WEYBURN - Five Weyburn athletes competed at the Myoflex 2023 Pickleball National Championships, held in Regina at the Queen City Pickleball Hub and Viterra International Trade Centre from August 23 to 27.
Three of the five athletes brought home medals from the tournament. Kevin Lackey won a silver in the men’s double 3.0 and under, for 60 years and above, with his pickleball partner Glen Hunter.
Marcie Benson won the silver medal in women’s 3.0, age 60-64 with partner Brenda Aspen-Nilsson from Saskatoon.
They won their first best of three match 14-12 and 11-0. They won their second best of three match 12-5 and11-0, and lost their third match 11-0, and 11-7.
They won their fourth match 17-15, and won their fifth match 15-7 to advance to the bronze match which they won 15-12. They advanced to the gold medal best of three match to face the only team that had defeated them earlier. They won the first game 11-3, but then lost 11-5 and 11-5, settling for the silver medal.
Benson also competed in women’s doubles 3.5 age 60-65 with Brenda Lye from Newfoundland, and in mixed doubles age 16-35 with her son Brent Benson. The tournament involved 630 competitors from across Canada, and over 200 volunteers.
Benson said it was a great experience, and enjoyed both playing and watching other events.
Deana Mainil won four medals in four different categories at the nationals.
In the women’s doubles 4.0 and above, age 50 to 59, Mainil competed with partner Zsuzsa Papp from Saskatoon. They lost 11-8 and 12-10 in the first match to a team from Quebec, knocking them to the B side of the round robin.
In the second match, they lost 15-7 to Rose Sawatsky from Manitoba and Jun Laffin from Ontario, which ended their day early. They had anticipated the event to be a tough day, since they competed against players that were rated higher. It was a great challenge for both players.
In the mixed doubles 4.0 and above, ages 40 to 49, Mainil won a bronze medal with partner Dave Clarke from Regina Beach.
Their team won 11-7 and 11-5 in their first match, and then won 13-11 and 11-5 in their second match. They lost their third match 11-5 and 11-3, but still qualified for the semi final game.
They lost 11-5 and 11-5 in the semi final, bringing home a bronze medal.
Mainil then won silver in the women’s singles 4.0, ages 16 and above. She lost 15-8 in her first match, but then won 15-8 in the second match and 15-12 in the third match.
In the gold medal game, Mainil faced up against Meghan Kemp-Gee, who was undefeated in the event. Mainil lost 11-4 and 11-3, earning silver.
Mainil then won a gold medal in the women’s doubles 4.0, ages 50 and older, with partner Zsuzsa Papp from Saskatoon.
They had a bye in the first match, and won 11-2 and 11-2 in their second match. They continued to go undefeated, winning 11-5 and 11-3 in their third match. In the gold medal game, they won 11-3 and 11-5 to bring home a national gold medal.
Mainil won another silver medal, this time in the mixed doubles 4.5, ages 35 and older, with partner Dave Clarke from Regina Beach.
They had a bye in the first match. In the second match, they won 11-3 and lost 11-3 and then lost 11-9, and were knocked to the B side of the round robin.
The team won 15-4 in their third match, and then 15-13 in their fourth match.
In the fifth match, they lost their first game 11-9, but came back to win the next two games 11-9 and 11-9. In the gold medal game, they lost 11-2 and 11-7, bringing home silver.
According to Mainil, it was a phenomenal week being able to compete on the national stage with amazing competitors.
Other Weyburn atheltes who also competed at nationals included Doug Giroux and Brent Benson.
