INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PICKLEBALL
The Inaugural Intercontinental Pickleball Cup :
Team Competition
ON A GLOBAL STAGE
The inaugural IFP Intercontinental Pickleball Cup will be the first event of its kind — an intercontinental pickleball team competition with players from around the world coming together to compete for the prestigious Intercontinental Cup trophy .
FORMAT
The Intercontinental Cup will feature two teams : North America and Europe , while a third team , a “ Rest of the World ” team , is also expected to participate . Players from over 15 countries around the world are expected to participate .
Matches will be played in a Round Robin format with pools consisting of players of similar age and skill level . All participants will play multiple matches throughout the day in Men ’ s , Women ’ s and Mixed Doubles . The Cup will be awarded to the team that earns the most points throughout the event . That team will then defend its title in 2018 . The Cup will follow official IFP rules .
“ The Intercontinental Cup is a team competition , thus individuals don ’ t play for medals ,” explained IFP President Mike Hess . “ Participants will join with other players from their continent to form a team and to compete for a team award , the Intercontinental Cup trophy .”
TEAM MEMBERS AND TEAM CAPTAINS
“ The philosophy of the Cup is consistent with the philosophy of pickleball – to include everyone who wants to participate , from the elite to the amateur level players ,” says Hess . In addition , the Cup is an official Super Senior Circuit event ( www . ssipa-pb . org ) which means it plans to include age groups ranging from 19 + to 80 +.
Three Team Captains have been selected for each continent to help organize and motivate their team members . Team North America Captains are Marcin Rozpedski , Alice Tym , and Chris Thomas , and Team Europe Captains are Leonardo González , Gema García , and Ian Medhurst .
WORLD-CLASS PICKLEBALL CLINICS
On September 13 & 14 , 2017 , free pickleball clinics will be offered by North American Team Captain Marcin Rozpedski , the world ’ s reigning pickleball singles champion , along with several other world-class players including Simone Jardim , Jennifer Lucore , Robert and Jodi Elliott , Alice Tym and Steve Wong to name a few .
DATES : TWO EVENTS OVER THREE DAYS OF COMPETITION – SEPTEMBER 15 , 16 & 17 , 2017
The Cup will be held on Friday , September 15 , 2017 , on outdoor courts in Madrid , Spain . Immediately following the Cup , at the same location , will be the 3rd Annual International Pickleball Tournament hosted by the Spanish Pickleball Association , held on September 16 and 17 , thereby providing three full days of competition .
REGISTRATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Tournament registration is already open at PickleballTournaments . com . For more information you can also visit the IFP webpage at www . ipickleball . org . •
TEAM NORTH AMERICA
“ Growing up and playing Davis Cup tennis for Poland , my heart is often with Europe , but my loyalty is now with the North American Team . I invite players to join me to go over and bring this Cup home where it belongs .” - Marcin Rozpedski ( former Davis Cup tennis player for Poland , now a U . S . citizen )
“ I ’ m really looking forward to the chance to be a Global Ambassador for the sport and to be a member of the first winning Cup Team !” - Simone Jardim
“ I ’ m super excited to participate in the first Cup and to go back to Spain … this will be my third pickleball adventure there !” - Jennifer Lucore
TEAM EUROPE
“ We ’ re indebted to the Americans for inventing this great sport , but my role is to defend the Cup on my home turf in Spain so I ’ m afraid we ’ re planning on keeping the Cup in Europe .” - Leonardo González
“ This is a fantastic idea for the growth of the sport . Pickleball is catching fire over here , so bring on the competition .” - Ian Medhurst
JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2017 | MAGAZINE 13