A Peek Into What Happens Beyond Pickleball Rec Play—Tournaments
A memorable weekend in Denver, Colorado. Also, singles 5.0+ pickleball is not to be missed, and bring an umbrella.
As I write this article, I’m in a cafe watching an older cowboy who looks like he’s never played pickleball. But I really can’t say and shouldn’t judge. Just yesterday, I saw an older woman wearing a pink muumuu on the court. It’s one of the great things about the sport; external appearances can be deceiving. The unlikeliest people play and can be shockingly good at this sport.
I recently attended the Rocky Mountain Championship tournament in Denver, Colorado. It was only my second pickleball tournament, and much larger than the first. What a trip! Hundreds of players (644 to be exact) were signed up to play on 26 courts throughout the five-day tournament. As far as I can tell, the only cash prizes were for a team challenge; the rest were simply competing for medals and experience. Here are the things I found interesting and suspect you might as well.
Referees
Hours into my first morning of the tournament, it was not at all clear which games had refs. Another spectator (a 4.5 player, no rookie) asked me if I knew which matches had refs and I did not. My assumption was that only games of more advanced players warranted refs, but I was wrong about that.
An official looking man in a bumblebee yellow polo shirt with “REFEREE” on the back caught my eye and I thought, “If anyone can enlighten me, it’s him.”
When he wasn’t occupied with another conversation, I asked if he was the guy in charge. Turns out that he wasn’t, but he was second in command at the event. From my brief conversation with Byron, I learned that every level of play gets refereed, but not until the round before the bronze medal round.
Spectators and Players
People watching and people meeting are great at these events. Pickleball attracts quite the range of players and this means you have all kinds of people on the sidelines. It’s fabulous.
I talked with Tyler and Evan, two impressive teenagers who have a legit brass band, Funk in the Name. They gave me the teenage scoop on the pickleball courts at which the tournament was hosted; apparently they get really busy between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The police have come as late (or would it be as early as?) 3:00 a.m. to end the teenage pickleball party. What an awesome and wholesome thing for a group of teenagers to be doing—playing pickleball under the lights of a community court.
I talked with a mom and daughter. They were there to support the daughter’s boyfriend, Tom, in the tournament. It made watching his 5.0+ play all the more fun to know his backstory and plans for the sport and we were able to connect via Instagram afterward. Bonus: I learned about Ava’s decision to go to school out-of-state, her international travels and plans for grad school, and the backstory of her mom’s very cool name.
Jon, a fellow entrepreneur/freelancer is home for a visit to Colorado from Bali where he lives full-time. We talked about pickleball in Indonesia, his upcoming trip to Columbia to check out the pickleball scene, and how quickly he sees it growing in Asian countries. He was very modest about the gold medal he’d just won in 4.0 men’s singles and let me heft it—solid!
Ed and Patty are a recently retired couple who’d driven down from Fort Collins to check out the match. They love playing pickleball and will be playing a lot in Arizona this year while they housesit for friends. I assumed they were there to cheer on a going-places local player, Brett Finan, but no; they were spectators just like the rest of us with front row seats. On the sidelines of one intense game, I met Kyle Yates, the former #1 professional pickleball player, when I asked if he was there supporting one of the guys on the court. He was, and he was also going to be playing the winner of the round.
Joni and Judy told me all about the noise complaint one resident of their housing community made which led to all their courts being shut down for six months. The courts are open again, but with ordinances these two friends say are “ridiculous.” I struck up conversation with them when I overheard them analyzing and learning from the game we were all watching. What other sport do so many people of all generations watch and learn from to improve their own game? I can’t think of one.
Vendors
This sport is exploding and there’s a lot happening in the supporting industry. Entrepreneurs are creating and innovating to meet the needs of this growing sport and doing something about the opportunities they’re seeing. Talking with them about their ideas, the backstory of the business, and their plans for it never fails to get me jazzed. Just some of the businesses I talked with included:
A pickleball-specific electrolytes company. I thought electrolytes were all hype until I started playing in the heat and realized they’re actually super helpful.
A high-end sunglasses + protective eyewear company. They do a cool thing with the lenses which makes the colors super pop, which made me feel like I was living in high-definition.
A jewelry designer offering classy and elegant pickleball jewelry. No dancing, smiling green pickles in her brand :-)
A gentleman who’s created a training aid to help beginners break the habit of using their wrist improperly. It got me wondering—am I?
A pickleball playing/training products company helping pickleballers of all levels develop their game and “pursue their full potential.” I’m a fan.
Note: I’m not an affiliate of any of these companies; just enjoy seeing and sharing what people are doing in the space.
Random observations
A lot of doggies! I tried to capture one sprawled out on the pavement in the middle of a thoroughfare, but her nap was interrupted right before the photo and no picture was taken.
Multiple people I met had traveled from around the state and out-of-state to compete.
The age range and variety of spectators and players alike. You’re just not going to see too many multigenerational soccer/basketball/baseball tournaments where people of all ages are watching, learning, and playing…
Singles pickleball is super fun to watch, and especially in this setting where you’re close enough to see and hear it all—the sounds the players make, the squeak of shoes on the court, the chat of the players between the ref and the other player.
Even with hundreds of people playing and spectating, it still felt intimate. There’s a lot going on at once, and you can wander to all of the courts to see which games strike your fancy. There’s no chance of being bored at one of these tournaments.
At this stage of pickleball, really good players are accessible in a way they may not be down the road. I am positive that I’m watching future (and turns out, some existing) pros.
Pro tip: Even a cheapie umbrella makes a big difference in sun protection and heat relief.
This tournament got me all the more excited about my plans to travel cross-country this fall to more pickleball tournaments, community as well as professional APP, PPA, and MLP events. Of course I’ll be sharing with you all the stories and findings from the U.S. tournament road since I suspect we’ll find that tournaments are a lot like pickleball players and community courts—no two are the same. And if I see a cowboy on the court or another pink muumuu, I’ll be sure to share.
Have you been to a tournament yet as either a player or spectator? If not, your city or metro area almost certainly has a Facebook pickleball page where you can find local tournaments, along with all kinds of local pickleball news and advice. You can also check out Pickleball Brackets, the main hub for pickleball tournaments. If you’ve got cool tournament experiences (playing or spectating) or questions to share, we’d all love to hear—please comment below.