2021 USA PICKLEBALL BOARD OF DIRECTORS
By Phil Mortenson
USA PICKLEBALL CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
BOARD CHAIR Phil Mortenson
BOARD VICE CHAIR Laura Patterson
AT-LARGE BOARD MEMBERS
Philip Bullen Bob Franceschelli Suzanne Guerin Ernie Medina Robert Quicksilver
USA PICKLEBALL STAFF
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER Stu Upson
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Justin Maloof
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER George Bauernfeind
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Dan Ellsworth
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COMPETITION
Karen Parrish
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS
Hope Tolley
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP
Nikki Greene
DIRECTOR OF OFFICIATING Mark Peifer
DIRECTOR OF AMBASSADORS Steve Stone
DIRECTOR OF EQUIPMENT STANDARDS
Carl Schmits
DIRECTOR OF EQUIPMENT COMPLIANCE
Donn Paben
HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS John Greene
DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS Laura Gainor
DIGITAL MANAGER Kevin Brown
WHO PLAYS PICKLEBALL ?
In this issue , I hope to tell you some things about yourselves collectively that you may not know . I have some entertaining statistics for our data junkies , with credit to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association for collecting the data .
One indication of how important pickleball is to its faithful adherents is the speed at which it grew during the pandemic year of 2020 . Even though tournaments were rare last year , the number of total players grew 21.3 %. Compare that rate to the average participant growth rate during the previous three years of “ only ” 10.5 % per year and it ’ s no wonder that pickleball is tagged as the fastest growing sport . And yet , we have a lot of room to grow . The 4.2 million participants represent only 1.38 % of the U . S . population of people ages 6 and over .
The latest complete survey published in 2020 looked at pickleball participation by subsets of players , one of which examined the “ Core ” and “ Casual ” players . Of the 4.2 million active players , 2.8 million are Casual players who play one to seven times a year , while 1.4 million are Core players who play eight or more times a year . The average age for Casual players is 33.6 years old and for Core players it is 47.5 . Sixty percent of Core players are 55 or older , but 79 % of Casual players are 54 or younger .
I interrupt this demography for the bimonthly pickleball limerick . The statistics will resume in 30 seconds .
I practice my pickleball stroke When I play with experienced folk . Their expert direction , Could lead to perfection , If only I wasn ’ t a slowpoke .
Continuing with the survey data , most players ( 27.8 %) are in the 18‐34 age bracket , followed by age brackets 35-54 ( 21.1 %), 6-17 ( 20.1 %), 65 + ( 18.4 %), and finally 55-64 ( 12.6 %). If you conclude from these figures that pickleball is skewing younger , you are correct . Increases in the percentages of both Core and Casual players under 55 reflect faster growth among younger players .
I ’ ll conclude with some data on gender and geography . Player gender remains fairly steady at 61 % men and 39 % women . Surprisingly , for those of you who think pickleball is primarily a Western U . S . sport , here ’ s a revelation : 56 % of Core players live east of the Mississippi Riverand four regions of the U . S . ( 22 states plus D . C .) account for 80 % of the players .
The USA Pickleball staff and board are here to serve you . •
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2021 | MAGAZINE 9