Pickleball Players Create Calendar to Raise Funds

Many picklers have come up with unique and interesting ways to raise funds for their clubs, from themed tournaments to collaborations with local businesses. Recently the women of Simi Valley YMCA came up with a new idea to support their local courts by making a pickleball-themed calendar.

Florence Trapani, aka Miss November, shared, “I always take pictures and videos and put them on Facebook. Then Sue and I were like, at the same time, ‘We should do a calendar!’ Then we were laughing about who’s going to buy our calendar. So we asked the guys who play with us, and they were like, ‘We’ll all buy a calendar!’”

The women involved are all sizes and dressed in their favorite pickleball attire for the images. Alongside raising cash for the YMCA, they hope that the calendar might dispel some of the uncertainty surrounding pickleball for newcomers. Gary Gossett, the local USAPA ambassador explained:

“Sometimes people poke their head through the gate and they’re intimidated because they see all of us playing and they don’t know how to play. This looks intimidating because it’s such a small court, so I think the ladies doing this will lighten it up a little bit — and it will be a hit.”

The players all decided to take action shots of their signature moves, such as the 'chicken wing' and 'punch.' The calendar serves as a way to promote pickleball, its players and the community.

We've actually seen a few other groups put together pickleball calendars, but it's primarily been for fun/promo purposes rather than as a fundraiser. AIPA, for example, showed several of their members in different court locations to serve as memorabilia for their members, partners and friends.

Have you tried any unique ideas for fundraising to support your pickleball club? What sort of activities or goods would you be interested in?