The Homer Pickleball club will host their fourth annual Cosmic Hamlet Open Pickleball Tournament Aug. 31 to Sept. 2. The tournament will take place at the SPARC building this year.

President of the club, Janie Leask, said there will be a tournament taking place on the first day, women’s doubles start on Saturday, mixed doubles on Sunday and men’s doubles on Monday.

This year the tournament is dedicated to the memory of Bill Bloom, who passed away two years ago and was one of the founders of the organization. Other founders were Mike Flora and Will Files.

Registration for the event closed Aug. 23. As of last Friday morning there were 112 people registered. About half from Anchorage and half from the Kenai Peninsula. This is a jump from 73 registrants last year, Leask said.

The SPARC building offers four courts for players rather than three at the HERC, so the organization decided to hold it there this year.

Homer Brewing, one of the sponsors, will hold a gathering for players after the women’s tournament finishes on Saturday, Leask said.

This is the first year the club is organized as a 501(c3) nonprofit, which has helped the with sponsorship details. Sponsors for the event include: Abi Reid Creative Designs, Beachy Construction, Homer Brewing Company, Discount Tires and Patent Designs, Andi and Bruce Malard, Paddletex Pickleball, Story Real Estate and South Peninsula Hospital.

Leask explained a little more about the sport of pickleball: a blend of tennis, ping-pong and badminton. It’s played with an oversized flat paddle and a lightweight perforated plastic ball.

“The fastest growing age segment in the United States for the sport is 18 through 34 though it started off with older people who are retired. Now the sport in being taught in schools. The colleges have teams and there’s a professional pickleball league,” Leask said. “We’ve really seen it take off here in Homer.”

More information about the organization is available at www.homerpickleball.org.