What a great weekend, not only weather-wise but also pickleball-wise at the Jersey Shore this past week! Jonathan Clay, the owner of Kitch Pickleball, kicked off the inaugural New Jersey Open Pickleball Championships at the outdoor courts of the Community YMCA in Red Bank. Jonathan has run National Racquetball tournaments for the past 20 years and he brought his experience onto the pickleball courts, resulting in a very successful- and equally fun tournament this past weekend.
Last year the Community YMCA, along with help from Monmouth Pickleball Club, converted their outdoor unused roller hockey rink into 6 lighted pickleball courts. Who would’ve ever guessed that a year later the courts would host a USAPA sanctioned tournament drawing over 136 players from 8 different states including thirty-two 4.5-5.0 ranked players? Ten divisions were offered and 150 matches were played over two days of competition with the youngest competitor being 12 years old and the oldest 74. Anyone who was there this weekend saw some excellent games as all the players competed for the gold, silver and bronze medals. Every match had a referee thanks to all the volunteers who made this sanctioned tournament possible.
Overall, Jonathan was pleased with the outcome. He came away with a few ideas for improvement of future tournaments and is predicting this tournament will grow to 400-500 players within the next few years. That should be surprising to almost no one, as we anticipate this sport to continue growing at a phenomenal rate. If you missed the tournament this year, look for it next summer as you may want to enter, or at least come and watch some great pickleball!
Here are the results:
Thanks to Kim Smith for the great write-up! Congrats to all who participated and won!