NITRO, W.Va. — The 3rd Annual Metro 911 Pickleball Tournament is all set to return to the Nitro Athletic Complex from May 30 to June 1, featuring players of all skill levels, promising a fun-filled event.

Johnny Rutherford, retired Metro 911 Executive Director and Kyle Mullins were on 580Live with Dave Allen to discuss the event.

Rutherford emphasized that the tournament welcomes players of all skill levels.

“This tournament is for everybody, this tournament goes even to the players that just started that are 3.0 which are the beginners all the way to the 4.5, 5.0 so its for everybody, we invite everybody to come out, we keep the levels separate so if you are a beginner you are playing against beginners, if your are intermediate you are playing against intermediate, so this tournament is for everybody.” said Rutherford.

Mullins highlighted that the event will feature food trucks and welcomes people to join to watch the matches.

“I would encourage to come, you can obviously stay along the sides, bring a chair or something like that we should have bleachers on the side that you will be able to sit and watch we will also have food trucks and things like that for the visitors to come and enjoy as well.” said Mullins

The event will also include a special clinic on May 29 conducted by Susannah Barr, a professional pickleball player.

“She is offering lesson for different levels of play whether you are a beginner, whether you are an advanced player, on Thursday, so Thursday May 29, so we will have that going on as well.” said Mullins.

Last year, the tournament witnessed a massive turnout, which caught even the local businesses off guard.

“What was amazing the second year specially is when we had the pros coming in the City of Nitro, restaurants actually ran out of food, they were not prepared for the amount of people that would come in to the City of Nitro.” said Rutherford

The profits from the tournament support Metro 911 employees who respond to emergencies throughout the year.

“We have great employees that everyday answer over 1500 calls, 5000,000 calls a year, everything from cardiac arrest, to delivering babies, and the proceeds, the profits from this fundraiser basically for them goes to reward them when they do a good job.” said Rutherford.

The tournament is shaping up to be one of Nitro’s most exciting summer events.

Story by Ananya Rautela