IM Pickleball Tournament Collaboration: The third annual IM Pickleball Tournament took place April 25-27 at Pioneer Park, hosted by Intramural Sports (IM) and the Pickleball Club. The tournament featured 14 pairs competing in D1, D2, and D3 pools, with participants ranging from beginners to experienced players. This year marked the first collaboration between IM and the Pickleball Club, making the event even more exciting.
A Fun Collaboration
Meera Jain, who organizes racket sports events for IM, explained that this collaboration started when the Pickleball Club reached out.
“We had done [IM pickleball tournaments] before and then [the Pickleball Club President] just reached out, and we were like ‘do you guys want to collab?’” – (Jain)
The joint event allowed players to compete not only for IM T-shirts but also for top-of-the-line paddles donated by the Pickleball Club. Cameron Yang, the president of the club, arranged the prizes, which added an extra incentive for participants.
“We, [on] the Pickleball Club’s end, mainly did prizes for the winners. That’s what we’re contributing — [our prizes] and our resources. We have a ton of paddles that are quite good.” – (yang)
Bringing More People to the Sport
Yang expressed his excitement about the growing interest in pickleball on campus.
“Honestly, I’m just excited to see a bunch of people out there playing pickleball, since it is our club’s aim to expand it among students on the campus, and it’s good to see that.” – (yang)
The club’s goal is to introduce the sport to more students, with last year’s IM tournament inspiring the formation of the Pickleball Club.
“So many people are interested, and [the 2024 IM Tournament] is kind of what inspired [the formation of the Pickleball Club] last year because we saw the IM tournament, and there was pretty good showing.” – (yang)
Excitement and Friendly Competition
Players like Christiane Carlisle and Natalie Lundberg were eager to participate in the tournament. “It’s such great weather. Yeah, I’m just excited to play,” said Carlisle, while Lundberg added, “I’m psyched. It’s fun out here. A little bit of competition, but we’re excited.”
Although they weren’t members of the Pickleball Club, the tournament provided them a chance to stay active and compete. The pair went on to win their match and the tournament later that week.
Looking to the Future
The Pickleball Club holds regular meetings at Sherwood on Tuesdays and Saturdays but hopes to offer more opportunities for students next fall. Yang also shared that the club is looking to grow and potentially compete in a national university tournament.
“I think the alternate goal and what would be really nice is if we could go to the national tournament for universities for pickleball. They’re starting to do that among bigger public schools. For now, we just need to keep attracting more students to the sport. I think it’s a problem of just getting people to try it, getting people to try something new. Because, I think once they start playing, it gets pretty addictive.” – (yang)
News in Brief: IM Pickleball Tournament Collaboration
The third annual IM Pickleball Tournament, hosted by IM Sports and the Pickleball Club, took place April 25-27 at Pioneer Park. The event featured 14 pairs competing for prizes and highlighted the growing interest in pickleball among students. The Pickleball Club aims to expand its presence on campus in the future.
ALSO READ: Play for Good Pickleball Tournament Raises 15K Dollars for Local Charities in Alpharetta