Land of the Sky Media Coverage

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

The Land of the Sky tournament is over and all is calm now. But it was hopping over the past weekend. One of the visitors to the tournament was the local television station - WLOS. Their report is shown below.

Hendersonville hosts Land of Sky Pickleball Tournament

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A new tournament in Hendersonville showcases some of the best players in the area in a fast-growing sport -- pickleball.

The Land of Sky Pickleball Tournament began Friday at Xcel Sportsplex.

The tournament includes 218 players of all skill levels.

According to the USA Pickleball Association, pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.

Land of Sky Pickleball Tournament underway in Hendersonville. It’s kind of a big dill! Includes several of the best players in the area. @WLOS_13 #pickleball #sports pic.twitter.com/tpZLsWGTHN

— John Le WLOS Reporter (@AbsoluteLe) July 6, 2018

Players say they love pickleball because it is inexpensive, easy to learn and a great chance to socialize.

"Access in this area is very limited, and one of the purposes of this was to expose the game to more people and get the word out about how fast it's growing," co-tournament director Paul Aaron said.

Organizers said 60 percent of the players are from out of town, so it is expected to have a good impact on the local economy.

Play continues through the weekend.

Land of the Sky Survey

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

The Land of the Sky tournament is over.  It seemed to meet with good success, but feedback is always important. Our goal was to make this a players' tournament where the focus was on them. Please help us get better by completing the short survey below. Be sure to click on "Finish Survey" at the end.

Land of the Sky - New Flyer

Go big or go home...

I have not written about our tournament for a while. One reason is that the preparations are consuming my day. (That's the reason for a lack of original content blog posts recently, too.) My recent reply to questions about the tournament has been  "I am excited for it to get here but I will be elated when it is over". I was told today that sounds like an expectant mother. that sounded about right...except that I don't get the parking spot.

There are lots of details that I have been working on - volunteers, referees, budgets, etc. But, as the designated computer guru, I have mostly been working on the tournament brackets and promotions. I hope you saw all of the Carolina "Picklebalisms". They were a fun way to keep the word out about the tournament.

One of the important changes was to add the tournament webpage to this blog. Just below the header at the top is a link labeled Land of the Sky Pickleball Tournament 2018. That links a reader to everything you can imagine about the tournament (at least everything I can imagine). An important piece of information included there is a new flyer. It was changed to show the elimination of the pro divisions - a frustrating story for another day - and the addition of the BBQ in the Barn. Having said that, below is the new flyer.

2018 Connestee Falls Scholarship Pickleball Tournament

Take me to the mountains to play pickleball...

The 2018 Connestee Falls Pickleball Tournament flyer was recently released. 

Land of the Sky - Carolina Pickleballisms (Part 4)

Go big or go home...

Several weeks ago, I showed the first five Carolina Mountain pickleball colloquialisms that I hope people find attractive and humorous, but most of attention-grabbing. Each week for the next couple of months I will post a (mostly) daily picture. Here is the fourth set.

United We Serve Pickleball Tournament

Steeplechase Capital of the World...

Registration in now open for the United We Serve Pickleball Tournament to be held on June 9-10 in Camden, SC. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. Players can register online at PickleballTournaments.com. 

Land of the Sky - Carolina Pickleballisms (Part 3)

Go big or go home...

A couple of weeks ago, I showed the first five Carolina Mountain pickleball colloquialisms that I hope people find attractive and humorous, but most of attention-grabbing. Each week for the next couple of months I will post a (mostly) daily picture. Here is the third set.

Land of the Sky - Carolina Pickleballisms (Part 2)

Go big or go home...

Last week, I showed the first five Carolina Mountain pickleball colloquialisms that I hope people find attractive and humorous, but most of attention-grabbing. Each week for the next couple of months I will post a (mostly) daily picture. Here is the second set.

Land of the Sky - Carolina Pickleballisms (Part 1)

Go big or go home...

On Monday, I showed the Pickleball Magazine ad for the Land of the Sky tournament to be held here in the NC mountains on July 6-8. It is part of our push for registrants right up to the deadline. We also are going to push hard on social media. One aspect of successful advertising is repeated impressions on the target audience. I have created a series of Carolina Mountain pickleball colloquialisms that I hope people find attractive and humorous, but, most of all, attention-grabbing. Each week for the next couple of months I will post a (mostly) daily picture. Here are the first five.

Land of the Sky in Pickleball Magazine

Go big or go home...

I haven't posted much about the Land of the Sky recently. But that doesn't mean that we haven't been busy. We just bought an ad placement in Pickleball Magazine. The ad is shown below. Look for it in the May/June issue.

2018 Firecracker Explosion Summer Tournament

The home of NASCAR...

Registration in now open for the Firecracker Explosion Summer Tournament to be held on June 30 - July 1 in Concord, NC. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. Players can register online at PickleballTournaments.com. 

2018 Central Virginia Classic

Happiness is a place called Charlottesville, Virginia...

Registration is open for the Central Virginia Classic to be held on May 26-27 in Charlottesville, VA. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. Players can register online at PickleballTournaments.com. 

Tournament Schedule Update - April 2018

Life's a game. Play it...

North Carolina Pickleball has updated the upcoming tournament schedule for players in the local area. Please note our Land of the Sky Tournament July 6-8. 

Central Virginia Classis

Virginia is for lovers...

Registration is now open for the Central Virginia Classic Pickleball Tournament to be held on May 25-27 in Charlottesville, VA. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. The Boar's Head Resort is a great indoor venue with DecoTurf surface and 20-24 pickleball courts.

Powerade State Games of North Carolina

Camel City...

Registration is now open for the Powerade Games of North Carolina Pickleball Tournament to be held on June 8-10 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC.  

United Way of Kershaw County Pickleball Tournament

Steeplechase Capital of the World...

Registration is now open for the United Way of Kershaw County Pickleball Tournament to be held on June 9-10 at a new pickleball complex in Camden, SC. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. 

Greenville Pickleball Spring Smash

The hottest city in America...

Registration is now open for the Greenville Pickleball Spring Smash Pickleball Tournament to be held on April 6-7 in Greenville, SC. The tournament will include Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's Doubles. Players can register online at https://goo.gl/WrJN98 or they can use the attached form and mail in their registration. (The tournament is also listed with registration links on PickleballTournaments.com). Registration closes soon.

Land of the Sky Sponsor - Paddletek

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

As I mentioned Monday, we at the Land of the Sky tournament have been working hard to develop some relationships with sponsors hoping that they will continue into the future. Our second Gold Level sponsor is Paddletek.

Land of the Sky Sponsor - Selkirk

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos...

We at the Land of the Sky tournament have been working hard to develop some relationships with sponsors hoping that they will continue into the future. Our first Gold Level sponsor is Selkirk Sport.