In recent years, pickleball has caused quite a craze at OHS due to the competitiveness of the sport. Several students come to class decked out in their best athletic wear and sweatbands to prepare for their match. Because of the fun and competitiveness of the sport, John Thomas (12) and Marc Torbit (12) decided to use it as a way to raise money for charity.

Last summer, Thomas’s grandpa passed away from Parkinson’s disease, a disorder of the brain that makes it difficult to walk and coordinate movements (according to www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov); therefore, that was the charity they decided to donate the money from the pickleball tournament to.

“Marc and I decided to do the tourney because we love pickleball and wanted to do a tournament,” Thomas said. “then decided that it was a great opportunity for a charity event.”

28 people showed up for the event and they raised $280 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The winners, Kevin Foote (12) and Ian Furrey (12) won a $42 cash prize after going undefeated in the tournament and beating Drew Cook (12) and Zach Klipsch (11) in the finals match.

“We have enough people interested and people have already asked me to organize another,” Thomas said. “So if we can get sponsored and get the gym time again, we’d really like to do another.”