NAPLES, Fla., April 30, 2024 – Pickle4 and YMCA of the USA (Y-USA), the national resource office for the 2,600+ YMCAs across the country, is excited to announce an expanded partnership with the YMCA Mid-East Regional Pickleball Tournament to be held June 28-30, 2024 at the Upper Main Line YMCA in Berwyn, PA.
The YMCA Mid-East Regional Pickleball Tournament’s 39 gold medal winners will receive a special invitation to the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships. Registration is now open for the regional tournament. Last week, Pickle4 announced switching software platforms to Pickleball Den, enabling the expansion by ten percent of the US Open lottery starting in 2025. The additional Y-USA invites have no impact on the incremental 350 slots announced last week resulting in the largest lottery in US Open history in 2025.
“We are ever mindful of the thousands of athletes who do not win a lottery slot at the US Open Pickleball Championships, and our vision is to expand the opportunities to compete in the US Open to a greater number of athletes,” said Mike Dee, Pickleball4America Chairman and CEO of the parent company of Spirit Promotions, which owns the US Open Pickleball Championships. “To that end, last week we announced we are increasing the size of the successful lottery winners by approximately 350 athletes for the 2025 US Open Pickleball Championships and today we are announcing a further expansion to utilize a special invitation to the US Open for the 39 gold medal winners in this Y-USA tournament. Y-USA represents an excellent partnership match with our shared visions of the growth of amateur pickleball!”
"We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Pickle4 in this special opportunity supporting the growth of pickleball," said Meredith Griffin, Manager for National Competitive Events for Y-USA. "We are equally delighted that our gold medal winners will receive a special invitation to the US Open Pickleball Championships, the most prestigious event in the sport!"
About the Y
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they're from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y's goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across10,000 communities nationwide. Learn more at ymca.org.
About the US Open Pickleball Championships
The US Open Pickleball Championships, owned by Spirit Promotions and founded in 2016, is the most important event in pickleball and welcomed over 3,200 athletes including 460 professionals from all 50 states and 31 countries who competed in more than 5,000 matches attracting approximately 50,000 spectators to Naples, FL in 2024. The2025 US Open will be held April 26 - May 3, 2025 at East Naples Community Park in Naples, Florida. Pickle4 is the parent company of Spirit Promotions.
Media Contacts
Pickle4, press@pickle4.com
YMCA of the USA, media@ymca.net
