Latest news with #Reichert
Montreal Gazette
3 days ago
- Health
- Montreal Gazette
Pickleball's popularity is rising rapidly in Montreal. So are the injuries
The first pickleball game Bernadette Reichert ever played was going great until the last three minutes. She remembers the date — Feb. 13 of this year — because it was the day before Valentine's Day. Friends invited her to try the sport seemingly everyone had been talking about for years. Reichert, an active 66-year-old, fell in love with it immediately. Easy to learn, fast-moving, social: 'I really, really, really enjoyed it,' she said. She played for almost 90 minutes at the municipal courts in Kirkland. Then her opponent lobbed a ball wide, and instead of letting it go, she reached too far and fell sideways. At first she thought it was nothing, even though fellow players told her: 'You don't look so good.' Gripping the steering wheel as she drove to a hair appointment after the game, she noticed a sharp pain in her wrist. When she arrived, her hairdresser said: 'You don't look so good.' Reichert sat down and fainted. She had broken two bones in her wrist. Her short-lived pickleball career had been put on hold. Reichert is by no means alone. Pickleball is widely touted as North America's fastest-growing sport. Pickleball Canada estimates the number of Canadians playing the fast-paced game rose from 1 million people in 2022 to 1.5 million as of this year. With the rapid rise in participants has come a surge in pickleball-related injuries. One U.S. study published in 2024 found the number of reported fractures had increased by 200 per cent over the last 20 years. More than 85 per cent of those who recorded injuries were over 60 years of age. The majority of breaks were in bones in the arm and wrist, and were due to falls. The actual number of overall injuries is likely much higher, as the study didn't look at soft-tissue injuries like ankle sprains and Achilles tendon tears that are more common to the sport. Sometimes viewed as a low-impact activity played by a generation who grew up with The Beatles on the radio and Lester B. Pearson as prime minister, the sport that resembles a cross between tennis and Ping-Pong can be deceptively perilous. 'It's a bit of a perfect storm phenomenon in that it's extremely popular,' said Dr. Paul Martineau, an orthopaedic surgeon with the McGill University Health Centre specializing in sports injuries. 'And it's extremely popular in an age group that has a lot of time to play pickleball, and in an age group that's predisposed to certain injuries.' One Montrealer who broke a wrist while playing in Ontario cottage country this summer was told by the Parry Sound ER doctor she was his fourth pickleball injury in two days: 'One torn Achilles, one knee and two wrists,' he said. As we age, muscles get weaker, bones may thin a bit, and after 40, our tendons are more subject to tearing, Martineau said. Pickleball requires a lot of rapid lateral movement and back and forth lunging, putting concerted, repeated strain on joints and muscles in the lower body. At the same time, the barrier to entry in pickleball is remarkably fast as compared to a sport like tennis, which can take years to learn. 'You can get on a pickleball court and have fun within about 20 minutes and actually rally,' Martineau said. But people underestimate the sport's physicality and its ability to spark competitiveness that can lead to overextending. Particularly among a sector of the population that is retired, healthier than previous generations and wants to maintain an active lifestyle for longer. 'People are doing things their grandparents didn't do,' Martineau said. 'And then paying the price for that.' Injuries are not solely the domain of rookies. Montrealer Christine Latremoille, 69, who used to play racquetball at the national level and has played competitive pickleball for years, recently fell over sideways and landed on the upright rim of her paddle. 'I pretty much impaled myself,' she said. 'I'm not sure if I cracked a rib or just bruised it, but that was an unusual one.' She was out for two months. Early in her pickleball career she played a match without stretching first and tore the soleus muscle in her calf. That injury also cost her two months. 'A lot of the people that we play with are ex-athletes from other sports, so we have this assumption in our aging brains that we're still the 20-year-old athlete we once were,' she said. 'And we may not take the right preparations for stretching and so on.' The slightly addictive nature of the sport may also play a role, notes Barry Samberg, the owner of Club PKL in Pointe-St-Charles. With mostly experienced players coming to his centre, they don't see many injuries, he said. But they do see overuse, with people playing as long as four hours at a stretch. When players are tired, they're more prone to making sloppy moves that can lead to injury. Backs often bear the brunt of overstraining. Another no-no is improper footwear. 'I do see injuries from players that come in and they're wearing running shoes as opposed to court shoes,' Samberg said. 'Running shoes are only designed to go straight, not horizontal, so when they have to make a sideways movement, that's where they can potentially roll an ankle.' Merely standing up for two hours straight during a typical match fatigues the body, noted Peter Levidis, an athletic therapist who has run the Sport Specialists clinic in Dorval with his wife Melanie Scrase for nearly 25 years. 