Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, November 22,2023
Fayette County News A7
Midwest Food Bank Holds Inaugural
Peanut Butter Pickleball Tournament
Photos by Leah Banks/Fayette News
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Leah Banks
Senior Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
PEACHTREE CITY -
From Nov. 18-19, the Mid
west Food Bank took to
Flat Creek Country Club in
Peachtree City to hold its
first annual Peanut Butter
Pickleball Tournament.
In Men’s Doubles,
there were six total
winners in the competition
given that each match was
separated by skill set. In
the 2.5 Skill, Alan Turner
and Barry Hitechew took
the win. In the 3.0 and 3.5
Skill levels, the winners
were Tom Burns and Mike
Richardson. For the 3.0
Skill level, Billy Hughes
and Blake Baker took the
win. For the 3.5 Skill level
match, Al Hosford and
Matthew Pinholster won.
Finally, in the 4.0 and
Above Skill level, Corin
Duginski and Sung Choe
took the gold.
In Women’s Doubles,
there were three total com
petitions, with winners in
each match. For the 2.5
Skill level, Katherine Hust
and Carolyn Spiers took
the win, while Jenna Du
naway and Tiffany Pollard
took the gold in the 3.0
and 4.0 Combined Skill
level competition. Round
ing out the Women’s Dou
bles 3.0 Skill level
competition, Loni Willanz-
heimer and Jolie Liston
won the match.
In the Mixed Doubles
competition, both men
and women could compete
together on the same
teams. This competition
had seven winners in total.
In the 2.5 Skill level match,
Tracy and Alan Turner
took the win, while Mere
dith Martin and Marc Lu-
gash took the win in the
3.0 Skill level match for
ages five to 34. In the 3.0
Skill level competition for
ages 50-plus, Jolie Liston
and Lawrence Olsen took
the win, while Tracy Ma-
linchak and Brian Oness-
imo took the gold in the
60-plus, 70-plus match for
the 3.0 Skill level.
The Mixed Doubles
competition continued
into the 3.5 Skill level for
ages 18-plus and 35-plus.
The winners in that match
were Kelly Morris and Za
chary Deutsch. In the 50-
plus age division for the
same skill level, Shelly
Pitts and Patrick Doherty
took the win.
In the Mixed Doubles
4.0 and Above Skill level
competition, Beth Clay
and Maxime Buyckx took
the win.
According to Lisa
Ivaska, community rela
tions manager for Midwest
Food Bank Georgia Divi
sion, 145 participants reg
istered for the tournament
last weekend, bringing
their best backhands, and
hit the courts to advocate
for the alleviation of
hunger and malnutrition.
On Nov. 18, games
began at 9 a.m., with con
tinuous games throughout
the day. Following a sec
ond day of matches,
awards were presented at
the end of each flight of
competitions.
With this year’s tourna
ment being the first to
center around pickleball as
the activity of choice,
Ivaska says she looked to
ward the culture of Peach
tree City embracing the
sport as a fun pastime and
an activity that can bring
people together for a great
cause.
"Our local pickleball
club, PTC Fayette Pick
leball Club, has over 900
active members in our
community. And Peach
tree City continues to put
in more pickleball courts
in neighborhoods and
community parks,” Ivaska
said. “We felt this was the
perfect opportunity to host
an event that could bring
members of our com
munity together to enjoy a
game of pickleball while
supporting a worthwhile
cause.”
Ivaska emphasized that
members of the Peachtree
City Fayette Pickleball
Club were actively in
volved on the planning
committee for the event
and provided volunteers to
add to the event’s success.
“We are thankful for
their support and excited
to be partnering with the
community for this tour
nament,” Ivaska said.
The Georgia Pickleball
Association oversaw
games, scoring, and tour
nament management,
while Midwest Food Bank
collected jars of peanut
butter or $5-equivalent
donations from players
and spectators in exchange
for raffle tickets for added
excitement.
For Ivaska, the event
was a great opportunity for
the organization to pro
mote the overall mission of
Midwest Food Bank,
which is to alleviate
hunger and malnutrition
through raising awareness
and fundraising opportu
nities, but also by promot
ing community
enrichment and benefit
opportunities.
The organization is
faith-based, and the allevi
ation of hunger is not only
local, but also spans
throughout the world, as
well as providing disaster
relief without any discrim
ination, according to the
Midwest Food Bank web
site.