LIHU‘E — Picklers Paradise, which is tucked into a small niche off Rice Street, celebrated its grand opening on Saturday night, as part of the monthly Downtown Lihu‘e Night Market.
Kaelen and Ashley Lee of Seattle, Washington, where the original pickleball was born, thought they had everything they needed for pickleball until a package of pink pickle balls caught the attention of Ashley Lee.
“I’ve never been into a pickleball store,” said Melani Okamoto of the County of Kauai’s Department of Parks and Recreation, wich just completed its Senior Pickleball League. “I’ve got to go check this out.”
Rose Fernandez, Dr. Lucky Robinson, and TJ Robinson are the principals behind the small shop that offers on-the-spot pickleball equipment for shoppers on the fly. The shop also works with pickleball apparel and other sporting support material for pickleball enthusiasts.
“Rose is going to be here, every day,” said Dr. Lucky Robinson. “We’re going to be open from Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.”
Located at 4275 Rice St., Suite 3, Picklers Paradise is conveniently located near Kaua‘i Beer Company and close to Kalena Park where pickleball activity stirs the courts whenever it’s convenient. Kalena Park courts were also the home site of the recently-completed Senior Pickleball League.
Picklers Paradise is the seed of “pickleball passion” where pickleballers can shop for equipment, meet other enthusiasts from around the island, and even learn how to play the sport that has become increasingly popular throughout Hawai‘i.
USA Pickleball says “pickleball is fun, social and friendly.” The rules are simple and the game is easy for beginners to learn, but can develop into a fast-paced, competitive game.
Back in the summer of 1965, Congressman Joel Pritchard, from Washington state, and businessman Bill Bell returned to Pritchard’s home following a round of golf.
They discovered their families sitting around with nothing to do. After being unable to find a full set of badminton rackets, the pair improvised and started playing with ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball.
The following weekend, the pair introduced Barney McCallum to the game and the trio came up with the rules for pickleball, relying heavily on badminton, and not losing sight of the original purpose, which was to provide a game that the entire family could play together.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