'There's a lot more chance that you'll try that extra reach when you're tired where you can pull a muscle,' he said. 'Because the movement is brisk and there's a deceleration, acceleration, all it takes is a false little movement and you can sprain an ankle.' At his clinic, sprained or torn Achilles tendons and ankles, tendon issues and lower body injuries are the most commonly seen pickleball ailments. Elbow and wrist issues also come up. Despite the uptick in injuries, however, experts stress the health benefits of the low-cost sport that is relatively easy for older people to take up far outweigh the slight chance of injury. Maintaining activity levels helps older people preserve their independence, and 'bones do like impact — they don't get as weak if you keep using them,' Martineau said. 'So there are benefits to doing things like that, but it comes with a little bit of a risk.' Latremoille noted there's a lot of socializing with pickleball, including after the game, and in going on trips to tournaments together. 'As you get older, that's extremely important for mental health, so that's another spinoff dividend, if you will.' Tips for staying injury-free on the court LESSONS Although it may be easy to learn, wannabe pickleball players would benefit greatly from taking a lesson or two first, just as one would if considering taking up tennis or golf, said Dr. Paul Martineau. Learning the basics of proper technique can help to avert improper movements that lead to a fall or a sprain. At the same time, remember it's a sport that brings out one's competitive nature, so try to play within your level and don't overdo it. 'I would advise people to try and play within themselves, because the level of competition seems very high,' Martineau said. 'And then people get too excited and overextend themselves.' CONDITIONING As with any physical activity, a brief warmup helps to loosen muscles and make joints and tendons more limber, lessening chances of an injury during play, Martineau notes. 'Being well warmed up before you get on the court would be the main thing,' he said. Having a basic level of fitness before lunging about in many different directions would also help. Some centres, like Club PKL in Pointe-St-Charles, offer fitness classes geared toward strengthening and stretching the muscles used in pickleball. It can also help with reaction time. Yoga is also good for increasing flexibility. 'You can have strong legs, but if you can't react properly and you can't move your leg quickly to the side or turn your trunk to avoid a ball or hit a ball, that's when we can pull muscles,' athletic therapist Peter Levidis said. A common refrain among pickleball victims is that they were wearing running shoes before tragedy struck. The rapid side-to-side movements of the sport require a court shoe that's low to the ground to lessen the chance of rolling an ankle, and has lateral support and good traction. Court shoes are good for indoors. For outdoors, tennis shoes work, as do shoes specifically designed for pickleball. It's also a good idea to find a paddle that is a comfortable size and weight.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Washington County Courthouse "I Do Wall;" heartwarming moments in chalk
The Brief The Washington County Courthouse has an "I Do Wall." The wall, a chalkboard, is a place where newlyweds can write their names and share their love with the community. Thousands of couples have since left their love stamps on the chalkboard. WEST BEND, Wis. - "I do." They are the two most important words a couple can say to each other when tying the knot. In West Bend, those words take on new meaning in chalk. What we know Inside the Washington County clerk's office, there is something the clerk calls the "I Do Wall." It was started in 2017 – and created as a way to make government fun and engage with the community. Washington County Clerk Ashley Reichert said the office issues about 600 to 700 marriage licenses a year. What they're saying "Pretty exciting to see it grow to what it's become today," said Reichert. "Getting married is supposed to be fun, and so this is a fun and exciting way for us to be involved in a couple's love story." Thousands of couples have since left their love stamps on the chalkboard. "We have couple's coming in from out-of-county because they've seen the "I Do Wall" on social media and want to sign it," Reichert said. Dig deeper Jesse and Sheila Treider started their journey to marriage about ten years ago. He is a war veteran and she a banker. Casual date nights eventually led the couple down the aisle in 2024. Now the pair's story includes a 17-month-old daughter as well as dogs, Barney and Oliver. The Treiders said before they said, "I do," they wrote their names on the "I Do Wall." "I think the small things in life are really the big things," said Sheila Treider. What's next The Washington County clerk said the office is moving to another side of the building soon. Reichert said there are already plans for where the "I Do Wall" will go next. The Source The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News.
