On Sunday, November 16, a pickleball tournament was held by the Haldane Varsity Girls’ Tennis team in Haldane’s big gym as a fundraiser for the team. The 26 attendees were paired into teams of two, including sophomore tennis player Audrey Silverstein and Assistant Coach and English as a New Language Teacher Barbara Jennings. Each team sought to score 11 points in each of the 20-minute rounds. As is customary, the teams had to win by two.
There was quite a spread of skill levels in attendance. Contestants ranged from experienced, lifelong players to several first-timers. Steve Dubroff, father of first singles player and Haldane sophomore Ellie Dubroff, hadn’t even picked up a paddle before the event. “It’s my first time playing pickleball, and it’s been a bit harder than I’d thought,” he remarked, going on to say that he had lost three games in a row and was beginning to find himself more than a little frustrated.
But the tournament, it turned out, got very close to being canceled. “It rained,” said Head Coach and Fifth-Grade Science Teacher Simon Dudar, “and we had to move inside.” The event was originally planned to be outside on the tennis courts, but after nearly an hour of mopping as rain continued to fall, the event’s organizers moved the venue into the big gym.
After nearly four hours of fiery competition, one winning team was declared out of the dozen. I’m Pickle Rick!, a team made up of community members Nate Smith and David Steigelfest managed to snag the top spot after an astonishingly close game, and they walked away with a pickle-themed trophy and the fire of victory in their hearts.
For those who regret not attending this November’s tournament, the tennis team has other fundraisers on the roster. Alexandra Dubroff, Ellie Dubroff ’s mother and tennis fundraiser volunteer, says she and Dudar are “thinking of having a ping pong tournament during the winter.” The organizers “hope to do this again, [as] most of the participants are having fun.”
