Over 400 players participated in the 2025 Bainbridge Island Founders Tournament, which took place at Battle Point Park Aug. 13-17, celebrating 60 years since pickleball was founded on the island.
“We max out at 400, so it’s a little larger than last year,” Jessica Perkins, the director of philanthropy at the Bainbridge History Museum, said.
The tournament itself featured two events Aug. 13: the Senior Medal Match Mixed Doubles for ages 60-plus and a Senior Mixed Doubles event. Sharlene Shiroma and Steven Smolinski placed first in the Senior Medal Match Mixed Doubles event.
11 separate events took place Aug. 14, featuring all senior citizens, with both men and women competing in doubles matches throughout the day. Aug. 15 saw men spanning all ages compete in doubles matches and Aug. 16 included mixed doubles matches. The final day of the tournament, Aug. 17, featured women’s double events.
Not only is pickleball growing in terms of players, but also people who want to volunteer their time to assist in helping with a smooth operation at the Founders Tournament.
“So this tournament runs with basically all volunteer staff,” Mark Mumm, the treasurer at the history museum, said. “And so people have jobs like [being a] runner, who helps to make sure that people are playing in the right court and then check the scores… so we probably have over 100 different people over the course of five days that will volunteer shift.”
Results: (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, etc. indicate skill levels)
Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 46-54) – Gold – Christiane Baker, Robert Craighead
Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 55+) – Gold – Kirsten Neff, Samuel Neff
Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 47+) – Gold – Summer Mills, Jesse Vander Heide
Senior Medal Match Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 60+) – Gold – Sharlene Shiroma, Steven Smolinski
Senior Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 60-64) – Gold – CJ Morlan, Steve Thorndill
Senior Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 60-65) – Gold – Terri Weintraub, Don Little
Senior Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 66+) – Gold – Mary Bellamy-Willms, Russ Willms
Senior Mixed Doubles Skill (Age 60+) – Gold – Kristin Nasman, Pat DeGiulio
Men’s Doubles Skill (3.0)- Gold – Zack Hsieh, Colin Kim
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 5-49) – Gold – Chris White, Stephen Brashear
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 50+) – Gold – Robert Long, Alan Schuchman
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 30-39) – Gold – Ricky Leung, Jonathan Yuan
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 40-45) – Gold – Thor Lundquist, Edgar Mesina
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 46+) – Gold – Jonathan Lungman, James Chattra
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 5-29) – Gold – Fredrick Huang, Scott Huang
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 40-49) – Gold – Brian Wetzler, Jason Barringer
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 5-39) – Gold – Maxwell Lee, Daniel Suharjoto
Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 50+) – Gold – Yukon Lam, Curt Haugen
Men’s Doubles Skill (All) – Gold – Terry Shoemaker, Zachary Ohnemus
Women’s Doubles Skill (3.0) – Gold – Tiffany Isaacson, Kristin Deverin
Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 5-37) – Gold – Haley Most, Kristin Manning
Women’s Doubles Skill (4.0) – Gold – Gina Buscarello, Julie Bargones
Women’s Doubles Skill (4.5) – Gold – Becky Stapp, Carolann Mickels
Women’s Doubles Skill (5.0) – Gold – Leah Black, Laura Pelton
Medal Matches Senior Men’s Doubles (Age 60+, 4.0) – Gold – Sean Courage, Don Little
Medal Matches Senior Men’s Doubles (Age 60+. 4.5) – Gold – Kirk Dawson, Pat DeGiulio
Senior Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 60+, 3.0) – Gold – Rob Petersen, Michael Harbour
Senior Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 60-68, 3.5) – Gold – Thomas Rutledge, Michael Hovan
Senior Men’s Doubles Skill (Age 60+, 4.0/4.5+) – Gold – Robert Craighead, Adam Rabinowitz
Senior Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 60-64, 3.0) – Gold – Michi Suzuki, Kathleen Benson
Senior Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 65+, 3.0) – Gold – Joy Jay, Laura Kriese
Senior Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 60-64, 3.5) – Gold – Cheryl Hollatz, Lura Lee
Senior Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 65+, 3.5) – Gold – Therese Caouette, Lisa Macchio
Senior Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 60+, 4.0/4.5+) – Gold – Jennifer Hyde, Nora Davis
Women’s Doubles Skill (Age 38+, 3.5) – Gold – Kristin Miller, Erin Moody
