English Nationals Featured on National TV !
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By KAREN MITCHELL
NATIONAL DIRECTOR , PICKLEBALL ENGLAND ( PBE )
We have been trying to get “ BBC Breakfast ” to cover one of our tournaments since 2019 and this year ’ s 4th English Nationals at Bolton Arena was our time !
“ BBC Breakfast ” has the largest viewership of all the morning shows , with an average of 6.5 million , and features popular sports reporter Mike Bushell . Mike previously covered pickleball at an Oxfordshire club in 2015 when pickleball was still embryonic in the U . K .
He was blown away by the scale of our tournament when visiting on Day 2 , which was 50 + Men ’ s + and Women ’ s Doubles day . He arrived before 6 a . m . to record an introduction and then had three more visits with us as the venue filled up with pickleball players . It was a total of 7 to 8 minutes of coverage and has already proven to be a great awareness-building piece , judging by the inquiries we have subsequently received .
The timing of the coverage is just as pickleball is reaching the tipping point in this country . Our English Nationals attracted around 1,110 players . The first two days had 50 +, 60 + and 70 + brackets , and the weekend 18 + and 35 + brackets , with all the days attracting more
From left to right : Tom Turney , Molly O ’ Donaghoe , James Chaudry , Thaddea Lock , Louis Laville and Sara Tsukamoto .
than 100 spectators . We are also hopeful that it might help Sport England make a final decision to recognize Pickleball England as the National Governing Body for the sport of pickleball .
The National Champions at the OPEN level at 18 + were :
• Mixed Doubles — Thaddea Lock and James Chaudry
• Women ’ s Doubles — Molly O ’ Donoghue and Sara Tsukamoto
• Men ’ s + Doubles — Louis Laville and James Chaudry
The National Champions at the OPEN level at 50 + were :
• Mixed Doubles — Anna Linton and Richard Love
• Women ’ s Doubles — Anna Linton and Julie Macauley
• Men ’ s + Doubles — Richard Love and David Youngs
In addition to prize money , the winners put themselves in pole position for selection to Team England , to represent their country at the European Pickleball Championships toward the end of November . At time of writing the final selection had not been made .
A few other results from English Nationals :
• Wheelchair Champion — Andy McEarlean
• Junior Champion 10-12 years — Jack Burch
• Junior Champion 13-14 years — Theo Malbois •
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2024 | MAGAZINE 73