In this Q & A, we chat with Lynda Boesel, president of the Camas-Washougal Chapter of the Columbia River Pickleball Club (CRPC). The CRPC has five chapters and about 850 members total; the Camas-Washougal chapter has 170 members and, like pickleball clubs in many places, is growing. Play at Wolfe Courts at Hathaway Park starts at 10am on most good-weather days and as early as 8am in the summer. The courts will be closed starting in May for re-surfacing, and will reopen again in August. Find the club online at www.places2play.org. Players can schedule their own court time at playtimescheduler.com.
How did you become acquainted with pickleball? Paint the scene.
I live three and a half blocks from Hathaway Park and I’ve spent a lot of time walking and cycling through the park. When we first moved here, it was 1993, and I noticed a pretty dilapidated tennis court. The courts were never used — they had cracks with grass growing in them.
The next time I went past them, I saw there were some temporary nets set up. The next time I went, there were brand new courts. And I walked by and people were playing. I asked them the name of the game, and they said “Pickleball.” They encouraged me to grab a paddle. I said, “I don’t have a clue about this game, so no, I’ll sit and watch for a little while.”
In the meantime, a club I belonged to was offering a pickleball clinic, which was completely coincidental. So I did some clinics for about a month, and then I got brave, and went back to the park and said, “OK, I’m ready.” That was in April of 2017, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Tell me about your first couple of games. What hooked you?
Probably getting to know people and the social part of it — and I had a steady flow of exercise. I’m really big on exercise and this really captured me because it kept me moving.
So you’ve been sporty your whole life?
I’ve always been active: swimming, volleyball, softball, bowling, ping pong and now pickleball. I did the Hood to Coast Relay for five years — the Hood to Coast relay is an event that draws people from all over the US. They have a running segment that is 130 miles and a walking segment that is 90 miles. I participated in the walking relay. This was an event I did for five years.
In your experience, who’s attracted to pickleball?
A lot of tennis players, racquetball players, and former ping pong players progress to pickleball. There’s also a significant percentage of people who have very little paddle experience that have turned to pickleball as their major form of exercise, instead of spending solitary days in the gym. This way, they get to exercise outdoors in a social setting. It’s a way of meeting people and having a lot of interaction.
I’ve heard that pickleball is egalitarian, though — you don’t have to be a good athlete. You can just show up as a newbie and start playing.
It does help to be somewhat athletic, but we don’t turn anybody away who wants to learn the game. Our group is really helpful in getting people started. There’s always somebody willing to work with them. Currently we have a few people [at Wolfe Courts] who have been playing for just three months, and with the help of our members, they have picked up the game really well and their skills are improving all the time. Some people pick it up really fast; others are willing to learn and make a strong effort to learn the game. Eventually everyone gets a competitive streak.
What do you find to be so special or unusual about this sport?
Everybody’s happy; everybody’s friendly; it’s a very social gathering. You meet all different kinds of people from every walk of life. The social part is a huge part of pickleball, and that’s really what attracted me to it, primarily. I own my own graphic design business and work at home and had no outlet to meet many different people. Pickleball is like no other sport in that you can go anywhere and play it. Everything else is sort of a solo sport and you don’t really get the interaction with people you do with pickleball. And it’s nice because there’s a huge range of ages; we have families that bring their kids to play, we have all ages of people that take up this sport. It’s great to see the younger generation out on the courts and being active and having fun.
Do people ask you why it’s called pickleball?
Yes, they ask that a lot. There’s a story about two guys who started the game on Bainbridge Island. They had a dog named Pickles who chased the ball. They invented the game. In fact, Gov. Inslee just signed a paper on March 28 naming pickleball the official sport of Washington State.
You say that pickleball, and your role as president of the chapter, has been life-changing for you. How so?
It’s raised my confidence in myself. I also have more friends and acquaintances now than I’ve ever had in my entire life. I have never held a leadership role in my adult life. Being president of our Camas/Washougal chapter has been very satisfying because I get a lot of support from our members.
I have finally found my “happy place.” I’d like to quote a fellow player, Bob Ferguson, who says it well: Pickleball isn’t just a sport, it’s a community. And that is what our pickleball group is in Washougal — a truly tight community that offers friendship and fun.
Top photo: From left to right: Karen Burnham, Kathy Rambousek and Roxanne Klas. Courtesy of Lynda Boesel.
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