Marylou Furaus and Lyla Reibel
Darlene and Steve Walker
Cynthia Schwartz
Pickleball players from PebbleCreek won medals in the 2019 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championship Tournament. The Nationals is the largest pickleball tournament in the world and draws thousands of spectators. This year, there more over 2,200 players from around the globe, participating in matches held over ten days. The ages of players ranged from eight to eighty years old.
Players from the PebbleCreek Pickleball Club (PCPB) won gold and silver medals.
Women’s Doubles Age 70+ 4.5 skill level
Silver medal: Marylou Furaus and Lyla Reibel
Gold medal: Darlene Walker
Mixed Doubles Age 70+ 4.5 skill level
Gold medal: Darlene Walker and Steve Walker
Marylou was a racquetball player who competed for 40 years at a national level and was sponsored by various paddle companies. After moving to PebbleCreek, she continued to play racquetball before discovering pickleball. Marylou was one of the first members of the PCPB. She commented, “I love the PCPB club. We have so many volunteers. I have met so many fabulous people on the courts. And, I am blessed to stay healthy. I am seventy-five years old and play pickleball five to six times a week, competing at a high 4.5 level.”
Lyla and Marylou met at a tournament in Montana just a couple of years ago and found out that they lived just a few miles apart in Arizona. Lyla recently bought a home in PebbleCreek and is moving in soon!
Darlene and Steve Walker commented, “Words cannot describe the thrilling experience of winning gold medals at our national event. We are truly grateful that at age 70 we have the opportunity to play at the 4.5 level. Our many thanks to those individuals that stayed to watch the matches and to those generous people that helped us along the way. Our success is because of men and women who love pickleball and spent time and money building and maintaining courts. If anyone wants to experience a truly grand venue where the competition is talented and committed to crafting their shots, Nationals is for you.”
Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports, especially in active adult communities. The PebbleCreek Pickleball Club is one of the largest clubs in the United States and has more than 1,500 members. If you are interested in learning to play pickleball or joining the club, visit pcpickleball.org or come down to the courts!