By Justin Maloof
USA PICKLEBALL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
A NEW ERA BEGINS
Pickleball’s momentum as one of the
fastest growing sports in the country
continues with an exciting new brand
relaunch aimed at promoting the sport’s
development and growth in America.
Since the formation of the USA Pickleball
Association in 2005, there has been significant growth
in the sport, participants and members. In the last
seven years alone, our association has grown 1,000%
from 4,000 members to more than 40,000 members
today. As well, the Sports Fitness Industry Association
(SFIA) estimates that the number of active pickleball
players in America is now 3.3 million.
As the sport enters a new decade, a key strategic
initiative for the association this year was the
development and launch of a brand migration from
USAPA to USA PICKLEBALL. This move actually
began in early 2018 during
our transition of the National
Championships to the Indian
Wells Tennis Garden. With
Margaritaville as the new event
title sponsor, the tournament
name that year was formally
changed to the Margaritaville
USA Pickleball National
Championships. The use of
USA Pickleball was calculated
and used to help assimilate the
name to our association. All of
2019 and the first part of 2020,
the legal migration process of
the name and logo rebrand was
finally realized.
The move to USA Pickleball also aligns the sport
more closely with most other sports governing
bodies and provides better name recognition on
the international stage. The brand relaunch also
includes a new, modern logo and an updated
website at usapickleball.org. Collectively, the new
brand name, logo and website will strengthen
USA Pickleball’s worldwide image as the official
pickleball organization in the U.S. and will help attract
new players and future ambassadors.
We are certainly enthusiastic about the future of
the sport and USA Pickleball. We thank all of our
members, sponsors and partners who have been a
part of our organization over these first 15 years and
we look forward to this new chapter for pickleball! •
USA Pickleball Tournament Team at the 2019 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships (Indian
Wells Tennis Garden, Indian Wells, CA). Photo credit: Desert Champions, LLC/USA Pickleball.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | MAGAZINE 11