A nationwide effort to complete a very unique world record reached South Dakota this week.
Great Life Golf and Fitness Club in Sioux Falls hosted a world record attempt by Dean Matt to play pickleball across 48 states in less than 48 days.
Matt is a commercial pilot who lives in Florida and came up with the idea. Matt said he has enjoyed flying since he was a teenager and now his passion includes pickleball.
“I’ve been a pilot since high school, so I’ve flown around the country quite a bit, but I always wanted to combine that with my new love of pickleball,” said Matt.
What started out as a Guinness World Record Attempt changed to a non-sponsored world record event with a change in Matt’s original plan.
“So it's no longer a Guinness World Record... I called Guinness and arm wrestled them to come up with a world record," said Matt. "So we had the world record, we had all the rules and stuff like that. We signed up as a team. A week before I took off, my buddy Shannon had to back out, so because of that, we are no longer a team anymore. I am not comfortable calling it a 'Guinness World Record.' I doubt we would qualify for that, but I am still calling it a world record.”
Matt’s connection to South Dakota and a part of the reason he chose Sioux Falls as a stopping point in his record attempt is his friendship with Rod Anderson, who lives in the city.
Anderson will accompany Matt to all of his Pickleball locations for the next week and serve as a traveling companion.
Matt said he’s on track to meet his goal of playing pickleball in 48 states in less than 48 days thanks to his tenacity and the generosity of a group of sponsors.
