Lucore inducted into Pickleball Hall of Fame

FALLBROOK – Before she ever heard of pickleball, Jennifer (Youngren) Lucore grew up in Bonsall and graduated from Fallbrook Union High School in 1984. She played on the varsity tennis team and continued her tennis at Palomar College and onward.

She was recently inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame, as the first female athlete and competitor, during the USAPA National Championship in Indian Wells in November.

The Pickleball Hall of Fame was formed in 2017 to recognize individuals who have achieved exceptional results in pickleball play over the course of their career, as well as exceptional contributions to growth, development and leadership of the game. Pickleball Central serves as the initial home of the Pickleball Hall of Fame at its headquarters in Kent, Washington, next to the Pickleball Museum.

One of the sport's trailblazers, Lucore is also one of pickleball's most decorated athletes. Among her accomplishments, she is a 17-time gold medal winner at the USAPA Nationals, 11-time Canadian National Champion, 6-time Huntsman World Senior Games Champion, 4-time Tournament of Champions and 6-time International Champion among many other medals and awards at the sport's major tournaments.

Lucore first played pickleball over 10 years ago when she was vacationing with her family and met up with her parents, Beverly and Bob Youngren, in Oregon for a local tournament. She said she saw how much fun everyone was having. She attended the very first Nationals in 2009 just to watch her parents compete. She said she was hooked.

The very next year, she started playing and has fully experienced love and passion for the game and the people that play pickleball ever since. She and Carlsbad resident Alex Hamner held the Nationals title in Open Women's Doubles for the next four years, in a row.

Lucore, a global ambassador and a native Southern California resident, has covered the globe, promoting, teaching and playing in countries like Canada, the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. In 2020, she will be traveling to Ireland, Scotland, England and Kenya.

Known internationally as one of pickleball's preeminent bloggers, check her out at http://www.allpickleball.com.

Lucore's expertise can also be found in Pickleball Magazine "Around the Post" column. Lucore and her mother also recently published the sport's first ever history book, "History of Pickleball – More Than 50 Years of Fun!" available on Amazon. It's an excellent read with 5-star reviews.

Anyone who hasn't tried the sport yet is encouraged to give it a try as pickleball is played daily in various locations throughout San Diego County and several countries.

Submitted by Beverly Youngren.