Pickleball teams go head-to-head to support area women with cancer

LELAND, NC (WWAY) –It looks like it could be tennis, but it sounds like ping pong and it smells like hard work. It’s pickleball!

More than 250 players from across the continent are in town to play.

House of Pickleball (H.O.P.) Owner Jan Abbott says the 4th annual “Dink for Pink” tournament supports a Wilmington’s women’s support group for women with cancer, Lump for Laughter. Abbott says the this tournament has raised more than $100,000 for the group over the last 4 years.

Abbott says the game of pickleball has come a long way from where it started 50 years ago. He says the game was started by a family on vacation that wanted to find a game for the younger kids and older kids to play together.

“They had ping pong paddles,” Abbott said. “They had wiffle balls and they had a court from badminton, so this is exactly the size of a badminton court. We now have pickle ball paddles instead of ping pong paddles and we now have pickle balls instead of wiffle balls, but they’re basically the same thing.”

Managing Director of the H.O.P. Richard Holloman says the game is good for overall health.

“It’s great for physical health and exercise,” Holloman said. “They even say its great for people with illnesses and, overall, just a fun game to play.”

Holloman says this five day tournament will end with winners being awarded medals. He says the first team to win 2 out of 3 games will win. The team’s are playing to 11 points.