Break the Stigma Pickleball Tournament: Project Break the Stigma, led by Northview High School juniors Mackinzee Staggs-Rogers and Ashley Jones, will host its first-ever pickleball tournament on Saturday, June 14, at Forest Park. The pickleball event aims to raise awareness about teen mental health and suicide while promoting community fitness and connection.
Pickleball Tournament to Promote Mental Health
The tournament is open to teens and adults. It will feature both singles and doubles matches. The event is also a fundraiser, with a $10 entry fee per person and prizes for the winners. Singles matches begin at 9:15 a.m. Doubles begin at 12:15 p.m.
“Our goal is to get 100 participants. In total, that would be either 50 singles and 50 people playing doubles, or whatever combination of that. We just want to have 100 people registered by the end of the day.” – (Stagg-Rogers)
Registration is available through the Break the Stigma Instagram feed, or by contacting the organizers directly. Registration will also be accepted the morning of the event. Participants under 18 must bring a signed waiver.
Spreading Awareness Through Personal Experience
Both organizers have personal experiences with mental health struggles and want to create a supportive space for others.
“Mackinzee and I are both mental health survivors. As teenagers it can sometimes feel like adults or parents, grandparents or those surrounding you don’t understand or they don’t really feel sympathy for you. They sometimes talk about it like, ‘Oh, it’s just a phase. It will pass,’ but that is not always true.” – (Ashley Jones)
Staggs-Rogers also emphasized the pressures faced by student-athletes. “For me personally, the specifics behind the pickleball tournament is we’re really focused on athletes, since both of us are student athletes,” she said.
“It can be very hard in high school to go through the pressure of practices and games every other day and be expected to reach full performance level at all times.” – (Staggs-Rogers)
Focus on Athletes and Mental Health
The event is designed to create open dialogue about mental health, especially among athletes.
“We wanted to be able to create an event for mostly adults and teens in our community so they can be aware and know that their children aren’t faking this mental illness or just going through a rough time at that moment.” – (Jones)
“Both of us are cheerleaders, and cheerleading is meant to seem as if, ‘They’re perfect, they’re always happy,’ which isn’t always true. Even on some of our other sports teams, everybody sees the great things they’re doing, and they’re winning, and they expect them to be happy. They might be happy with that win, but that doesn’t always mean they’re not struggling.” – (Staggs-Rogers)
Event Details and Community Support
The pickleball event includes two single-elimination tournaments—singles and doubles. Winners will receive 20% of the entry fees for their bracket.
Vendors at the event include Sweet Sips Mobile Drink Trailer and a cotton candy stand. Project Break the Stigma T-shirts will also be available for purchase. Players should bring their own paddles, although limited equipment will be available. The event will follow Northview High School’s Code of Conduct.
“We must keep this event family friendly and although we are not on the Northview campus, we will still follow the Northview Code of Conduct for participants and spectators. This includes no tolerance for bad sportsmanship. Kindness is key, and this is for fun!” – (rule sheet)
An Ongoing Mission to Break the Stigma
Jones and Staggs-Rogers are using this event to build their DECA project portfolio, which they will present in January 2026.
“For our division, we have to place top 3 in community awareness to move on to Internationals, which will be in Atlanta, Ga. We really would like to place in the top three and make it there.” – (Staggs-Rogers)
This is the second year they’ve worked on the Project Break the Stigma campaign.
“We actually did this project last year, so this is the second year with this specific project that we’ve decided to grow. So we’ve gotten back our feedback, and we hope to use that information to make this year better.” – (Staggs-Rogers)
Ultimately, the goal is to foster understanding and reduce the stigma around mental illness.
“We wanted to focus on a sporting event that we can bring awareness to athletes specifically. We had a basketball game that we had last year and are planning to do again this year, which helps with that as well.” – (jones)
“In athletes right now it’s growing even more — sports performance anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia — it’s all coming together. And at the age we’re at, since our brains aren’t fully developed, it’s even more able to take over and consume our lives.” – (jones)
News in Brief: Break the Stigma Pickleball Tournament
Project Break the Stigma will host a pickleball tournament on June 14 at Forest Park to raise awareness about teen mental health. The event, led by two Northview High School students, features singles and doubles play, vendor booths, and prizes. Registration is open to both teens and adults.
ALSO READ: Reno Pickleball Party Supports Neighbor Network of Northern Nevada Program Expansion