Leavenworth Pickleball Prost! Tournament on tap for this weekend

Oct. 16--LEAVENWORTH -- A Leavenworth woman is behind a new pickleball tournament this weekend in Leavenworth. Local businesswoman Becki Subido first had the idea for a tournament when she started playing pickleball a few months ago.

"Sally and Dave Sebring wanted to introduce pickleball to the community. They had three clinics. I went to the second one. I had played pickleball in PE class but didn't really remember. I started playing and loved it right away," Subido said.

The Sebring's were interested in forming a local pickleball club, similar to those popular at the retirement communities in Arizona. Subido didn't think it could work in a small town, charging members $20 per year.

"I could see the club idea would not work, but that revenue could come in in the form of tournaments. I used to do USTA tournaments," she said. "I had a vision for the business aspect of it, and for the fun."

The more research she did, she could see pickleball was "on fire" all over the country. It would be a for-profit business, the Leavenworth Pickleball Company, providing tournaments and clinics, but also benefit a non-profit, Upper Valley Cares, which provides funding for free mental health care.

Ten percent of the proceeds go to Upper Valley Cares, she said. The Cascade School District, which owns the local courts, would also benefit.

"We have beautiful new courts here. The school district normally charges for use of the courts for organized sessions. I didn't see that as being viable. I entered into a partnership with the school district. Instead of paying per hour, I would give them 10-percent profit from the Leavenworth Pickleball Company," Subido said. "Going that way, they will earn more money than just renting to us. We do come in behind the school's activities, which is reasonable."

For the past couple of months, Subido has spearheaded open pickleball play at the local courts. She would provide rackets and balls to those who needed them. Local interest in the sport has been steadily growing.

"The thing that is great about pickleball, you could be good having never picked up a racket in your life or played any sport. You can still have a great time. We have all different ages and athletic abilities. Everyone is having a blast," she said.

Her vision for the tournament was to attract players outside of Leavenworth, but also to provide special avenues for locals to compete as well. Locals get the first chance to sign up. Entries to the tournament have already exceeded expectations.

The Leavenworth Pickleball Prost! Tournament is this Saturday at the courts adjacent to Osborn Elementary School. Pickleball players are divided into categories depending on your skill level, 1 for beginning and 5 for pros.

Initially, Subido opened the tournament to all skill levels, but it became clear that would not work because it would require 45 teams.

"We had plenty of teams, but they were all spread out. In other tournaments, they limit it 3, 3.5 and 4. The levels 1, 1.5 and 2 and 2.5 are considered brand new. Now, I've kept to the 3, 3.5 and 4s. We are easily able to fill those. Just in the last few days, quite a few teams have registered. Some divisions are quite large," she said.

The categories are women's doubles, men's doubles, and mixed doubles. It is the last weekend of Oktoberfest, which could make it difficult for those coming from out of town to find lodging.

The tournament is sanctioned by the United States Pickleball Association or USAPA. Each person playing must be an USAPA member.

"For sanctioned tournaments, all of the games have to be officiated, but you can request a forbearance where the officiating is in the medal match only. You only get that once. Most of the games will be self-officiated, but the medal matches will be officiated. You also need medics, licensing and insurance," Subido said.

For Subido, this tournament is only the beginning.

"Part of the vision of the company is to have a tournament once a month. In the warmer months, we'll have two tournaments a month. In the winter months, we have just as many indoor courts in the school gyms. We're very fortunate. During the summer, we could incorporate indoors and outdoors," she said.

By the way, the Prost! in the tournament title is German for Cheers!

Reach Ian Dunn at 509-664-7157 or (javascript required to see email).

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