♪♪ upbeat music ♪♪ »ANNOUNCER: Last time on "I Heart Pickleball"
we met long-time pickleball ambassadors, Bob and Beverly Youngren.
This month we head out to Oklahoma City to catch up with the OKC Pickleball Club
as they get ready for the largest tournament they've ever had.
♪♪ upbeat music ♪♪
♪♪ music fades ♪♪ »ANNOUNCER: "I Heart Pickleball"
is powered by Hyland's Leg Cramps, proud supporter of pickleball players everywhere.
»VICKY: My goal for our club was to see what a tournament
is like, to be in a tournament,
and see higher level players play.
♪♪ playful music ♪♪ »I'm Vicky Noakes, and I'm the pickleball tournament
director for the Sooner State Games. I had heard of the Sooner State Games before because
when I used to play tennis, I played in the Sooner State Games.
And I just called and asked if we could meet with them, and if they would be interested
in including pickleball as one of their sports. And
they were glad for us to be involved. She just wanted somebody to run
the tournament. And when we volunteered, then that
was all good. Up until last weekend I felt really stressed
because there was still a lot to be done.
But then Sherry came on and started taking some of the jobs away.
»SHERRY: My name is Sherry Prince. I am in the middle of the most fun tournament you've
ever seen. It's called the Sooner State Games. I'm the assistant director
for the tournament. Well, we've done small tournaments. We've done
Christmas parties and we've done real small tournaments. So, this is our first
sanctioned pickleball tournament. ♪♪ playful music ♪♪
♪♪ playful music ♪♪ »VICKY: Well, we've bought 25 rolls
of this blue tape that's binding tape
that we thought was going to work. Didn't
because as soon as you stepped on it, you slid on it and it moved. I think the courts
may be a little dirty. That may not help.
So, we went back and we got some green frog tape,
put it down. It seems to be sticking better.
So, hopefully it will. »SHERRY: Well, we've tried it several
times, different tape, but probably what happened was it wasn't enough tape.
It was too small of a piece and
we weren't sure what to do. Some of the players went out and got a bunch of tape. And,
yay, Denny! He's our head tape guy. I mean, you saw people down
on their hands and knees getting it handled and getting it taken care of because they
want the tape handled and they want Vicky to feel good about, hey, we're going to take care of this.
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»VICKY: We finished up our Oklahoma State Games, which is a qualifier for the
National Games, and
it's a relief. And it's also very
gratifying to see that it was a success.
»SHERRY: I feel great. I thought it was tons of fun.
Some of the things that helped us pull it off was we've done this
on a smaller venue. We started out with just parties, maybe
a Christmas party. Because lots of times what happens is you start small,
then you figure out what's not working. And that's why you take
notes, and then you try and try and try again. And each time you'll get better.
♪♪ inspiring music ♪♪ »Don't be afraid to start. That's
the first step is just starting. And make it small. Make it small and
don't worry about making mistakes because you will. What you do is you just
learn from it and grow and you appreciate people.
Because you know, we're all in that place where we feel like a little
kid inside. We still want to play. We want to play games. Why not play games and have a
party at the same time. ♪♪ inspiring music ♪♪
♪♪ inspiring music ♪♪
♪♪ upbeat music ♪♪ »ANNOUNCER: No matter where you are, pickleball can
bring us together to celebrate community, learn new things and have fun.
If you know someone we should feature on a future episode, we would love to hear from you.
All you have to do is send us an email and tell us your idea. This
episode of "I Heart Pickleball" has been brought to you by Hyland's Leg Cramps.
America's #1 over-the-counter leg cramp medicine. For more information, go to
Hylands.com
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