It certainly has a different ring to it compared to our past USAPA Nationals which were named Nationals I, Nationals II, Nationals III and so on.
That different ring you hear is also the ring of a big change in the great sport of pickleball.
It is the ringing in of major corporate sponsorships and the tournament being held in a major league venue (Indian Wells Tennis and Pickleball Garden). It is the ringing in of big time media coverage.
It is what we have all been sitting back and waiting for. You had to know it was coming because you were partially responsible. WHAT?????
We all are responsible for what this upcoming week
will bring to the sport of pickleball.
Nine years ago, I played my first pickleball match and was instantly hooked. By all estimates there were
approximately 200,000 pickleball players at the time. Our sport, though over 40 years old at the time, was in its infancy.
But what happened is this. I
was hooked and I knew others would be hooked and love it too if I just got a paddle in their hand and found them a court to play on. So I began spreading the word that “Pickleball Rocks” and you need to try it. And people did. And did. And did and did and did in record numbers.
Almost everyone reading this did the same thing. You fell in love with pickleball and you started helping others fall in love with it too.
Fast forward to today and we now have just under 3,000,000 people playing our beloved sport. And guess what happens when you get a large number of people moving in the same direction? It’s going to attract attention. Yes it’s going to attract attention of businesses and companies who want to sell
their products and services to that mass of people.
So here we are. I’m actually writing this from 38,000 feet, on our way to our 9th Nationals
on our favorite airline, Southwest. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Southwest be a pickleball sponsor soon since we do so much business with them. J
But here we are flying to what will be the largest USAPA sanctioned pickleball tournament in history, in one of the most beautiful pickleball facilities in the world (over 40 beautiful courts with a stadium court that will blow your mind, and it’s only going to grow from here.
So what do I believe is going to happen to our wonderful sport? Well, several things.
- I believe pickleball is going to continue to grow like wild because you and I will continue to put paddles in peoples hands so they can try it on our local courts.
- I believe that there will very soon be a pro circuit with prize money worth playing for at the pro level. And the advent of the pro circuit means we get all the rest of the tournaments to ourselves.
- In case
you didn’t check, there are 17 other tournaments taking place this week at the same time Nationals is being held. Every weekend there are great tournaments taking place all over the country, where amateurs like me can still have the time of our lives competing and feeling like we are being treated like pros. So I believe the amateur tournament circuit will continue to grow for all of us. I hope those tournaments continue to strive to make it a great player
experience so we hunger to come back.
- I believe this year’s Nationals will have over 100,000 spectators come through the turnstiles to see what this pickleball craze is all about. Talk about exposure for our sport. And why do I believe that. Because I come from a long tennis background and have long
been familiar with the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as a premier event location. The annual BNP Paribas tennis tournament attracts over 450,000 people each March for that ATP tennis tournament. But Indian Wells also hosts many other events as well, and any event they hold is very well attended. People will attend because it is an Indian Wells event with food, music and world class pickleball. At our Pickleball Rocks office, we are getting emails daily from people
wanting to know how to buy tickets to attend. Hallelujah for our sport.
- And lastly, I believe Cornhole is about to take a back seat to pickleball on TV. I can’t promise ESPN will be covering it this year (though I wouldn’t be surprised with Indian Well’s pull), but with the magnitude of this year’s
tournament, it’s now only a matter of time, and I believe a short time it will be.
- And one more lastly, I believe pickleball will continue to be the terrific, social, fun, healthy sport it’s always been.
Why do I believe that? Because of you and me. We love this sport and will continue to tell everyone we come in contact with that Pickleball Rocks and they should try it.
Keep up the great work everybody. Pickleball Rocks because of you.
Rocket