Medals of all colours made their way to the Dubbo Pickleball Centre after the return of seven enthusiastic local pickleballers who travelled to compete in the 2026 Tasmanian Pickleball Championships.

The local representatives brought home two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal from the championships.

Dion Oldfield led the way by collecting a gold in the 40’s-Plus Mixed Doubles and silver in the Men’s 40-Plus Doubles. Shaleen Shah followed with one gold in the 40’s Mixed Doubles and a bronze in the Ladies 40-Plus, as well as Don Easter in the 70’s-Plus Men’s Singles and Doubles, collecting two silver medallions in a terrific team effort.

Dubbo’s other representatives Chris Ward, Merrilyn Craig, and Greg King also performed at a high level but did come home the more experienced from the participation. Yep, that means they didn’t win many, but they frightened them!

The remaining traveller, Bernie Ward, would have to go in the category of hard done by, when, at the completion of the round-robin series in the men’s 60’s-Plus Doubles series, he remained undefeated, although he had had to rise above to claim the wins against some genuine experienced opponents.

After finishing on top, Bernie’s team saw lady luck abandon them in the semi-finals to finish out of medal contention. Deserved better!