Photo Supplied: Mount Pickleball Club Coach, Paul Cubitt at the 2023 Mount Pickleball Classic.
Excitement is building as Mount Maunganui prepares to host its second national pickleball tournament, the Mount Pickleball Classic, from 30 August to 1 September at Mercury Baypark. This highly anticipated event will bring together pickleball enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels for a weekend of competitive play, community engagement, and friendly fun.
With a growing number of pickleball players nationwide, the tournament promises to showcase the sport’s rapid rise in popularity and provide an exciting spectacle for participants and spectators alike. Promised to be a weekend of action-packed fun, the Mount Pickleball Classic will be an open pairs competition for people from all around New Zealand and of all ages and abilities.
There are 12 different divisions, including Open (Under 60) and Super (Over 60) A and B Men’s Doubles, Ladies Doubles, and Mixed Doubles. Currently 280 players have entered. They will have the chance to compete for top honours, while spectators can attend for free to learn more about the sport.
In addition to the on-court action, the organisers from Mount Pickleball Club are dedicated to encouraging community spirit and enticing more locals to try pickleball. This event started last year to showcase the growing sport and to encourage people to come to the beautiful city of Tauranga. With Mount Pickleball Club having grown to be one of the biggest and most active in New Zealand, Club President Bob Smith says they had endless requests to host an open tournament and received outstanding feedback after the 2023 inaugural event.
“We are thrilled to bring the sport of pickleball to more people in Tauranga, and if we didn’t bring it back for another year, we would have disappointed a lot of people,” he says, “This event will not only provide an excellent platform for existing players, but it will also showcase the booming sport of pickleball, making more locals aware of another attractive recreational option.”
In addition to numerous local businesses supporting the event as official sponsors, the local Tauranga Western Bay Community Event Fund (TWBCEF) has also supported the Mount Pickleball Classic with a $4,000 grant. The grant helps cover event costs including pickleball nets that meet the required standard for an event of this magnitude.
The fund is a partnership between local funders Acorn Foundation, BayTrust, TECT, Tauranga City Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council with the core purpose of supporting community-led events and those that encourage free or low-cost participation.
Nelita Byrne, Venues and Events Manager of Tauranga City Council added, “We are proud to support The Mount Pickleball Classic and are excited about its positive impact on our community as it is such an accessible sport.”
“Pickleball is fun, and tournaments like this always lift people’s spirits,” she says, “We look forward to a fantastic weekend of fun, competition, and community engagement as players stay, play and explore the wider Tauranga area.”
Registration for the event has now closed, but spectators are encouraged to attend, free of charge. For more information about the event, including tournament schedules, please go to the Mount Pickleball Club’s Facebook page, where there is a link to the tournament webpage.
Photo Supplied: Mount Pickleball Club session at Mercury Baypark Arena.
