Cincinnati Pickleball Club Launches with Ambitious Vision
After years of watching pickleball clubs form in other cities, creating active communities of players in the process, Mitch Dunn and Karen Games decided a Cincinnati-based club was long overdue. They launched the Cincinnati Pickleball Club in early January.
“There is already a phenomenal community of players in Cincinnati, but the city lacks infrastructure that we think players will really benefit from,” said Games. The club’s vision is to transform Cincinnati into the hub of midwest pickleball.
“A great vision should be audacious. So when we thought about ours, we thought really big. There is no reason why the city should settle for anything less than being seen as one of the true leaders for pickleball in the country,” said Dunn.
The club’s mission is to facilitate the growth of pickleball in and around Cincinnati via partnership, volunteerism, and innovative thinking in order to meet the needs of all Cincinnati players. The club welcomes anyone to join, regardless of skill level, and will be focused on building an environment that helps people learn the game, improve their skills, and connect socially. “That’s how we will achieve our end goal, by making it easier to play and to help people progress,” said Games.
As anyone who has picked up a paddle knows, the sport is addictive. It is not uncommon to see players go from being introduced to the sport to playing multiple days a week in a matter of months. “The time is right to build a club focused both on the development of the sport and the development of the city. We think the two can and should go hand in hand,” said Dunn.
The club’s virtual home base is cincinnatipickleballclub.com. The site is where players register to become members, find places to play in the city, and stay on top of the latest news coming out of the club. The club can also be found on Facebook (@cincinnatipickleballclub) and Instagram (@cincinnatipickleball). The club’s annual one-year membership is just $20 for singles and $30 for couples.