Rosemary Hanford won second place in the women’s senior 75+ age group singles competition at the 2022 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 5. Hanford attributes her success to the Fountain Hills Pickleball Club’s friendly and competitive culture.

Hanford has been a member of the Fountain Hills Pickleball Club for the past 16 years. The Club plays regularly and hosts clinics, round robins and other tournaments that helped Hanford become one of the 2,291 players that traveled to Indian Wells, Calif., for Championship week.

“Pickleball is a game that most individuals can learn in 30 minutes but can take years to master,” Hanford said.

Hanford earned three medals in March that qualified her for the national championship. Hanford competed in the USA Pickleball Southwest Diamond Regional in Mesa and won bronze and gold medals in two doubles brackets with her partner, Bev Nikolai. She also won bronze in the singles 3.0 skill group.

The first USA Pickleball National Championship was in 2009, but this year’s was the first where every match was overseen by a certified referee. There were 4,158 total matches over a nine-day period, and fans set a new pickleball record on Sunday, Nov. 6, with 5,522 in attendance.