Two St. Albert-area pickleballers owned the podium earlier this month to bring home four medals from a North American tournament in Arizona.
Jacob Bolkowy, 14, and Benjamin Lim, 16, of the St. Albert Pickleball Club (SAPC) won four medals at the 2024 Biofreeze USA Pickleball National Championships held Nov. 9-17 in Mesa, AZ. The tournament saw some of the top pickleballers from across North America compete for medals, and was broadcast live online.
Bolkowy and Lim are two of the youngest and most skilled members of the St. Albert club and regularly play against opponents many years their senior, said SAPC president Eileen McClean. Bolkowy won the 2024 Pickleball Alberta Junior of the Year Award last August.
“They’re great examples of fantastic players and great sportsmanship,” said McClean, who is a former school principal.
“I’d be so proud of them if they were my students.”
Powerhouse players
An Edmonton resident who attends Archbishop MacDonald High, Lim said he got into pickleball several years ago when he saw some women playing it at a tennis court. He later joined the SAPC and met Bolkowy.
“It’s really fun to compete with anybody,” he said, noting he usually plays against adults.
Lim said he and Bolkowy decided to enter the U.S. nationals this year to gain experience and become better players.
A Paul Kane student and St. Albert resident, Bolkowy said he picked up pickleball when he was 11 after seeing it played at Servus Place.
“It was just so fun,” he said, and he got hooked on the sport’s thoughtful, strategic play.
Bolkowy said it was super warm down in Arizona during the tournament. Mesa itself was a place of desert, gravel, and palm trees, with not a blade of grass in sight.
“It’s kind of like Mexico, but more urbanized.”
Bolkowy said the USA Nationals was a very competitive tournament during which he and Lim faced pro-level players. Many St. Albert residents were in the stands cheering the two of them on.
Bolkowy won gold in the junior mixed doubles event alongside Darcy Shore, a Las Vegas native he knows through a friend. He said they have similar playing styles and were able to come together as a team after just a day’s practice.
Bolkowy later partnered with Lim to nab the silver in the junior boys doubles aged 15-16 event. Lim took bronze in the junior boys singles 15-16 event.
Lim said this tournament gave him the chance to compete against other players of his same age and skill level. Bolkowy said he learned a lot about how to improve his game in the process.
Lim said neither he nor Bolkowy expected to win at nationals, and were very grateful they had the chance to experience it.
“It was kind of nice to know there are other juniors out there that are just as good as us and that the competition is out there.”
Lim and Bolkowy said they both hope to play at the professional level, with Bolkowy hoping to compete in a Professional Pickleball Association Tour event later this year.
Lim encouraged people of all ages to take a swing at pickleball.
“It’s super easy to get into,” he said, and he plays it almost every day.
Visit usapickleballnationals.com for full tournament results.