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Twelve Olympians and Paralympians are set to celebrate Olympic Day at Mitchell Park this year by learning pickleball with the Palo Alto Pickleball Club.
In collaboration with the Northern California Olympians & Paralympians association, the Palo Alto Pickleball Club will host a clinic for the athletes starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 24, followed by a picnic and a friendly round-robin tournament.
Olympians and Paralympians from sports such as rowing, track and field, fencing and beach volleyball will attend, along with their family and friends.
“We thought it would be really fun for them (the athletes) to learn how to play pickleball because you can learn to play pickleball pretty quickly,” Olympian Anne Warner Cribbs, a swimmer, said. “They’re pretty competitive so it will be interesting to see what happens.”
For Warner Cribbs, the day will be a chance to get together with other Olympians who she said all share a special connection. Olympians and Paralympians from as far as Panama, Costa Rica and Serbia will attend the event.
Olympic Day, which officially occurs on June 23, commemorates the birth of the modern Olympic Games. This year, the International Olympic Committee is using the holiday to promote moving, learning and discovering with its “Let’s Move” campaign.
“Our club is proud to support the Olympic Movement and encourage everyone to lead healthy, active lives,” Monica Williams, co-founder and former president of the Palo Alto Pickleball Club, said in a June 19 press release.
Pickleball enthusiasts hope that the popular sport will soon be recognized in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Already, professional pickleball leagues have been founded.
Warner Cribbs, who is also a Palo Alto Parks and Recreation commissioner and president of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee, plans to make the clinic an annual Olympic Day event.
The Palo Alto Pickleball Club hosts drop-in play at the Mitchell Park courts seven days a week. Free beginner sessions are available to Palo Alto residents 3-4 times a month, with dates posted at paloaltopickleballclub.org.