Pickleball players in Missoula, Montana, recently made a Guinness World Record attempt at Peak Health + Wellness.
About a year ago, pickleball instructor Dave Cook came across a video of pickleball players in Spain attempting to break a world record for longest continuous play. Wanting to put Missoula pickleball on the map, Cook set out to beat the record, which was set at 24 hours.
He applied to Guinness in February of 2023 and was accepted in March, but still needed to find his partners. Cook was joined by Joe Fraser, the director of Peak, and two active Missoula pickleball players, Mike Nys and Dory Lerew.
To follow the official Guinness rules, three people at a time must observe the entire attempt in shifts no longer than four hours. One of the three would need to serve as “umpire,” and to do so, they needed pickleball experience.
The event also had to be recorded with no breaks and with a visible timer or clock. The players were allowed five minutes to rest for every complete hour played.
So, starting at 8 a.m. on January 19, the four set out to play for 26-30 hours, depending on their energy level. They played for a total of 27 hours, and when break time was subtracted, their total play time was 25 ½ hours.
Selkirk Sport supplied the participants with gear and a physical therapist staffed the event for the full duration to help handle spasms and sore muscles during the breaks. In total, 35 people volunteered to make the event a success.
The group is waiting for official confirmation to see whether they broke the Guinness World Record.
