Going to a Collegiate Pickleball tournament

Going to a Collegiate Pickleball Tournament

Did you know that pickleball was created in Bainbridge, Washington? I was surprised when I first learned about this fact and also by the rising popularity of the sport over the recent years. I had first thought that it was something played by retired people to keep active- after all, it is just tennis with much less running. Over the past few years however, more and more people that I know began to play pickleball. I even read about some celebrities like the Kardashians and Leonardo Dicaprio playing pickleball. There is now a professional league where the best pickleball players from around the world compete and I was shocked to even hear that there is a National Collegiate Pickleball Association (NCPA) that holds a tournament every year. I had the opportunity to play in this tournament in San Diego during this past spring break, and it was definitely an experience I’ll never forget.

Last year, my friend here at Seattle University wanted to start a pickleball club. I had played a few times before then, so I told him I would be in the club since he needed members. After promoting ourselves at club fairs, we quickly gained a bunch of members and had over 150 people sign up. Thankfully, 100 people don’t show up, and normally there are around 20–30 people that come to the UREC to play twice a week. Having different people to play with and making friends at the same time made playing pickleball that much more fun and I began to really enjoy playing and getting better. Fast forward to a couple months ago when my friend (the president of the club) said that there would be a collegiate tournament in San Diego held by the NCPA. I was pretty intimidated by the idea, considering the people competing take pickleball very seriously. Still, I figured that it would be a fun experience and was able to go on the trip. We were able to assemble a small team and make our way to San Diego during spring break and arrived at a place called The Hub.

The tournament was held at a pickleball palace called The Hub with around 30 courts, enough to hold the 40-something schools that gathered to compete for the $30,000 prize. Arriving at the venue, I immediately recognized how serious everyone was. The tournament involved men’s singles and doubles as well as women’s singles and doubles, and we were seeded through pool play followed by single elimination brackets. Spoiler alert- we did not win the tournament, but the team was able to win quite a few games which I was happy about considering how good the competition was. We could at least go home happy we didn’t completely lose every game and I had a lot of fun with my friends as well as meeting new people.

Overall, I was really glad that I went on the trip despite the results. As seen from the tournament, pickleball can be very competitive, but it is also meant to create a community. I have met a lot of people through pickleball, and I think it is a fun way to connect with people and just take it easy while playing. Go to @su.pickleball on Instagram if you are interested!