The 12 teams of the National Pickleball League will gather Friday through Sunday at the Pickleball Lodge for its second annual Championship Weekend.
Seeding will be determined by regular season standings. The top four teams will receive first-round byes. Those teams in order are: Boca Raton Picklers, Columbus Hotshots, Houston Hammers, and Denver Iconics.
The other teams are Austin Ignite, Coachella Valley Scorpions, Indy Drivers, Kansas City Stingers, Naples JBB United, OKC (Oklahoma City) Punishers, Princeton Bruisers and Seattle United Pickleball.
Its Champions Pro teams will compete for a share of the $150,000 prize pool to end the 2024 season at the West Chester Twp. facility. They will also receive a trophy from Sterling Cut Glass.
“Our champion professional players come from around the world – Brazil, Europe, Asia,’’ said Paul Bamundo, the league’s chief executive officer.
Each team consists of 14-16 players with an equal number of men and women. All players in the 2-year-old league are 50 years or older.
This is the second time an event has been held at the recently expanded indoor Pickleball Lodge. Last July the lodge hosted one of the league’s monthly events, which run from May through September.
“(Players) love (the) area so much. They raved about the facility, area hotels, and restaurants. We needed to come back,’’ Bamundo said.
The tournament is open to the public at no cost and will also be live-streamed on the league’s YouTube page www.youtube.com/_@nationalpickleballleague or at www.nplpickleball.com. CBS will be there taping for a two-hour show that will air at 7 p.m. Dec. 3.
Matches run from 8 a.m. to about 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday.
Play will be in doubles format: women, men, or combination men/women.
Four teams will compete each morning and afternoon, with the semi-final games set for Saturday afternoon and the finals will be played Sunday morning.
A bracket challenge will double as a fundraiser for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research and assistance.
“There’s about a half-dozen women who are breast cancer survivors playing and we’re doing it as a breast cancer awareness fundraiser and it’s fun to predict who you think will win,” Bamundo said.
If you go:
What: National Pickleball League Championship Weekend
When: Friday through Sunday
Where: Pickle Lodge, 7373 Kingsgate Way, West Chester Twp.
Time: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday
Admission: Free
