The College Pickleball Showdown is Here. Is Your School Playing?

Good day, picklers.

Here’s what’s on the docket today:

• Pickle Talk: The College Pickleball Showdown is Here. Is Your School Playing?

• Bite-sized: Windsor Pickleball Club Pushes for Safety After Tragic Death

• Golden Pickle: A year later, this guys private pickleball court is done. You’ve gotta see the results

PICKLE TALK

The College Pickleball Showdown is Here.
Is Your School Playing?

Sigma!, Beta!, Zeta!, Alpha! Guess that what means?

COLLEGE PICKLEBALL. We talking the BIG and POPULAR schools are competing to win the NFL of Pickleball without all the tackling.

The biggest collegiate pickleball event of all time is about to go down in Dallas: the 2024 DUPR College National Pickleball Championship!

64 schools going head-to-head for a shot at $30,000 in scholarship money. Is it me or is college pickleball having its moment. Let’s get into the deets, quickly of course.

College pickleball is going big…fast and it’s official by our standards: college pickleball is the hottest new campus sport.

In just a year, the number of teams competing has jumped from 36 to 64, and this year’s lineup includes an extra 216 players battling it out in the challenger brackets.

For a sport some colleges barely noticed until recently, pickleball has exploded into full-court status on campuses nationwide.

What’s the big Deal with college pickleball? Well, some thought it was just a trend passing by, like lip fillers and botox.

But college pickleball isn’t just a trend—it’s a whole movement.

Since DUPR’s first Intercollegiate Championship in 2022…

…the sport has blown up in popularity with regional and national events popping up coast to coast.

Now, students have real chances to compete on national stages and score scholarships. And with a format borrowed from Major League Pickleball (think: women’s doubles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles), the matches are set to be pure entertainment.

(maybe even more so than the actual pro games…)

Let’s talk format really quickly…

So each college sends its top team of 2-3 men and 2-3 women to rep their school. Not on the main team? No worries.

DUPR’s challenger bracket gives other players the shot to join in with men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles matches. But it’s the main event that has everyone talking: a three-round group play on Friday leading to a 64-team, March Madness-style single-elimination on Saturday and Sunday.

Tied match? It all comes down to a nail-biting singles Dreambreaker™ round.

ALSO, in college news…

This year, DUPR is also rolling out the red carpet for top-performing athletes with All-America honors.

For the first time, they’ll be naming 1st, 2nd, and 3rd All-America teams for both men and women, divided into East and West regions.

Catch the games streaming the DUPR YouTube channel on Friday, November 1st CT-Sunday, November 3rd.

BONUS: Here’s the top 10 teams for 2024. Since the list is so long, check out the full list for yourself.

BITE-SIZED PICKLE

1/ 💼 From Medical Devices to Pickleball Dynasty

Ron Saslow wasn’t planning to reinvent himself, but selling his family’s dental device biz for a cool $775M left him wanting more.

His pivot? Going all-in on pickleball. 

Through his family’s firm, Thirty-5 Capital, Saslow now backs everything from pro teams to pickleball’s first made-for-the-court sneakers.

Here are the deets:

• The Leap: After 30 years in medical devices, Saslow jumped from owning a stake in the Chicago Cubs to steering the growth of pickleball. Thirty-5 Capital holds stakes in paddlemakers, Major League Pickleball’s Chicago Slice, and DUPR.

• Big Bets & Bold Moves: Thirty-5 is leading development on pickleball-first gear, from the ProXR shoe to Muev apparel, launching this year with style in mind.

• International Play: The Saslows have their sights set beyond U.S. borders—pickleball’s blowing up in China, India, and the Philippines, and Thirty-5 is diving in with local partnerships.

In Saslow’s words, pickleball’s “the sport of the future,” and he’s here to build a dynasty.

2/ Windsor Pickleball Club Pushes for Safety After Tragic Death

In the wake of a heartbreaking incident at the WFCU Centre in Ontario, Canada, the Windsor Pickleball Club is advocating for urgent safety upgrades.

Here’s what happened. (all prayers)

The tragedy struck when an 80-year-old player fell while making a shot, hitting his head against a cinderblock wall.

Despite two surgeries, he sadly passed away. (Rest in Peace, sir)

Here’s what the death triggered:

Patrick Brown, president of the Windsor Pickleball Club, shared the importance of addressing safety in the gym.

To prevent future accidents, the club is proposing enhanced equipment, including more durable nets and improved flooring. They’re seeking municipal funding to pad the gym’s end walls as well.

But the problem wasn’t a new one. The existing nets are temporary and insufficient for the wear-and-tear of regular play. Brown envisions a solution with semi-permanent nets featuring a crank system for better tension, ensuring safety and reliability.

The upgrades, estimated at over $40,000, would provide a dedicated space for pickleball during colder months.

However, this raises concerns about displacing other community programs that use the space. City officials are evaluating options for padding and the potential impact on various activities

Stay safe, peeps.

GOLDEN PICKLE, ANYONE?

Just a few crumbs before you go…😉

1. The past year has been a whirlwind for pickleball rules and players are no happy with MLP and PPA’s inconsistent decision making. Selkirk TV’s Pickleball Connection team discusses the question looming in the pro pickleball sphere: Why Do Pro Pickleball Rules Keep Changing?

2. It’s been over a year and FINALLY, this guy private, backyard pickleball court is done. Check it out. What a beaut.

3. Mr. Tim Tebow, Heisman winner joins Lil Wayne & Kendra Scott as co-owners of the New Texas Ranchers MLP pickleball team.

4. If you want a legit paddle review, this guy is IT. Braydon’s been reviewing paddles for years and trust me, he’s knows what he’s talking about.

5. Miss the last Pickle Talk? Here’s the low down: India’s Armaan Bhatia just won Gold at the PWR DUPR India Masters, defeating American Dusty Boyer. Movie theatre companies are dropping $2.2 Billion on upgrades, including pickleball courts. Oh, and 35-year-old tears achilles tendon after playing against a 70 year old women. Don’t miss it.