Durango Pickleball Tournament Raises Thousands for Dementia Care

Pickleball players of all ages made their way to Schneider Park. For the annual Southwest Colorado Association Durango Tournament, you are watching the local News Network brought to you by Happy Pappy’s Pizza and Wings and Regers ACE Hardware. I am Sadie Smith. 132 players competed in the Round robin style tournament on September 6th and seventh at the Schneider Park Pickleball Courts.

If you could see, there’s kids and adults just having a lot of fun showing companionship, sportsmanship, and community, and that’s what pickleball is all about.

This year, the tournament raised approximately 16,000 to benefit the Durango Dementia Coalition and Alliance to make care and resources more accessible to people living with dementia. The coalition was chosen in honor of Renee Bakel, an original board member of the Southwest Colorado Pickleball Association, who died recently from complications related to dementia.

10 years ago, Renee, myself and Brian Blanchard started the Southwest Colorado Pickleball Association, and so we were the, I guess, the founding people to try to get things started and to also secure some pickleball courts here in Durango.

Well, pickleball first originated in 1965. It has quickly picked up popularity and has been ranked as the fastest growing sport in America for the past four years. According to the 2025 Sports and Fitness Industry Association participation report

Nationwide and worldwide, it’s really not slowing down. I, as a former educator in Durango School District, I’m trying to bring it into all the schools and have courts on each campus outside. My hope is to have all the kids playing. It’s just so beneficial to be outside and playing and off our screens and smiling.

Since the Schneider Park, pickleball Courts opened in June of 2024, they have become increasingly popular.

The pickleball community is growing. I think it’s very tight, it’s very friendly, it’s very inclusive. You know of anybody to join. We have young kids coming in now who are winning tournaments, and

It’s fabulous to keep up with the Southwest Colorado Pickleball Association events. Visit its website. For more information about this and other stories, visit Durango Local News. Thank you for watching this edition of the Local News Network. I am Sadie Smith.