Phil Baclayon (he was even coming across the street with his Kauai Kookie Kitchen special) has moved from basketball to pickleball, and Alton Amimoto picked up his paddle from Joe Trinidad so he can play with Aaron Uyeda and their
Phil Baclayon (he was even coming across the street with his Kauai Kookie Kitchen special) has moved from basketball to pickleball, and Alton Amimoto picked up his paddle from Joe Trinidad so he can play with Aaron Uyeda and their Lihue group.
Joe, from Seattle, Washington, was grateful to Garret and Marcia Agena who provided him with a place to stay and even helped him sit at the Smash Pickleball booth during the Aloha State Games Senior Olympics Pickleball Tournament.
Another round of kudos to Melanie Okamoto (she won a bronze medal, too), the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and Jack Hodges (he even won medals, including a gold) on coordinating this tremendous effort (Melanie said they even had curiosity seekers coming during Saturday play to check out the newest sport hitting Kauai).
Bobbye Young and Heifara Ortas (they said guess what is on the ball?) already have the Hawaiian name for this sport which was born in Seattle — Pukaball!
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
