With winter chill and rain in the air, and the new year upon us, this felt like a good time to reflect a bit on the pickleball year that was and give an update on your Seattle Metro Pickleball Association.
I’m sure you’ve noticed this pickleball “craze” is not showing any signs of letting up. Every week it seems more and more people discover (or rediscover) this wonderful sport. While everyone’s origin story differs, the themes are the same. Once this sport gets in your blood it’s hard to stay away. The game itself has a lot to do with it of course, but the community is the real driving force behind the incredible growth, which is why community is where SMPA keeps its focus. The SMPA was founded around efforts to bring more opportunities for more people to play more pickleball. Seven years later that’s still our primary focus, and the last year has been truly memorable for so many reasons.
When it comes to building community no one did it better in 2023 than the amazing community leaders who spend hours and hours making sure pickleball remains open and inclusive at some of our local venues. SMPA is proud to have partnered with all these organizers in 2023. I can’t mention everyone, but these folks deserve lots of thanks from all of us for all the work they do growing the sport in their communities. People like Lee-Lee Miao at Miller Playfield, Peter Seitel, the mayor of Green Lake East, Nate King and Tammie Luc at Rainier Beach, Rosina Geary, Nancy Rust, and Amy Greger in West Seattle. Peter, Lee-Lee, Nate, and Tammie continue to work with SMPA and push Seattle Parks to designate pickleball hubs throughout the city. As with all things in our dealings with Seattle Parks, progress has been slower than we would like, but that doesn’t diminish the effort these folks have put into trying to make it happen.
The West Seattle crew has done an incredible job of creating the immensely popular Westside Pickleball League. The league used the money raised to pay for the pickleball lines at the Southwest Athletic Complex, purchased nets for community use, and donated them to local schools. Fielding Snow, Yvonne Calavan, and Theresa Haynie continue to bring new people to the sport week after week with drills and skills sessions year round.
A special callout goes to Sue Goodwin, who is the visionary and driving force behind the hugely successful Diversity and Inclusion in Pickleball Program (DIIP). Sue has a passion for bringing more ethnic and age diversity to the sport. She has assembled a large team of community-builders and coaches to teach in underserved areas. Mayor Harrell and Parks Superintendent AP Diaz noticed and stopped by for a visit to one of the DIIP clinics at Bitter Lake. The program was recently featured in a Playtime Schedule newsletter. SMPA is proud to help Sue purchase and manage equipment and secure locations for her clinics. We look for more great things from Sue and her group in 2024.
If you have an idea for a program you’d like to start, reach out to info@seattlemetropickleball.com. We’re here to help.
2023 was another great year on the courts as well. SMPA played a key role in helping the PPA find a venue for the Seattle Open and will continue to work to bring elite-level tournaments to the metro area. SMPA partnered with Brian Nash and the Bellevue Club to bring pickleball to the MXD Championships, which has been raising money for the Fred Hutch Cancer Center for 19 years. The Seattle Metro Classic continued its run as the crown jewel of the summer tournament season in the Pacific Northwest and remains one of the most popular tournaments in the region. The planning committee is already hard at work getting ready for this year’s tournament. We’ll have some exciting news to share about the tournament soon.
Without a doubt, the most Instagram-worthy event of the year took place in September when SMPA joined with the Office of the Mayor, Seattle Parks, and the Seattle Parks Foundation to place 9 temporary pickleball courts along 5th Avenue right under the monorail. The Pickleball for All Festival attracted big crowds downtown and brought additional visibility to the sport, as well as the need for more courts. In addition to the festival, SMPA, SPR, and Astria Pickleball worked together to build two new permanent courts at 5th and Taylor. If you have an idea for a tournament or event, just let us know how we can partner with you!
2023 saw SMPA team up with the Mariners for another Pickleball Night at the Ballpark. We brought in Tyson McGuffin to spend time with us at the pre-game party and to throw out the first group pitch. It’s a tradition we’re committed to continuing as we’re already booked for 2024! We’re excited to announce that Ben Johns has agreed to join us at our pre-game event and throw out the first pitch. Stay tuned for more details about this exciting event happening on Friday, July 19th, which includes a Mariners pickleball paddle with each ticket purchase.
The Washington Huskies women’s basketball team is also hosting a pickleball night for the UW vs Stanford game at the Alaska Airlines Arena on Friday, February 9th with pre-game festivities beginning at 6 pm. The first 500 pickleball ticket holders will receive a UW branded pickleball paddle. Tickets can be purchased at https://fevo.me/uwpickleballnight.
As we look ahead to 2024, SMPA will continue to push for dedicated courts not just in Seattle, but throughout the entire metro area. We hope to see progress on dedicated courts at Lincoln Park, Magnusson Park, and other sites with potential for courts.
SMPA will once again push for a pickleball license plate commemorating the state sport. The next legislative session begins this month, and we are bullish that our license plate bill will be introduced and passed by both the senate and the house. Money raised from the purchase of the plates will support dedicated courts.
We will continue to place semi-permanent nets at dual-use courts. To date, SMPA has helped communities purchase and place more than two dozen semi-permanent nets across the metro area, including 5 nets purchased with an AARP grant. LFP Picklers is the latest group to purchase nets through SMPA, installing 4 new Douglas nets at Lake Forest Park Elementary on January 3rd.
Semi-permanent nets make the game more accessible to more people, and we want to do more. In 2024, we are thrilled to announce a new matching program for SMPA supporters (formerly called “members”). SMPA has earmarked $10,000 in matching funds to help groups buy more semi-permanent nets. Stay tuned for more details on how to take advantage of this program or email us at info@seattlemetropickleball.com.
Finally, as your president of SMPA, I couldn’t be prouder of the work our Directors do day in and day out to grow the sport. Please join me in thanking Vice President Kate Van Gent, Secretary Nicole Bideganeta, Treasurer Amy Greger, and Directors Stephanie Keegan, John Rankin, and Gordon Sata for bringing their passion, energy and skills to help us achieve our vision of “More Courts, More Play” in the metro area. We could use your help too. If you are interested in serving as a SMPA director or as a volunteer, please reach out to me directly at frank.chiappone@seattlemetropickleball.com.
Happy new year to all of you. Here’s to great pickleball in 2024!
Frank Chiappone,
President Seattle Metro Pickleball Association