With winter chill and rain in the air, and the new year upon us, this felt like a good time to reflect a bit on the pickleball year that was and give an update on your Seattle Metro Pickleball Association. I’m sure you’ve noticed this pickleball “craze” is not showing any signs of letting up. Every week it seems more and more people discover (or rediscover) this wonderful sport. While everyone’s origin story differs, the themes are the same. Once this sport gets in your blood it’s hard to stay away. The game itself has a lot to do with it of course, but the community is the real driving force ..read more

Pickleball for All will bring the fun of pickleball to the streets of downtown Seattle September 16th and 17th along 5th Avenue, Taylor Avenue and Vine Street. 11 courts, 2 of them permanent additions downtown, will come alive with drop-in play, free clinics, round robins and wheelchair pickleball.  While all of the pre-registered events are full, there will be plenty of drop-in play all weekend. So grab your paddle and make your way to the corner of 5th and Taylor. Besides pickleball, you can relax in the beer garden on Vine Street while listening to live music by The Underhills, Tomo N ..read more

Seattle’s first state sport festival takes place on 12 pickleball courts and will debut two new dedicated pickleball courts, drop-in play, round robins, a beer garden, live music and celebrity match. On September 16th and 17th, several streets will be closed and transformed into a free pop-up pickleball festival in Belltown at 5th Avenue and Denny Way in Seattle. Two new permanent dedicated pickleball courts are being constructed on Taylor Avenue for debut at the festival. Ten additional pickleball courts will be constructed on city streets using rollable 60′ x 30′ Pickleball United mats. This ..read more

Championship Court at the 2023 PPA Seattle Open Pickleball players and spectators turned out in record numbers to support the PPA Seattle Open, the PPA’s first tournament in Washington State. The Carvana Professional Pickleball Association’s tour stop in Seattle at Lower Woodland Park in July exceeded expectations. The PPA tour has 25 stops in 14 states, but 2023 is the first year the PPA has held a tournament in Washington. Washington has the dual distinction as the birthplace of pickleball and the state where pickleball is the official sport. Pickleball players and fans turned out in record ..read more

When it comes to pickleball, SMPA director Amy Greger is passionate about two things, playing pickleball and expanding places to play pickleball. Looking for creative solutions, she realized that she could use the Westside Pickleball League to fund this need. The 3 founders of Westside Pickleball League, Rosina Geary, Nancy Rust, and Amy, started the league in October 2022. They engaged local Chief Sealth High School (CSHS) and received permission for the league to play in the school gym on eight courts with 64 players every Sunday. The first six-week session at CSHS started in November 2022 a ..read more

The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) confirmed the PPA Seattle Open will be held at the Lower Woodland Tennis Courts at 5773 West Green Lake Way N in Seattle. This USAP Golden Ticket event is being held from July 26th to July 30th on 24 outdoor courts which will be painted for pickleball. Players and spectators will be shuttled to the venue. Just south of Green Lake and east of the Woodland Park Zoo, this wooded venue is within the historic plan designed by the Olmsted brothers, famed for their design of New York’s Central Park. With one thousand registered players, this will be the l ..read more

Top-ranked pickleball pro Tyson McGuffin will host the pickleball pre-party and throw out the first pitch on Saturday, September 30th at T-Mobile Park when the Mariners take on the Texas Rangers. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is excited to announce that Tyson McGuffin will be hosting Mariners Pickleball Night. Come meet Tyson McGuffin at the pre-game party and watch him throw out the first pitch on Saturday, September 30th on the last weekend of the regular season. Tyson McGuffin was born in Washington state’s scenic Lake Chelan and is one of the top professional pickleball athletes ..read more

On April 12th, 2023, representatives of your Seattle Metro Pickleball Association (SMPA) met with A.P. Diaz, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR), and members of his staff. This meeting was a first step in helping Mr. Diaz, who has been in his role since September 29th, 2022, to better understand the big issues and frustrations facing the pickleball community. Below you will find SMPA’s presentation that started the meeting, followed by our notes of the conversation that followed the presentation. Appoint or hire individuals with pickleball expertise and knowledge of its cult ..read more

This has not been a good year for special license plates. None of the four license plates submitted for 2023 made it through the legislature. Four license plate bills were introduced this year, State Sport, Mount St. Helens, Le-May America\’s Car Museum and OL Reign. Of the four special license plate bills introduced, only the State Sport and Mount St. Helens license plates passed in the Senate. The State Sport license plate passed with 45 yes votes and 4 no votes. The four nays were Senators MacEwen, McCune, Schoesler and Stanford. No license plate bill introduced passed in the House. A state ..read more

Thank you We are so grateful for the current Seattle Metro Pickleball Association volunteers who help us execute on our vision of “More Courts, More Play” by working hard to organize play of all kinds, maintaining the courts, communicating with Parks officials and generally spreading the word about pickleball. You are the real MVPs (Most Valuable Picklers)! Your hard work and dedication are unmatched and appreciated. Thank you for being awesome! Check out our new Volunteer Form SMPA member Erin O’Rourke stands in front of the “More Courts, More Play” banner.Let’s Do More As pickleball gro ..read more