WESTWOOD—The Recreation Department’s Forever Young Pickleball Program netted its first award in a pickleball tournament, Oct. 29, when Jed Schaiman, of Westwood, and Cynthia Toth, of River Vale, took home a third-place medal in the mixed doubles division of the Maywood Tennis Club’s Pickleball Tournament.
This was the first tournament hosted by the Maywood Tennis Club, including players ages 14–76 in men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles, and singles formats.
“We are incredibly proud of our Forever Young participants Jed and Cynthia for taking their pickleball skills on the road and bringing home a third-place medal,” said Westwood recreation director Gary Buchheister.
He said, “Every week we see them on the courts enjoying match play and we are very excited that they have taken their participation in the sport to the next level by competing in a local area competition. They are very encouraging to our other Forever Young pickleball participants and we expect they’ll be bringing home more honors as they progress in the sport!”
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, off the coast of Seattle, Washington as a sport that would allow every member of the family to play.
The game combines badminton, ping-pong and tennis and can be played outdoors or indoors on a badminton-sized court with a low net. Players use paddles that are smaller than tennis racquets but bigger than ping-pong paddles and the ball is plastic, like a wiffle ball. The game typically lasts 15-20 minutes and goes until one side gets 11 points.
Buchheister told Pascack Press that, as the court is smaller, lateral movement and ball chasing are limited, making it an aerobic exercise that is easy on knees and that also allows for frequent breaks.
The small court and general preference for playing doubles means there is no serious running and because of the lightweight paddle and underhand serve, injuries such as tennis elbow are quite uncommon.
The Westwood Forever Young Program includes indoor pickleball on Tuesday and Thursday from noon to 3 p.m. in the Westwood Community Center. To register for the program, adults 55+ should visit the Westwood Community Center office at 55 Jefferson Ave. any day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or call (201) 664-7882 for more information.