournament will be complete at 16 teams, and the men’s and women’s tournaments are capped at eight teams.
He said the previous mixed-doubles tournaments attracted 12 teams in 2020 and nine in 2021.
Hollman said teams interested in playing need to sign up soon because he believes the tournaments will fill up quickly.
It costs $25 per team to play in each of the tournaments, and players may sign up at the Timbers or by calling 636-938-6775.
“We have seen an increase in open play,” he said. “More and more families are starting to play.”
Growing interest
Owen Miller, 50, of Eureka said he started playing pickleball when the Timbers reopened in July 2020 after being closed at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
He said it was a good sport to play for those concerned about the spread of the virus.
“There is not a lot of touching involved,” Miller said. “It was an easy sport to learn, and it’s not as taxing and physical as tennis would be, so it’s a great family sport.”
Miller said he played in the 2021 mixed-doubles tournament, and he is interested in competing in this year’s men’s tournament with his son.
He said he encourages those who have not tried the sport to pick it up, finding that established players are welcoming to newcomers.
“Everywhere I play, people have been very patient with new players,” he said. “The Timbers is a great place to learn. People there are very friendly.”
The Timbers holds open-play pickleball from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.