USA Pickleball Makes First Appearance in Mobile This Weekend

Apr 5th, 2016

MOBILE, Ala., - The USA Pickleball Association’s (USAPA) 2016 Atlantic South Regional Pickleball Tournament will be held this weekend at the Copeland-Cox Tennis Center in Mobile. The tournament will be the first volley in bringing the growing sport to the area. Players will start Thursday, April 7, 2016 with practice. They will then start tournament play for Women's Doubles and Men's Singles on Friday, April 8th followed by Co-Ed Doubles on Saturday, April 9th, and will close the tournament play on Sunday, April 10th, with Men's Doubles and Women's Singles.

Pickleball is among the fastest growing sports in the nation. Formed in 1965 by then Congressman Joel Pritchard of Washington State and Bill Bell, a successful businessman, on Bainbridge Island, WA, the sport has evolved from original handmade equipment and simple rules into a popular sport throughout the US and Canada. The game continues to grow internationally as well with many European and Asian countries adding courts.

The Copeland-Cox Tennis Center, in conjunction with the Mobile Sports Authority and Visit Mobile, will host the city’s first pickleball tournament welcoming the USAPA’s 2016 Atlantic South Regional Pickleball Tournament. The tournament will be played on courts neighboring the local high school’s Girl’s Invitational Tennis Tournament on the Center’s 60 courts. 180 players ranging in age from 13 to 80 will compete in the Atlantic South Region representing states that include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

 "For the first time, the Mobile Sports Authority welcomes the Atlantic South Region Pickleball Tournament to Mobile. As a spinoff to the sport of tennis, pickleball fits in very well with Mobile's outstanding tradition of hosting regional and national tennis tournaments at our nationally-renowned Copeland-Cox Tennis Center. So we believe this is just the start of many more pickleball tournaments to come for Mobile" added Mobile Sports Authority’s Executive Director, Danny Corte.

About USA Pickleball Association Currently, the sport of pickleball is exploding in popularity. The number of places to play has more than doubled since 2010.  There are over 4,000 locations on the USA Pickleball Association’s (USAPA) Places to Play map. The spread of the sport is attributed to its popularity within community centers, PE classes, YMCA facilities and retirement communities. The sport continues to grow worldwide as well with many new international clubs forming and national governing bodies now established in Canada and India. Pickleball is now growing in 9 different countries and many more to follow. For further information on the sport of Pickleball or USAPA please visit www.usapa.org.

 About The Mobile Sports Authority The Mobile Sports Authority (MSA) is a non-profit sports commission formed in 2008 by the Mobile County Commission. The main mission is to create a positive economic and public relations impact for Mobile County, the City of Mobile, and the region through attracting, hosting, managing and supporting sporting events. MSA is the main point of contact for sports and sports-related activities for the Mobile County area. For more information on MSA, please visit www.mobilesportsauthority.com.