CBS News
20-04-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Parts of Northern Baltimore & Carroll Counties face intense wind damage on Easter morning
BALTIMORE Co. — A quick, intense wind event rocked parts of Northern Baltimore County and Carroll County late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Tree limbs, debris, and downed wires covered multiple streets and driveways posing a challenge for neighbors planning to celebrate the Easter holiday. "Not the holiday that everybody expected" Alex Reichert owns Green Hill Landscaping and has lived in Parkton, Maryland in Northern Baltimore County for most of his life. "These old pine trees behind me— they are at least 80 to 100 years old, and all the tops split off," explained Alex Reicher. "There's a whole tree at the end of the row that got uprooted completely and is laying on the ground." Just before 11:00p Saturday night— Reichert said he could hear how strong the wind was getting outside of his bedroom window. "I looked out of my bedroom— right there at the top in the corner— and I looked out the window and saw everything just fall down. And trees were exploding, limbs were flying," said Reichert. Reichert told WJZ, he immediately took shelter in his basement and woke up the next morning to a tree limb hanging over his home. "My equipment got smashed, and I don't know if the insurance will cover it, but we'll see," Reichert said. "Yeah, this is not the holiday that everybody expected." "I was very lucky to be alive" But less than 5 minutes from Reichert's home, there was more damage. A large tree left mangled in electric wires was toppled over Middletown Road blocking traffic in both directions. A man, who did not want to be identified, said he was driving south on Middletown Road, said he ran into the fallen tree just before 5:00a Sunday morning. "No cones or no flares, I went right through and pretty much took off almost the whole top of the car. I was very lucky to be alive," the man told WJZ. Baltimore County firefighters were seen making their way around the fallen tree as they rushed to another emergency, a house fire in Freeland, MD. Don Lawerence said he woke up early Sunday morning and his power was out, so he went to turn on his back-up generator. When the power went out again, he returned to the generator and saw flames spewing from it. "You know the perfect storm is there, they've got trees down everywhere and said the fire departments had a hard time getting here, and I'm just watching this thing take off," said Lawrence "The wind is just blowing the flame is like it's probably three or four feet, and it's licking the bottom of the bumper of my nice van, and it started rough and started burning that rubber and it just took off." Lawrence told WJZ, his wife and dog Diesel were able to make it out of the home. "We're safe. The dog is safe. Everybody is good," Lawrence said. As for everyone else in Northern Baltimore County impacted by the sudden windstorm, they say they're grateful it wasn't worse. "We're lucky. Everybody's alive and no one's hurt. You know that's really the main thing," said Reichert.
