Pickleball Takes to the Skies with Goodyear Blimp
Carson, California — It's the fastest growing sport in the U.S., but this week the game of pickleball reached an even greater height — 1,500 feet that is — on the iconic Goodyear Blimp.
A match was played inside the blimp Wednesday between professionals Anna Leigh Waters, Catherine Parenteau and Jay Devilliers as it flew over Carson, California.
And as a mark of a new peak for the aircraft itself, the blimp is providing aerial coverage over Sunday's Professional Pickleball Association Tour Finals in San Clemente, California, the first time the sport has received the Goodyear Blimp treatment.
"We basically invented aerial broadcasting of sports," said Taylor Deen, who has been a Goodyear Blimp pilot for 12 years.
Over the years, the Goodyear Blimp has been part of the U.S. Navy's defense team in World War II, and christened by aviation icons like Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride. And it has even broadcast emergency signals above natural disasters, like Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
It was in 1955 that a new era began for the fleet. With the advent of television, Goodyear became the first aerial platform to broadcast a live event for TV when it flew over the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
And when the first Superbowl took place in 1967 on CBS, the blimp was present.
"We cover all the major events," said Deen. "…Super Bowls, NASCAR, World Cups, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals. So if we're there, it's usually a significant event."
Now, a new addition has been made to the list.
"I've seen the blimp at sporting events as I drove by," said 16-year-old Anna Leigh Waters, the world's number one pickleball player. "…I've always thought, okay, your sport has made it if the Goodyear Blimp shows up. So I guess pickleball has made it now."
"It just exploded," Waters added. "So I was really happy to be a part of it, because I started playing when I was 10. And now I'm 16. So I've grown up with the sport."
Pioneers from the court and the sky are raising the game to "blimp-worthy" status.
