This win was emotional – because it was all about family.
Barb McMillan — and husband Don – enjoyed their tennis together the past couple of years.
“Since I retired from teaching some five years ago at Thornwilde Elementary in Hebron,” she said, “I enjoyed playing tennis more frequently.”
Until her arthritis started to become a problem.
And she switched from a tennis racquet to a pickleball paddle.
“Now,” says the Northern Kentucky resident who met her Don while both attended Walton-Verona High School, “I have just two questions I ask my husband daily –‘Where are we playing pickleball, and where are we eating lunch.’”
The twosome entered — and won — the First Annual Point-Pickle Pickleball Tournament Sunday at Five Seasons Family Sports Club (Crestview Hills).
“It was a great win, but I had to be part of this event,” she said.
And why is that?
“My sister — Donna Rice – passed away some six weeks ago from Down Syndrome at the age of 60,” Barb said. “She also was suffering from dementia.”
Sixteen teams signed up for the First Annual Point-Pickle-Pickleball Tournament, another event in the ongoing 50th anniversary celebration for the Point/Arc nonprofit. It was a full contingent of teams, according to Paul Gerwe, chairman of the event.
“We thought a pickleball tournament would not only create great interest, with the popularity of the sport,” said Judi Gerding, Founder and President of The Point, “but we think we’ll attract an entirely new audience for our mission.”