On Monday Oct 5th the Bloomington City Council officially named Bloomington Westwood Courts after Jim Klaseus, the individual who brought Pickleball back from Arizona to Minnesota. A dedication was held on Friday Oct. 16, 2020. Jim and his wife were there and a new sign was added to the courts.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000's Jim brought the game to Bloomington from his winter home of Arizona. He then recruited about 12 players to learn the game at the Edgewood tennis courts by his house. He continued to recruit and to teach. He would line the courts with chalk each morning and the numbers grew. He then went to the city and got them to paint lines on the courts and people started coming from Anoka, St Paul, Eden Prairie, Mankato, St Cloud and the game really grew.
Jim then worked with the City of Bloomington on getting dedicated Pickleball courts built at Westwood School in 2011. These were the first dedicated courts in the state of Minnesota. He helped other communities to plan and promote building courts as well. Now there are over 100 dedicated courts in many many communities and thousands of players.
It all started because of Jim Klaseus and his determination and unselfish commitment to spread his enthusiasm for a game he loved, Now the first courts in Minnesota are fittingly named “The Jim Klaseus Courts!”
Congratulations Jim and thank you for your tremendous contributions for all Minnesota Pickleball Players.
Check out this video to see the dedication - CLICK HERE
