The Southwest Colorado Pickleball Association is hosting a fundraiser tournament at the Schneider Park pickleball courts on Sept. 6 and 7 to benefit the Durango Dementia Coalition.
Tournament director Dan Zalbowitz said the tournament is the second fundraiser his organization has put on in the community.
Last year, it hosted its first pickleball tournament, which raised $15,000 for La Plata County Search and Rescue’s Radios for Rescue campaign, which sought to equip the organization with better radios. The tournament was a hit, he said, because it brought people of all ages together to help benefit the community.
“The reason we chose the Durango Dementia Coalition is because there are a number of people in the pickleball association that have dementia,” Zalbowitz said. “I want to honor and recognize those people and what they did to bring the courts to reality.”
Zalbowitz said that Ranae Bakel, a board member of the association who used to work at the Durango Community Recreation Center and died in July, inspired the organization to make the local dementia coalition this year’s beneficiary. They chose search and rescue in 2024 because another board member, Jim Shadid, died after getting lost on a hike in 2023.
“So far, we’ve raised probably close to $10,000 between entry fees and sponsors,” Zalbowitz said. “So we’re still looking for more sponsors. The tournament is Sept. 6 and 7, and we have about 100 to 105 participants so far.”
Rick Cobb, a pickleball ambassador for Southwest Colorado Pickleball Association, played in last year’s tournament. It was a good chance to play the sport in a tournament-setting, while also being able to connect with people from the community and to benefit organizations doing good things.
“It's a multigenerational, multi-gender, multi-everything sport you just want to play and have fun,” Cobb said. “And guess what? The money goes to a good cause.”
Cobb, who will turn 70 in January, said he started playing the sport because it gets him out of the house, keeps him active and helps him make friends. He said the sport has myriad benefits for the mind and the body, something that is especially important for older folks.
“One sign of good mental health is having friends in every decade,” Cobb said. “Well, I do that in spades at the pickleball courts, you know; I'm playing with all kinds of age (groups) over there.”
Zalbowitz said that in a sense, pickleball is a tide that raises all ships.
“I am a believer,” Zalbowitz said. “I have seen pickleball be a pick-me-up for friends and relatives as they struggle through the difficulties of life such as injury, illness, divorce and the death of a loved one.”
Registration for the tournament closes Aug. 30, and costs $25 per person.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
