Hermiston Watermelon Slam draws 30 teams, supports ShelterBox charity

Thirty teams filled all 10 courts at Hermiston’s Good Shepherd Pickleball Complex on June 27 for the inaugural Watermelon Slam, a full-day tournament for women’s and men’s doubles whose proceeds went to ShelterBox. The draw gave Hermiston its first major pickleball tournament and the first time all 10 courts at the complex were used for a single tournament.

The bracket moved from pool play into championship rounds. In the top women’s under-4.0 final, Debbie Ross and Jasmine Joy DeLong of Walla Walla beat Kim Malcom and Jessica Macias 11-4, 11-7. In the men’s under-4.0 championship, George Bastian and Sergio Adan of Hermiston overpowered Paxton Hall and Teigen Goodeill 11-2, 11-2.

Phyllis Danielson and Janice Gibbs won women’s under-3.5, Shannon Ternes and Jaime Marvin took women’s under-3.0, Gage Bastian and Sergio Adan captured men’s under-3.5, and James Whittum and Jason Torres claimed men’s under-3.0. Medals were promised for first through third place in each of the three skill levels.

The Watermelon Slam was staged at the Good Shepherd Pickleball Complex at Theater Sports Park, 1800 NW Sixth St., with play scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entry was set at $60 per player and included an event T-shirt, breakfast, lunch and medals for podium finishers. Good Shepherd Health Care System and the Hermiston Rotary Club co-sponsored the tournament.

Hermiston Rotary has backed ShelterBox for years, including the Cascadia training exercise near Echo, Oregon, a three-day immersive disaster-relief simulation that has raised more than $1.5 million. ShelterBox’s SAFE program uses disaster scenarios to train volunteers, and ShelterBox USA provides emergency shelter to families displaced by disaster and conflict.

The complex opened in June 2025.