Weyburn pickleball player Deana Mainil teamed up with her sister, Angie Chatlain, to compete in the Pickleball Canada National Championships, held Aug. 10-15 in Red Deer, Alta., and came away with a bronze medal.
In the first match versus Murias and Hermary, they won 11-5 and 11-1. In the second match, versus Pope and Spence, the pair won 11-1 and 11-1.
Their third match was against the team of Widdis and Ewasechko, and they lost 11-6 and 11-9. Their fourth match, against the team of Beattie and Sluser, Deana and Angie won 15-8.
Their fifth match, versus Maser and Mastel, they won 15-2. The sixth match pitched them against Widdis and Ewasechko, who earlier gave them their first losses. Deana and Angie lost 17-15.
The two sisters played at the 3.5 Skill Level in Women’s Doubles, in the 50-59 age bracket.
“Our two losses came from the same team who were also sisters,” said Deana.
“It was a very long day as our matches were supposed to begin at 8 a.m. We got to the courts at 7 a.m. for check-in, but it was raining and we were delayed until 1 p.m. until our first match. We didn’t finish up until 7 p.m. with the medal presentation at 8.”
Deana noted it was a beautiful venue with 20 courts, but not the ideal playing conditions with lots of wind.
“We really didn’t play our best games out there but were happy to bring home the bronze out of a pool of 11 teams in our bracket,” she said, noting there were 891 players registered to play in the five-day national event.
Prior to the trip to Red Deer, Deana and her sister played in the Saskatoon Open True North pickleball tournament.
They went undefeated, capturing gold in 3.5+ Women’s Doubles.
“It was Angie’s first tournament ever and she played like a champ the entire day,” said Deana, adding, “I also played 4.0+ mixed with partner Kirk Bilinski. Kirk played like a rock star and we came away with a silver medal, being defeated only by a 5.0 team who gave us a lickin’ in the gold medal match.’
Her sister and her partner Glenn captured a silver in 3.5 mixed.
