Four local pickleball players hope to smash a world’s record in the booming sport while promoting a life-saving cause.
West Michigan residents Brad Haverkamp, Julie Ondersma, Sydney Sonday, and Caleb Dang are determined to break the Guinness World Record for the longest pickleball marathon by competing for 30 consecutive hours. The current record is 27 hours and 5 minutes set by a foursome out of Missoula, Montana, on Jan. 19.
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Courtesy Brad HaverkampBrad Haverkamp, pickleballer going for a world record.
The Nov. 23 marathon will be held at the All In Pickleball Gym in Byron Center. Admission to watch the action is free.
The greater goal of their effort, which they call Paddles for a Purpose, is to raise funds on behalf of Gift of Life Michigan, a federally designated organ procurement organization that is a liaison between donors, hospitals and transplant centers. Also, those who attend the event will be encouraged to register as organ donors either online or at the site.
Pickleball, which combines elements of ping-pong, tennis and badminton, has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States for five years in a row, with 8.9 million players in 2023, up from 4.8 million in 2022, according to the trade group Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
To learn more about the event and to pledge, go to
https://giftoflifemichigan.org/get-involved/events/paddles-for-a-purpose. To learn more about joining the Organ Donation Registry, go to
https://giftoflifemichigan.org/.
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Courtesy In honor of National Pickleball Day Aug. 8, the pickleball players played a special practice session.
From having fun to making a difference
“Fun” is what launched the idea of breaking the world record, according to Haverkamp, the event’s organizer.
“It actually started with finding out about the Guinness World Record,” Haverkamp says. “We have seen some news articles on it and we thought this would be a fun thing to do.”
From there, it evolved from not only having fun to making a difference in people’s lives.
“We all collectively think that Gift of Life and organ donation is such a beautiful thing,” he says. “We’re just excited to raise awareness and raise some dollars along the way and help out.”
More than 2,400 Michigan residents are waiting for a life-saving organ, and of that number, 80% need a kidney.
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Courtesy Evan ZuiderveenEvan Zuiderveen, potential transplant recipient
That includes Ada resident Evan Zuiderveen, an industrial contractor who does at-home peritoneal dialysis while awaiting a kidney transplant.
Zuiderveen also is an avid pickleball player who intends to be there cheering on the four pickleballers when they try to establish a new world record.
“You meet new people of all different cultures and all different ages,” Zuiderveen says of pickleball. “It’s a great activity. It’s a social thing too.”
Zuiderveen says he is hoping for a living donor, meaning a person who donates an organ to another person while they are still alive. Gift of Life Michigan is an intermediary for deceased donors.
“The biggest thing for me is just knowing people can live with one kidney and donate the other one, and live the same kind of life you’ve lived before,” says Zuiderveen.
Coordinating donation efforts
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Courtesy Gift of Life MichiganAlison Gillium, senior community relations specialist for Gift of Life Michigan
Paddles for a Purpose is an opportunity to shed light on the need for kidney donations, according to Alison Gillium, senior community relations specialist for Gift of Life Michigan.
“Our mission is to honor life through donation, and we do that by working with families when their loved ones pass away,” says Gillium.
She said Gift of Life works with all hospitals in the state to see if the potential for organ and tissue donation exists and, if it does, to work with the donor families and transplant centers to make sure the organs get to people waiting for life-saving transplants.
“Living donations in Michigan and all over the U.S. are handled by transplant centers, so they oversee that piece,’ adds Gillium. “That being said, we’re obviously huge proponents for anybody getting a life-saving organ transplant that they need, whether that would be from a deceased donor or a living donor.”
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Courtesy The greater goal of their effort, which they call Paddles for a Purpose, is to raise funds on behalf of Gift of Life Michigan, a federally designated organ procurement organization that is a liaison between donors, hospitals and transplant centers.
From Haverkamp’s perspective, even if the four pickleball players break the world record, another part of their effort will transcend that accomplishment.
“From my perspective, being an organ donor is really one of the most beautiful things that you can do,” says Haverkamp. “If you’re on the organ donation registry, your final act as a person is an incredible gift to other people, and not just necessarily one person but potentially multiple people. I think it really adds to your legacy, who you are and how you lived your life.”