Vol. 4, No. 3
Complimentary
June 2017
WALK FOR A CAUSE- Shown are Wallace and Kim Butler at the Salisbury Kidney walk. Kim Butler gave her husband a great gift eight years ago. See page 3.
Fitness and Outdoor Recreation
Local venues provide a source for outdoor recreation and fitness. Pages 8-10. 3RD WAVE- 3rd Wave Brewery in Delmar adds a new canning line. Page 6 INSPIRATION- Former NFL player speaks to area youth. Page 18
INDEX
Avery Hall................................... 14 Bulletin Board.......................24-25 Business Digest........................ 12 Business Directory...............32-33 Church........................................ 17 Delegate’s Report........................ 4 Education .............................26-28 Entertainment............................ 23 Espress Employment................ 14 Final Word.................................. 35 Delmar Chamber........................ 13 Gee Dunsten.............................. 16 Health....................................30-31 Personnel................................... 15 Real Estate................................. 16 Sports....................................18-22 Salisbury University.................. 28 Student Profile........................... 26 The Great Outdoors.................. 21 Veronica Correa......................... 33
EXPANSION- Shown during last month’s press conference about expansion plans at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex are: Jim Haddaway and Aaron Flaker of Athletx; Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver; Wayne Strausburg; and Terry Hasseltine, executive director of Maryland Sports. See story on page 9. Submitted photo
Pickleball is the newest sports phenomenon sweeping the nation
By Al Higgins
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a new sports phenomenon sweeping the country. It’s called pickleball and it has nothing to do with cucumbers soaked in brine. The game originated in Bainbridge Island, off the coast of Washington state. It was invented by Congressman Joel Pritchard and a few of his buddies in 1963. The Pritchard home came with an old badminton court and they determined that the perforated plastic balls bounced well off the asphalt surface. There is some confusion regarding the
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name of the sport. After having struggled for a few years with a name for the sport they finally came up with pickleball. Some claim it is named after the family cocker spaniel that would capture the ball and run of with it into the bushes. Others claim the name came from Pritchard’s wife, Joan, referring to the slowest boat in a race. Regardless of how the sport got its name, it is definitely here to stay. The game is played on a court similar to that of tennis but on a somewhat smaller scale. A typical pickleball court measures 22 feet by 44 feet. Like tennis, it involves a net at mid-court but it is not as tall as the traditional tennis net. Instead of rackets, the players use paddles commonly made of graphite and they hit a hard plastic ball that is three inches in diameter. It is similar to a wiffle ball in that it has holes in it, but unlike wiffle balls, the holes are uniform throughout the circumference of the ball. The game can be played one-on-one or with two man teams, with the first
team to score 11 points being the winner. Scoring is pretty straightforward but unlike tennis, where scoring is counted as one love, two love, deuce, etc., pickleball follows the same scoring as in badminton. If you fail to hit the ball over the net, hit it out of bounds or simply miss it, you lose the serve. You must be serving to score. The game is very fast paced and loud. Hitting a hard plastic ball with a graphite paddle is anything but serene. In 2014, indoor pickleball courts were made available to members of the YMCA. Since then the sport has mushroomed in both attendance and enthusiasm. Joshua West is the Wicomico County Ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association. “Pickleball, which has its share of young followers, is particularly attractive to older folks who have a background in tennis,” he said. “The game requires less movement than tennis yet provides excellent exercise to its parContinued on page 8