‘Tis the season for Pickleball? Grand Park hosts ‘Holiday Pickleball Festival’
WESTFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Grand Park Sports Campus is hosting the inaugural Winter Pickleball Festival which kicked off on Saturday.
In partnership with Legacy Sports Group, the Grand National Racquet Center will put on a series of pickleball tournaments, clinics, and playing opportunities through Dec. 31.
Birch Dalton, owner and founder of the festival, also serves as the managing director for the center, which is set to open in 2025 across the street from Grand Park.
He says they hope to make central Indiana the pickleball capital of the country, and hosting the festival is just the start.
“We’ve had exciting momentum right out here for our first year,” Dalton said. “We determined that having a high number of quality well-spaced elite courts is where the vision is for both local, social play and tournament play.”
Pickleball professional John Moorin and Dalton’s business partner will teach some of the clinics at the event.
He says the game has become a serious sport over the last few years.
“It’s crazy because a few years ago, the top pros, they were Weekend Warriors, they were accountants and doing all this other stuff,” Moorin said. “Now, there’s full-time leagues … There’s Major League Pickleball, there’s professional stuff and then we’ve got this collegiate tournament coming in.”
Moorin adds it’s exciting to see it grow.
“It’s just another avenue for young kids to move around, exercise, get some good clean fun,” Moorin said. “We’re excited to be teaching some clinics.”
Officials are holding the event ahead of a new event in the competitive pickleball world; The Association of Pickleball Players’ Collegiate Championship and the Midwest Open.
The APP’s tournaments will be held Jan. 3 through Jan. 7 at Grand Park.
For information on how to sign up for clinics or rent courts during the Holiday Pickleball Festival, click here.