The Voyager Holiday Skills Level Tournament Experiences Large Increase in Attendance

The weather was perfect for outdoor pickleball with cool mornings and sunny afternoons. Pickleball players, in 4 divisions, battled it out on the Voyager’s 5 courts while a large number of spectators watched players till early evening.

This 2nd annual Pickleball Tournament is open to all ages and included players as young as their early thirties.  It is held at the Voyager RV Resort in Tucson, AZ and drew 155 players which is an increase in attendance of 41% over 2007.  The tournament director, David Jordan, was pleasantly surprised by this rapid growth.  He said, “I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised since Nancy distributes flyers all year long as we travel.    For example, we met, Cathy and Gary Miller, in Providence RI at the NSGA (National Senior Games Assoc.) pickleball tournament in Sept.  They traveled from Kissimmee, FL to Tucson just to play.   It was nice that they were able to win a Bronze medal in the 3.5 Mixed Doubles Division. “

He further stated, “It is always great to see so many people playing a sport that I love!  We still have a 3.0 division so newer players can get a chance to play too.  I really don’t want to, but we may have to look at limiting the number of entries per day unless we can get more courts.  My advice is to get registered early next Oct. so you won’t miss out.” 

The local Voyager pickleball players are a diverse group coming from all parts of the U.S. and Canada with players from the Northeast, Northwest, Mid-West, South, West, and Ontario, Canada.  This year’s  tournament drew 100 of its players from outside of Tucson with groups coming from Surprise, Casa Grande, and  Apache Junction in AZ, and others coming from Utah, CA, WA, NM, and FL.  There are also 9 USAPA Ambassadors that represent 9 different states that have come from this group.

This early December tournament is one of three in AZ that currently offer a $5 discount to USAPA members.  This year a special prize drawing was held for members at the USAPA Memberships Booth.   It is one of the very few pickleball tournaments in the USA that is a skill level with no age or residency requirements.

The next big event at the Voyager will be Jan 26-30 when the pickleball club hosts the Tucson Senior Olympics Pickleball Tournament with the traditional 5 year age groups.  Early deadline is Jan 2 with extended deadline of Jan 16 with an additional fee.

Nancy Jordan                                                                              
USAPA TUCSON AMBASSADOR
USAPA BOARD- MEMBERSHIPS CHAIR

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