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Esports World Cup Announces Record Breaking $70 Million Prize Pool
Prize money in the world of esports has long been a divisive topic. While the multi-million dollar prize pools of the Dota 2 International always made headlines, a few years down the line, there is almost no doubt that these heights made the scene unsustainable for a lot of teams outside of the very top players who took the lion's share of those prize pools. However, on the other side of the coin, when players in some of the biggest games in the world are competing for just a few thousand dollars, it can feel like their years of work to reach the top are not being respected. It's difficult to stay on the right side of the line for many esports tournament organisers, and that only becomes a bigger issue when you have more than 20 different tournaments happening within two months and an overall championship encompassing all of them. That is where the Esports World Cup finds itself, returning for a second year with the mandate to sustainably grow esports, but offer enough of a reward that the top teams will do everything they can to earn a spot in the tournament. 'We went in last year with $60 million, it was unheard of, it was so much bigger than anything else, and at the same time, we wanted to leave room for growth,' said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. 'So we went from 60 to 70 [million dollars prize pool] The $70 million prize pool for the 2025 event has more than $38 million dedicated to individual game prize pools, over $5 million for qualifying events and $450,000 for MVP awards across the Esports World Cup. The rest, around $27 million, is reserved for the Club Championship, the cross game championship where organisations can win serious money if they perform well across multiple games. The Club Championship winners will walk away with $7 million, which will be one of the biggest individual payouts in esports history. 'If you look at the Esports World Cup, [the Club Championship is] what holds it together,' said Reichert. 'So on the one hand it's fantastic that we have all of these games and can bring them together at one point in time, which is unique, then the club championship is what makes it a story and wraps it together. So we don't consider it as a side element but at the very heart and centre of the Esports World Cup. So naturally this should have the highest prize money.' But really, the most important figures when it comes to the prize pool are what the players themselves can be walking away with. While the Esports World Cup obviously features all of the biggest games, this year with the addition of Valorant, which often have multi-million dollar prize pools, it also features a lot of the slightly smaller esports, where big prize pools are rarer. That means some players in these games can win truly life changing money, and that has already been proven off the back of the 2024 event. 'We literally changed lives,' said Reichert. 'In Street Fighter with Xiao Hai who won $350,000, he's 35, which was maybe not his last [tournament], but he's certainly in the autumn of his career. We could see how much this meant to him as a title, but as well in terms of his financial future. In the MLBB women's event, we had a $180,000 prize for first, which is by far the largest ever for a women's tournament, and those winners who went home, can live for a few years from this. And last but not least, in PUBG Mobile the Brazilian org Alpha7 went home with $470,000 which, living in Brazil, it's almost a fortune for such a club.' There is no doubt that the money on offer to both players and clubs is impressive, and will likely change a lot of lives once it has all been handed out later this year. But it's almost surprising at how the prize pool has grown this year. On paper, the $10 million increase is significant, but when you consider that includes entirely new prize pools for new tournaments being added, and a significant amount going to qualification events, it's perhaps not quite the major increase many expected after a successful first year and the goal of growing year by year. However, this is by design, with the Esports World Cup Foundation very conscious of not doing too much too quickly. 'There's nothing worse than spending a billion one year and zero the next year,' said Reichert. 'So we would rather spend the billion over the next 10–15 years and grow it step by step, because that's what ultimately will help the sport most and the sport is above everything.' For now, the focus is on the $70 million that will be handed out this summer across the 25 tournaments in 24 games that are set to take place in Riyadh. With so much cash on the line, multiple lives will change as a result of this mammoth prize pool, and there is no doubt that competition will lead to some incredible stories you will not want to miss.
Al Arabiya
10-04-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Esports World Cup to return to Riyadh with over $70 mln prize pool
The Esports World Cup will return this summer to Riyadh with a record prize pool of more than $70 million, its organizer said on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia continues its push to become a global gaming hub. This year's tournament will expand to 24 games, adding chess and Riot Games' popular shooter 'Valorant' to last year's roster of 21 games. For more news on sports in Saudi Arabia, visit our dedicated page. As competitive gaming moves into the mainstream and attracts deep-pocketed investors, Saudi Arabia is betting big on the industry and will host the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in 2027, under a 12-year deal with the International Olympic Committee. 'What has been built organically through the last 25 years now gets supported by public interest,' Ralf Reichert, CEO of Esports World Cup Foundation told Reuters, adding that the investment is part of a 'clear economic agenda.' The event is part of Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' economic diversification strategy, which has seen billions invested in various sports events. The inclusion of Chess, the centuries-old board game, in the esports tournament comes after it experienced a significant revival during the pandemic and continues to thrive through competitions organized on platforms like Reichert said eight of the world's top-ranked 10 players have signed with up esports clubs, with Magnus Carlsen and Arjun Erigaisi confirmed to compete at the tournament this year. The total prize pool, up from $60 million last year, will be split between game champions and a $25 million fund earmarked for clubs to nurture talent and support players. That funding could be key for an industry that has been rocked by financial instability, as several teams that surged in popularity during the pandemic have since faltered in a very capital-heavy industry. Last month, the Kingdom's Public Investment Fund-owned Scopely bought Niantic Labs' gaming division, the force behind the hit augmented reality game 'Pokemon Go', for $3.5 billion.
