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Dave Thomas - Rochester’s Pickleball Ambassador

Dave Thomas is Rochester’s Pickleball Advocate

by Barbara Burke The Town of Riga’s Recrea�on Supervisor for the last ten plus years, Dave Thomas, has a real love for the sport of Pickleball. He has been involved with the sport since 1983, a�er a chance discovery while a�ending a New York State Physical Educa�on Conference in Syracuse. “In between sessions at the conference, I came across a vendor who was promo�ng the sport of Pickleball, a sport that was taking off in the Sea�le area. It was something that was totally out of the mainstream, and it really stuck with me,” Thomas said. Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Sea�le, Washington. At the �me, Thomas was teaching Physical Educa�on to elementary school students, grades 3-6, in the Greece Central School District. He adjusted the sport for the ages of his students and taught it in his PE classes from 1983 un�l his re�rement in 2005. “I figure I taught it to about 8,000 students. When other schools in the Greece district got wind of what I was doing, it really took off.” A�er his re�rement in 2005, Thomas joined the Westside Family YMCA on Elmgrove Road. “I was winding up my so�ball playing career at that point and looking for another sport to play, I was surprised to see that they offered Pickleball. I signed up because I had never played with adults, I just taught it to 14 l My Hometown Oct/Nov 2021

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my students. At that �me there were only two Pickleball courts in Rochester, and they were both located at the Westside YMCA.” A�er playing the sport, Thomas did some research and found out just how popular Pickleball had become across the na�on. He decided he wanted to be more involved, and registered with the USA Pickleball Associa�on (USAPA). The mission statement of USAPA is, “To promote the development and growth of Pickleball in the United States and its territories.” Thomas said, “A�er registering with USAPA, I quickly was named the first U.S. Pickleball Ambassador for Rochester, New York. Basically, the job of the Ambassador is to be the contact for anyone who wants to play the sport. Almost immediately, I started hearing from people from all across the U.S. People who were visi�ng, or moving to New York, snowbirds, everyone who wanted to play, wanted to also know where they could play Pickleball in New York. It just mushroomed, so many people were contac�ng me. With the help of many others, I started spreading the word about all of the interest in the sport, and was involved with bringing Pickleball to any town in the state that was interested. Today we have indoor and outdoor courts in just about every town in the Rochester area. This all grew from having just two courts at the Westside YMCA, now all the YMCAs have Pickleball courts,” Thomas said.

Con�nued from pg.14 In 2017, Thomas was asked to set up an informa�onal table for the Riga Recrea�on Department at the the Newman Riga Library during Churchville’s annual “Walk About.” Churchville’s Mayor at the �me, Nancy Steedman, stopped by with Senator Michael Ranzenhofer. “The senator picked up the Pickleball paddle displayed on the table and said he knew about the sport. Mayor Steedman said we could really use some Pickleball courts in Churchville, and the senator said he would see what he could do about that. I decided at that moment I was going to hold him to his statement,” Thomas said.

Thomas wrote le�ers to both of Ranzenhofer’s offices, in Buffalo and in Albany. He waited six months and didn’t hear back. He then decided to call the office. A representa�ve for Ranzenhofer relayed that the senator did receive the le�ers and asked Thomas about the money needed to make the Pickleball courts happen. Thomas was prepared with detailed informa�on, and a $50,000 grant was secured for the Town of Riga to build a 2-court venue, a joint effort between the Town of Riga and New York State. The courts were built In McNeely Park on Buffalo Road next to the Highway Department. The popularity of the Pickleball courts in Riga is extraordinary, they are busy morning, noon and night. So many people showed up to play that a basketball court, adjacent to the new Pickleball courts, was transformed to a third Pickleball court. The basics of Pickleball state that it is a fun sport combining many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Pickleball is played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis court net. The equipment includes a paddle and a plas�c ball with holes. It can be played as doubles or singles, and can be enjoyed by all ages and skill levels.

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Thomas a�ributes the popularity of Pickleball to the fact that it can be played by everyone. “I really feel that those courts saved people during the pandemic. They were in constant use, April through November. It gave people a safe outdoor ac�vity, and a posi�ve experience when it was needed the most. When I first started as a Pickleball Ambassador we made an email list of all the Rochester players. The first list contained eight names, there are now well over 1,000 names on that list. From the original two courts at the Westside YMCA, we now have over 300 indoor and outdoor courts in the Rochester area.” For more informa�on about Pickleball in Rochester contact Dave Thomas at rigarec@townofriga.net For more informa�on about the sport of Pickleball visit usapickleball.org ���������������������������������� ���������������������� ������������������������������������������� Alex Fahoury, MD Brockport Vine Medical

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