USAPA and AAU Partnership

Athletes pursuing greatness...

The USAPA had an announcement on Thursday that could bring big dividends to the sport of pickleball.

Strategic Alliance Between USA Pickleball Association & AAU Aims to Grow the Sport of Pickleball

Partnership Joining USAPA and AAU Will Provide Competitive and Recreational Opportunities for Adult and Youth Athletes

The rapidly-growing sport of pickleball is coming to the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), as the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) and AAU announced a strategic alliance that will provide both youth and adult programming for athletes across the country.

Pickleball is a court sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis. The game is played both indoor and outdoor on a surface one-third the size of a regulation tennis court and a net lowered to 34 inches. Players use a paddle and polymer ball, similar to a Wiffle ball. The game has grown exponentially across North America in recent years.

USAPA has done an exceptional job building their adult membership base across the country and making pickleball one of the fastest growing sports in America, said Dr. Roger J. Goudy, President and CEO of the AAU. This strategic alliance allows us to utilize our combined expertise and resources to provide athletes of all ages with first-class competition experiences in the sport of pickleball.

The two organizations will create new co-branded AAU/USAPA recreational leagues and tournaments under the direction of AAU National Pickleball Chair Yvonne Devlin and USAPA Executive Director Justin Maloof. These recreational programs are designed to broaden pickleball awareness among youth and adults and increase general participation.  USAPA will offer a special $5.00 recreational membership through the AAU website which will allow AAU members to compete in the new co-branded AAU/USAPA programs.

As pickleball continues to flourish, USAPA is establishing a number of strategic partnerships designed to effectively position the sport on both the national and international stage, Maloof said. AAU has a storied sports background here in the US and their existing infrastructure extends coast to coast. Our partnership with AAU will expand recreational and youth pickleball opportunities in ways not yet imagined.

Visit www.usapa.org for any future updates on co-branded USAPA and AAU pickleball programming.

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About USAPA

The United States Pickleball Association, a non-profit 501(c)(3) was established in 2005 to further the advancement of the sport on a national level. As the official governing body of pickleball in the United States, the USAPA promotes the growth of pickleball by maintaining the rules, setting player ratings, advancing the sport through its national network of @1,700 ambassadors, and sanctioning tournaments. Over the past five years, the USAPA has realized a growth of 480% in its membership. The USAPA is divided into 11 regions across the country with all 50 states being represented. The extensive group of volunteer ambassadors oversees the sport in their respective states. For more information, visit www.usapa.org.

About AAU

The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the country. As a multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports programs. Founded in 1888 to establish standards and uniformity in sports, the AAU philosophy of “Sports For All, Forever” is now shared by nearly 700,000 members and 150,000 volunteers across 35 sports programs and 55 U.S. districts. The second-largest sport in the AAU, volleyball had more than 120,000 members in 2015 with more than 300 licensed AAU indoor and beach volleyball events across the nation. For more information, visit www.aausports.org.