4 Fun Ideas to Make Your Pickleball Club More Engaging

Pickleball is a game that’s still relatively new despite its growing popularity. If you have one or multiple clubs in your area, then you’re already ahead of the curve compared to players where the sport has yet to be introduced.

Being part of a club is a fun and rewarding experience which involves, at its core, having a regular group of picklers that play together. However, if you’ve already got a baseline established, you may wonder how you can take your club’s activities to the next level by adding new events to your schedule.

Players that game together, stay together, after all!

Here are several ideas you may want to try in order to provide members with more variety and excitement:

Hold a fundraiser

Many of the clubs we’ve featured here on the PickleballCentral blog have run fundraiser events, and the causes you can support are truly endless. Maybe you want to invest in court improvements for the club such as new nets or benches.

If you want to head in a more philanthropic direction, you could support local libraries, breast cancer research or another medical initiative, wounded veterans, animal shelters and more.

Most picklers run fundraisers in the form of tournaments with entry fees and/or auctions for equipment and other goods, but you can certainly get crafty with this idea and explore what else your members could offer to raise money.

Run a potluck

Potlucks have become a sort of unofficial tradition here at PickleballCentral, and we’ve also combined pickleball and good eats in Pickleball Station events such as our pizza nights and ice cream socials. (See if we have any more coming up on the Pickleball Station site.)

There’s little else that beats pickleball followed by a delicious meal. See if your members agree and ask if they could bring their favorite snacks and dishes to the courts one day so you can reward yourselves with great food after playing.

Volunteer to teach pickleball

There’s something innately satisfying about sharing a beloved activity with newbies who have never experienced the joy of pickleball. Not only does it make you feel like you’ve done your good deed for the day, but you’re helping to create a wider pool of players who will add fun and competition to the local scene!

Quite a few groups have found success contacting local schools to set up pickleball days for the students, but if you want to work with individuals closer to home, you could create a “friends and family” day to try and convert doubters into pickleball fantatics in a beginner-friendly environment.

Some driven players have even brought pickleball overseas and to prisons. Think of how you might improve other people’s lives by sharing your love of pickleball, and the possibilities will be endless!

Create specialty tournaments

Most clubs already run tournaments on a regular basis, but maybe you’re a little tired of the same old skill-based brackets. You could run your tournament in a new format, or go wild by setting up something like a costumed or superhero tournament!

What unique and intriguing ideas have you tried out at your club? What was the most fun you had at a local event? Share your stories in the comments!