Three survive first ‘Hangman’ pickleball tourney

Only three players came out unscathed after the first Hangman Pickleball Tournament played at the new courts at the Hyatt Regency Saipan.

Over 30 players from the Pickleball Federation of the Northern Mariana Islands, or PFNMI, debuted at their new home court last Saturday, with Marivic Dunlop, Eric Abragan, and Guam’s Dereck Alcorn the only three players who did not lose a limb in the tournament.

Donna Krum, PFNMI board member, explained that the rules are on the eight courts, there are four players each. A pair plays against another for 20 minutes and after, they drop an already predetermined number in either the winner’s or loser’s bucket. They get drawn again in round two and go for four rounds.

When a player loses, they lose a limb, just like in the children’s game hangman. They play four rounds and when they have not lost any limbs by the end, they win the tournament.

PFNMI, although it already debuted at the courts in Hyatt, will still play at the American Memorial Park courts until the official grand opening of the courts in mid-October, after which they will fully move there. It will coincide with the reopening of Hyatt’s Splash Bar. As for the AMP courts, Krum said it is open to the public and anyone is free to play there.

Krum said that they’re grateful for the partnership with Hyatt. When PFNMI relocates fully to the Hyatt courts, the hotel’s in-house guests are able to join them to play and learn the sport.

“This is our new home. We did this all ourselves. We painted the courts, power-washed the courts, and so this was our contribution as well as providing all the equipment,” said Krum. “When the guests are out here, they can play with us also, so this is kind of our community outreach because the PFNMI is an official nonprofit group.”

As for their federation, she said “It’s great, growing, and very solid. It keeps growing. As you can see, there are eight courts instead of four at the AMP, and it’ll be full every night. Our goal has always been to have a dedicated pickleball facility—world class—so we’re making our way toward that. This is just another step in our journey. We went from the parking lot, to the church, to Capitol Hill, then AMP. Now we’re here, so we’re on the move.”

Bea O’Malley, Hyatt Marketing and Communications manager, said that they are “very excited that pickleball games are here… this idea was to continue our engagement with the community. We are in the forefront of having activities for the community to enjoy, and pickleball is picking up in the states and here, so we want to be on that platform to expose the sport.”

She added, “I hope this exposure will help the sport to progress and more people will try and come check it out.” Since the courts are near the beach side, O’Malley shared that during the tournament, there were people barbequing who actually lowered their music, stopped what they were doing, and watched the games.

PFNMI marked its third year anniversary last June. For those who don’t know what pickleball is, it is a cross between tennis, ping-pong, and badminton.