Written by Nathan Welch and Miles Vander Vennet.
WCC’s own Pickleball Club hosted an event in conjunction with Volli, a private recreation center just across the way from Cedar Hall that is dedicated to pickleball and a few other games. With attendance close to a dozen at this event, members of the Pickleball Club squared off against their opponents in a series of matches last Friday, March 3.
Photo by Miles Vander Vennet
WCC Pickleball Club president and founder Haopeng Ren said, “I finally made pickleball inside today.”
Haopeng had been in touch with one of the owners of Volli, Dave Jones, during the Fall quarter of 2022. Their aim was to put together an event similar to last Friday’s gathering, but they were unable to do so due to budgeting constraints. Haopeng remained in communication with Jones and Volli in order to get an event set up. Eventually they were able to make a deal, and the Pickleball Club was able to host their first event at Volli.
The Student Recreation Center also has pickleball courts on campus for students who are interested in playing. Haopeng had hoped to use these courts for weekly meetings, but due to the winter weather it has not been possible. Haopeng hopes to have this event take place inside regularly, instead of meeting outside as they had previously.
According to Haopeng, “I wanted to make a platform for pickleball. There wasn’t a Pickleball Club here before, but I felt that a Pickleball Club would be fun.” Adding, “I wanted to get one place for students to hang out.”
As of right now, the Pickleball Club is uncertain as to when it will be playing next, but students will be notified via the Orca Weekly update when the next event will take place. In order to try to bring in more participants, Haopeng has hung up flyers around the campus’ bulletin boards as a way to advertise for the club. On these flyers, students can find more information about the times and dates the club will meet.
