Two Vernon locals returned from a trip to Europe with new pickleball hardware.
Ian Phillips and Patricia Andrews, members of the Vernon Pickleball Association, competed over the Aug. 3 weekend at the Pickleball English Open, hosted in Telford, England.
The four-day event brought over 1,000 international competitors to battle at the Telford International Centre, which had 40 indoor courts set up.
Phillips and Andrews competed together in the mixed doubles 3.5 65-plus division, along with taking part in the mens’s and women’s doubles.
The duo, in mixed doubles, went 6-0 in their group, to advance to the semifinals. The team won three consecutive games by an 11-1 score.
The semifinal was an emphatic 15-4 victory to propel the Canadians to the best-of-three sets final.
After winning the first, 12-10, the team would drop the next two to settle for a silver medal.
Phillips, competing with Englishman Raymond Puttick in the men’s doubles, would dink their way to the bronze medal match, after losing 15-10 in the semifinals.
In the bronze medal match, Phillips and Puttick won 15-9 to nab third place in the competition.
Andrews also took part in doubles, pairing with Carol Crooks, from England. That team would lose a heartbreaker in their bronze medal match, 15-12, to finish fourth overall in the 3.5 65-plus women’s division.
Full results from the competition can be found at pickleballengland.com/2023-english-open.
READ MORE: B.C. girls roar to gold medal at basketball nationals; boys mop up bronze
READ MORE: Vernon provincial baseball tournament crowns champion
@B0B0Assman
bowen.assman@vernonmorningstar.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our daily and subscribe to our daily newsletter.