The sound of pickleballs bouncing and Spanish music blaring could be found in the Thomas C. Courtway Student Recreation Center March 11 during the Latino Student Association’s (LSA) pickleball tournament.
The first ever event of its kind, the LSA strived to create a space that was accessible to all students.
“The LSA isn’t just for Latino students, so we wanted to make an event that wasn’t just cultural,” Jesus Hernandez, president of the LSA, said. “It doesn’t have a high risk for injury, it’s just a good time for people to have fun.”
Students, both LSA and non-LSA affiliated, were encouraged to participate in multiple rounds of fast-paced pickleball games.
The LSA created a winners and losers bracket, so those that end up losing two games still get a chance to play and potentially “take home the championship.”
“It’s a game where you don’t really have to be good at it.” Christian Marcucci, a junior finance student, said. “Since it’s pretty new, no one really knows how to play it. I only vaguely know the rules really.”
“It’s also a great way to meet new people, and to have fun while doing it,” Marcucci said.
Both experienced and beginner players ran up and down the courts to hopefully make it to the top of the pickleball bracket.
Yells and laughter could be heard across the courts as competitiveness rose the more the games went on.
“We chose pickleball because it’s so competitive, but so fun as well,” Pedro Gomez, the treasurer for LSA, said.
Gomez was the main organizer for this event, and he chose the sport because of the lack of sporting events LSA hosts.
“We mainly do art or cultural events, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a sport,” he said.
Estrella Castillo, a junior psychology student, said that it was important for the LSA to “engage other interests.”
“Finding common ground between people, especially in this political climate, is so important,” Castillo said. “It’s important to find other interests with people.”
Castillo said it’s important to try new things.
“I’ve never played pickleball, but maybe I will today,” Castillo said. “Not sure how it will go, but I’ll try my best.”
The undefeated champions ended up being the self-coined “dream team” of Gomez and Hernandez, although the end of the championship didn’t signal the end of the games.
Many students chose to continue playing against each other despite the chance for a winning title.
“I’m really happy with the turnout,” Gomez sai, “Our last event got over 50 people, but for something like this we obviously weren’t expecting that.”
Gomez said that the LSA is looking to put on more sporting events in the future.
“We were maybe thinking of a soccer tournament, since you know the world cup is coming up this year, but we aren’t sure yet, “ Gomez said.
“We really try to connect to all students,” Hernandez said. “Whether that’s through food or art or sports, we just want to engage as many people as possible.”
