Sioux Falls becomes part of one man's attempt to break a pickleball world record
Sioux Falls became the 23rd destination for a Guinness World Record Attempt for the fastest time to play a game of pickleball in all 48 contiguous states.
The game took place in the GreatLIFE fitness facility Monday at 4600 S. Tennis Lane. The challenge that started on May 1 is scheduled to end prior to the end of the month. The participants said after the game they were heading straight to Des Moines, Iowa that would mark their journey’s equator.
“Then we are going to head out to the East Coast,” said the organizer of the event Dean Matt, who is flying his own airplane for the occasion.
The event is going to take about 80 hours of flying and about 9,000 miles in the air. He said because the western states were larger, he started out doing one or two of them a day. Once he's headed east, he would be doing two or three a day to “finish up," Matt said.
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For example, they are planning on playing in three different states in a day, three days in a row, such as Cincinnati, Ohio; Lewisburg, West Virginia; and Frankfort, Kentucky. Another example was Frederick, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and [Auburn], New York all in one day.
“It’s challenging,” said Matt.
He explained he selected the communities he wanted to play in by routing hrough the interior of the U.S. as much as possible and avoiding going to the extreme coastal areas, such as Miami or Seattle.
“It’s pretty much the interior of the United States, making sure I get all 48 states,” said Matt.
Matt, a private pilot from the Chicago area, said he moved to Florida with his wife a few years ago where they found a new love of pickleball. Matt said he did not know too much about the game before they moved down there.
Matt said he played a lot of racquetball in the Chicago area, and once they moved to a Florida golf course community, they found many in Florida played pickleball. He said he and his wife found the pickleball community welcoming and social.
“Everybody has rolled out a red carpet,” said Matt. “We play more pickleball than golf now.”
Matt said once he had the idea of doing a game of pickleball in 48 states, he contacted Selkirk Sport, who he once bought a paddle from, to ask if they were willing to sponsor the event, because they were known in the pickleball industry.
“It’s a family-run business, they are very big in the pickleball industry," Matt said. "They are very big advertiser, and they are very welcoming, so I called them up, and they said, 'Yes we want to be a part of this."
He said from there, he started contacting other people in the industry, and most of them supported the undertaking. Matt emphasized his efforts were not so much about making a record attempt as they were about telling 48 stories of pickleball in different states.
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“I just want to spotlight the 48 communities and states that I’m visiting,” said Matt. “And see the vibrancy and growth of the local pickleball communities.”
Some of the stories he witnessed on his journey or participated in were raising funds in Jonesboro, Arkansas, for special Olympics participants and a stop in the Chicago area where they were going to raise funds for charity.
“That’s some fun stories as well,” Matt said.
He said every facility they have visited so far was special, and a lot of times his journey was about those facilities and their owners as well as about the organizers of the record attempt. He added he was also playing at some five-star resorts and private residences.
“A guy has a facility like this that he is very proud of, a public park district just opened up new courts that they are proud of,” said Matt.
His partners for the game also varied from low-income children, special Olympic participants, professionals, state officials and ex-state officials on mayoral and gubernatorial levels, and ordinary people.
“A little bit of everything,” said Matt.
He said at his last stop, he was going to play a 93-year-old man, while at another stop in Kalamazoo, Michigan, he was going to play a 97-year-old woman. His youngest competitor on this trip so far was a teenager, but there are pickleball players younger than that, said Matt.
“Everybody could play,” he said. “It’s good to see everybody out there.”
He said that he found his game partners for the trip through calling his ground ambassadors that he knew from various walks of life, and they set him up for the games, because they knew local pickleball communities.
His ground agent in Sioux Falls, Rodney Anderson, spends half of the year in Florida, and that's how they knew each other. Anderson said he decided to participate, because it was fun. He added he was glad to connect the two communities he is familiar with.
“It’s pretty neat,” said Anderson. “Country is beautiful this time of the year.”
Matt said the pickleball community in all the 48 states they planned to visit was also supportive. Where he did not know anybody, he contacted the local tourism bureaus, and they helped them to plan.
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“We had nothing, but great-great turnouts and great crowds, and great fun talking to the people out there,” said Matt.
Planning was the hardest part for him overall. Matt said he had been planning the event for six months, and just when he thought everything was finally nailed down, something would fall apart, and he would have to re-plan.
“Two weeks ago on Monday, when I turned the key in the plane, I felt a big relief because now I was in control, I could fly,” said Matt.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sioux Falls becomes part of one man's attempt to break a pickleball world record
