Feature
USA Pickleball Ambassador Kathy Kerst poses with her local community of friends and pickleball players .
“ We ’ re a nonprofit organization , but the $ 35 annual membership fee is not a donation . In fact , you ’ re going to earn that money back in the form of benefits several times over if you try to maximize your membership ,” said Chuck Menke , chief marketing officer for USA Pickleball . “ It ’ s also important for people to know that when they join USA Pickleball , they ’ re supporting the sport as a whole and everything that we ’ re doing to make the sport better .”
USA Pickleball reached a milestone earlier this year when it hit 75,000 members . Men make up the majority of the membership , roughly a 60 / 40 percent male-to-female ratio .
As a whole , the 35-49 age group is the largest — and fastest-growing — demographic for USA Pickleball , and is followed closely by the 60-64 age group .
“ We ’ re seeing club teams and programs popping up on college campuses across the country , which is really exciting ,” Menke said . “ So the sport is continuing to skew younger , and that is being represented within our membership as well .”
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DID YOU KNOW ?
Every day , USA Pickleball does the following to help grow the sport of pickleball :
1 . Sanctions local events to maximize the player experience
2 . Drives development of new courts and facilities 3 . Tests and approves equipment 4 . Grows participation with the help of 2,000 ambassadors 5 . Certifies referees and provides the official playing rules 6 . Delivers youth and community grants to pay it forward 7 . Educates players , coaches and tournament directors 8 . Offers top regional and national events for competitive players 9 . Supports clubs and leagues at the grassroots level 10 . Expands the sport internationally
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JULY / AUGUST 2023 | MAGAZINE 63