
February 2021
PICKLEBALL IN THE NEWS! MORE SCHOOLS PLAYING PICKLEBALL DURING CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC! Playing sports while obeying safety protocols, like social distancing, can be difficult. But with many people looking to exercise and stay safe during the pandemic, one sport is now serving up that option: pickleball. READ MORE... PICKLEBALL MAGAZINE All members have received their free digital issue of the January/February issue of Pickleball Magazine. To read this issue, please CLICK HERE. Membership News SHOW YOURSELF SOME PICKLEBALL LOVE WITH YOUR MEMBER REWARDS! Did you know that with your USA Pickleball membership you have access to hundreds of valuable rewards to treat yourself, or someone special this Valentine's Day? Visit our WEBSITE with details on how to take advantage of your member rewards and receive discounts on products such as flowers, gourmet sweets, jewelry, electronics, and more! OFFICIAL YOUTH PROGRAM PROVIDER MEMBERSHIP JOIN TODAY Receive Youth Pickleball Playbook and Activity Cards Access to Discounted, Multi-Player Equipment Packs Free Access to Youth Pickleball Video Series Receive a digital copy of Pickleball Magazine and Newsletter $40 per year Visit our WEBSITE for more details! Social on the Courts @tomchaser - On the podium with a Gold down at the Winter Classic in Tucson. My partner Grace played insanely awesome, definitely carried the team! With a bronze in singles, going for 3 medals in 3 days tomorrow in the men’s doubles. @just_callme_stella We play in the rain, sun, wind, and even snow if we got chance! Best pickleball group in the world! 💜 We’ll come play #pickleball on that incredible home court, @teddimellencamp and @tedwinator! Who else wants this home court + 🏊‍♂️ + 🏀? #USAPickleball #realhousewives @coto_cakes - Pickleball has been the oh so popular “quarantine sport” to come out of 2020. So I knew it was only a matter of time before I would get a cake request ☺️ USA Pickleball Member Stories FOR THE LOVE OF TENNIS AND PICKLEBALL When you think of the perfect Valentine’s Day, most likely pickleball is in those plans. For one couple, they found love on the tennis courts more than 43 years ago and feel very fortunate to now live the life of coaching tennis and pickleball together every day. *READ MORE...* CHILDREN'S BOOK "HOW PICKLEBALL SAVED OLLIE OTTER" SUPPORTS USA PICKLEBALL One man’s inspiration to write a children’s book about pickleball is now supporting USA Pickleball! Lawrence Blundred, of Cincinnati, OH, was inspired to write “How Pickleball Saved Ollie Otter” by his love for the sport, the birth of his grandson Oliver, and an opportunity to share the legacy of his late wife, Donna, who was with him when he first dreamt of the idea for the book. READ MORE... NORTH CAROLINA PICKLEBALL PLAYERS COLLECT MORE THAN 2,000 POUNDS OF FOOD! USA Pickleball members hosted a local food drive in western North Carolina to support community members severely impacted by COVID-19. Between January 17th-24th they were able to collect over 2,100 pounds of food for the 2nd Harvest Food Bank. Great work to our generous pickleball players! Get Tournament Ready! Shop for the latest in performance pickleball clothing, training aids, and other official USA Pickleball merchandise directly from our store! Check out all of the new logo apparel at USAPAStore.com. Fast shipping and world class service! Pro Performance Polo Classic Pro UV 1/4 Zip Women's Sport Pro Sleeveless Shirt USA Pickleball Hooded Sweatshirt	What's the Latest from USA Pickleball? Happy February from USA Pickleball! Pickleball is continuing it’s exciting growth trajectory with new players taking up the sport, schools teaching our youth how to play in P.E. classes like the recent national news story, "More Schools Playing Pickleball" featured this past month, and announcing tournament registration openings, such as the 2021 USA Pickleball National Indoor Champtionships to be held this June. We hope you enjoy this month's member newsletter with inspiring stories from a few of our members, announcements regarding USA Pickleball tournaments, spotlighting some of our valuable partners and as we approach Valentine's Day this weekend, hope you take the opportunity to treat yourself to exclusive member benefits and rewards. YOU CAN BE FEATURED IN A FUTURE NEWSLETTER! Do you have an influencing story to share from the pickleball court? Is there a player in your community that you would like to nominate to be interviewed and featured for the impact they've provided for your pickleball community? Have you played pickleball with a celebrity and you want everyone to know about it? We want to talk to you! We're always looking for engaging and uplifting stories to share about our USA Pickleball members. To