Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament Is Successful

Team "Grandpappy's Favorites" - Payton Row, left, and Alexis Slabaugh - plays in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center. "Grandpappy's Favorites" took second in Bracket B. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Team "Young and Old" - Timmy Young and Katherine Rosebure - plays in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center. "Young and Old" took third in Bracket B. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Team "Young & Old"
Team "The 65's" - David Davis and Judy Davis - compete in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center, in Shawnee. "The 65's" took first place in Bracket B. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Team "Bruce Lee" - Bruce Seodara, left, and Lee Witt - compete in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center, in Shawnee. "Bruce Lee" took first place in Bracket A. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Bruce Seodara on Team "Bruce Lee"
Team "Young and Old" - Timmy Young and Katherine Rosebure - plays in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center. "Young and Old" took third in Bracket B. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Team "Young and Old" - Timmy Young and Katherine Rosebure - plays in the Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament, held on June 18 at OBU's Recreation and Wellness Center. "Young and Old" took third in Bracket B. Countywide & Sun/Natasha Dunagan
Team "Young and Old"
Team "Young and Old"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Alexis Slabaugh on Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "Young & Old"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "Bruce Lee"
Team "Bruce Lee"
Team "Bruce Lee"
Team "Bruce Lee"
Doris Row of Team "Arvest 3"
Team "Bruce Lee"
Team "The 65's"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "The 65's"
Team "The 65's"
Team "The 65's"
Team "Grandpappy's Favorites"
Team "The 65's"
Team "The 65's"
Pickleball Rules

The Juneteenth Pickleball Tournament was held for the first time on June 18 at OBU’s Recreation and Wellness Center.

It was organized by Shawnee Forward and the Dunbar Heights Community to add to the Juneteenth Celebration.

Dunbar Heights Community President Timmy Young welcomed everyone in his opening comments.

There were 25 teams registered to play pickleball - which is similar to tennis but is played with a shorter net and a Wiffle ball - in the tournament.

According to the websites pickleballportal.com and pickleballmagazine. com, the game was invented in 1965 by Joel and Joan Prichard and Barney McCallum. It was named by Joan, who was a competitive rower, after the term “pickle boat,” a “weaker, mismatched crew boat.”

Shawnee Forward Marketing and Events Director Kimberly Davis said, “Participants were excited to play in the tournament, hoping this would be an Annual Event.”

Davis quoted one player, Erika Jones, as saying, “It was one of the most fun Shawnee Forward Fundraisers I have ever participated in! I will play again next year and bring more people to compete with.”

Players were classified by experience in two brackets for the tournament.

Here are the results:

Bracket A:

1st Place: “Bruce Lee”: Bruce Seodara and Lee Witt

2nd Place: “Chuck & Chad”: Chuck Stacy and Chad Miller

3rd Place: “The Nuggets”: Kyle Keenen and Josh Davis

Bracket B:

1st Place: “The 65’s”: David Davis and Judy Davis

2nd Place: “Grandpappy’s Favorites”: Alexis Slabaugh and Payton Row

3rd Place: “Young and Old”: Katherine Rosebure and Timmy Young

Sponsors for this event were Arvest Bank, OBU, Chick-Fil-A, and FireLake Discount Grocery.