The tournaments objectives are to:

• Raise awareness of the GREAT health benefits of the game of Pickleball.
• Raise funds for the Penticton General Hospital Cardiac Department.
• Raise funds for the City of Penticton and the Pickleball Club for the expansion of the 4 Pickleball Courts located at the Penticton Seniors Centre to 8 courts.
• Introduce the game of Pickleball, the fastest growing sport in North America to the dedicated staff and care givers in the medical community in Penticton.

This pickleball tournament will consist of 2 sessions (morning and afternoon).

Morning Session

The morning session will feature teams created from departments dedicated to the care of cardiac patients within the Penticton General Hospital. This tournament is a FUN (NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED) introductory Pickleball Tournament.

The morning format

Each team will consist of 5 players formed from the departments listed below:

The departments

• Doctors, Cardiac Specialists
• Cardiac staff
• Pulmonary staff
• ICU staff
• Emergency staff
• Cardiac Rehab program staff
• Fire Fighter first responders
• Ambulance first responders

Morning Program schedule

8:30 am - Each team of 5 players will be assigned a coach and provided with 1.0-1.5 hours of introductory instruction at the Penticton pickleball courts located at seniors drop-in centre.

10:00 am - Each player will be evaluated and then placed into a group of their same ability. Each group will play a fun round-robin mini-tournament of 4 games to 11 points.

Morning Awards

The individual player with the highest combined score after the four games will be the winner of that group.

The “Golden Paddle Trophy” will be presented to the team from department with the highest aggregate score of all the players within that department.

Awards will be presented during lunch after the Mini Tournament.

Afternoon Session

The afternoon session will be for survivors of a cardiac event. All skill levels of players are invited.

The Afternoon Format

The format will be round robin play. Gary would like a minimum of 6 teams and will accommodate up to 10 teams. Top ranked players will be matched with lower ranked players. This will not be an exact science, but the aim will be to get fun, equally matched teams. Several 4.0 level players/survivors have already registered.

Afternoon Awards

There will be medals for the top 3 teams as well as a bottle of wine donated by Ruby Tuesday Winery. 

Afternoon Entry Fee

The entry fee is $65 which includes a nice shirt. Some players may wish to donate more, and a tax receipt is available. 

If you would ike to participate or need more information, please contact Gary at 250-809-7076 (email gcgierlich@gmail.com).