nominate someone or send a note to tell us a little bit about the story you have to share, please email us at mediarelations@usapickleball.org. In that email please include: Your name and city where you live Any pickleball clubs you're affiliated with 1-2 paragraphs explaining why we should share your story, or brief description about how someone you're nominating has been a positive influence for pickleball Advertisement Advertisement Sanctioned Tournaments earning USA Pickleball Tournament Player Ratings (UTPR) Effective April 1, 2021 USA Pickleball, as part of the on-going improvements to align the sport for the continued and next wave of growth, is making updates to the earning of UTPR’s at various tournaments. If you are playing in a tournament scheduled after April 1, 2021 and it is not sanctioned you will no longer receive UTPR credit. READ MORE... Advertisement Advertisement Registration Open: 2021 USA Pickleball National Indoor Championships The USA Pickleball National Indoor Championships is ready to go! We are excited to announce the first annual USA Pickleball National Indoor Championships will take place on June 8 – 12, 2021 at the Finley Center in Hoover, AL. The Finley Center, which is located at the Hoover Met Complex, is no stranger to pickleball. They have hosted numerous pickleball tournaments with a myriad of players from all over the country with excellent reviews. The Finley Center is a state-of-the-art 155,000 square foot sports complex and event venue with ample space and viewing accommodations. READ MORE... Advertisement Advertisement Ambassador Team Updates for USA Pickleball On behalf of USA Pickleball and the Regional Leadership Team we are excited and proud to announce key Ambassador leadership updates. Peggine Tellez is the new Great Plains Regional Director, most recently serving as the Assistant Regional Director and Steve Sutton is the new West Regional Director, returning to a position he previously held. We all thank the Boones in the Great Plains Region and Steve Sidwell in the West Region for their leadership and hard work to further the goals of the USA Pickleball mission to promote, grow and develop pickleball! READ MORE... Advertisement Advertisement 2021 Junior Pickleball Planning Tips Ready or not, 2021, is here and we are looking at a new year of opportunities! With Spring just around the corner, there is hope and excitement as we begin planning for outdoor programming. I often get asked a common question, “with the uncertainty of COVID-19, how can we plan anything for this year?” In answering this question, I suggest looking at 2021 from a different lens. With COVID-19 putting normal planning activities on “pause” in 2020, now is a perfect time to plan for 2021 and expand opportunities for pickleball. Kids and families cannot wait to get fresh air, exercise, and begin playing pickleball again. *READ MORE...* Advertisement Advertisement Partner Spotlights The Launch of PB Pro PB Pro™ is professional pickleball brand featuring premium paddles, coordinated apparel and accessories. The brand was launched in October 2020 by Simona Galik Moore, a former WTA professional tennis player. “Initially, my husband and I started playing the game. It’s a great family sport, relatively easy to pick up and a lot of fun! Our challenge was to find a paddle that would have the right feel. It was a bit confusing, there are so many options in the marketplace. None of them really had the feel I was looking for”. READ MORE... Advertisement Advertisement Check Out the SportMaster 2021 catalog SportMaster is excited to introduce our 2021 catalog which includes the PickleMaster line of surface coatings. PickleMaster is the official court surface of USA Pickleball and it is specifically designed FOR the sport of pickleball. PickleMaster is available in two versions: PickleMaster RTU (ready to use) in 5 gallon pails – 8 standard colors PickleMaster – Factory-textured and packaged as a neutral base coating and pigmented with our ColorPlus Pigment Dispersion (18 standard colors and nearly 100 variations with ColorPlus Fusion blends). SportMaster has over 100 stocking locations and qualified professional installers, throughout the United States. Visit our website to download our 2021 product catalog & find the location nearest you for products or free contractor referrals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hudef: Did You Know? Get to know one of our partners: Hudef. Tell us USA Pickleball members, DID YOU KNOW?… Hudef was the first to research and develop the technology of paddle surface rotation. The name Hudef comes from a strong, brave and very kind warrior in the east. READ MORE... Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement
USA Pickleball 2020 - February 2021