The Village of Patchogue Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting their first Memorial Pickleball Tournament in honor of Marcia Chaskin.

Alan Chaskin, the organizer of the tournament and retired Patchogue middle school science teacher, grew up across the street from the Rider Avenue tennis courts, where the pickleball courts are now situated, and recalled playing there most of his childhood from the 1950s up through the ‘70s.

As an avid tennis player, he said, his mother would always provide cookies, Band-Aids and water to the children who played there, too. His mother, Marcia, died at age 91, in 2017.  Though he used to host tennis tournaments, as the sport became less popular, he had the idea to host a pickleball tournament in her name.

“I ran the tournament for many, many years,” he said. “I still play at 77 years old.”

The Patchogue Open Pickleball (POP) Tournament will be held on Saturday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the village pickleball courts located at Rider Avenue.

The tournament will be $20 per team and limited to eight doubles (16 people). There will be advanced, beginner and up, and co-ed teams open to all ages. Bring your own paddles!

Registration begins now; for more information, call 631-475-4302.