Pickleball Tournaments: August 2023

Tournaments are a great way to test your skills and mental fortitude against people of a similar level. It’s a fun way to meet new players (possibly new partners), catch up with old pickleball friends and the weekend is filled with plenty of pickleball.

Locally, tournament directors put forth a good amount of effort to maintain the momentum that was built previous to March 2020, but I’d say the tournament scene took a significant hit.

But now, it does seem that players are very eager to get out and compete again.

I personally enjoy watching the pro tours online, and we’re in the height of tournament season, which got me to think, why not put out a list of past and upcoming past events to consider playing in and/or watching, for your consideration...

To Watch

Nearby the birthplace of pickleball, the PPA Baird Open recently took place in Seattle, WA (July 27-30). Anna Leigh Waters achieved her sixth straight triple crown, which is an astounding achievement in itself.

If you want to watch any of the PPA tournaments they stream the majority of their events through their YouTube channel.

Image credit: pickleballtournaments.com / Pickleball Brackets / PPA Tour

From August 3-6 the famous Takeya Showcase took place in California, it's a popular and classic tournament.

With so many professional players living on the west coast and in particular, a good handful of them in California, this tournament always draws in great competition and participation numbers. As always, it was a huge success!

Immediately following the Showcase is another classic tournament, the Tournament of Champions in Utah from August 15-19.

This tournament was already in existence when I began competing back in 2016 and has gone through a bit of a revival; for a few years this tournament was a hot stop but slightly tapered off - the rumour being that there wasn’t a big enough payout.

However, now that the tournament is a PPA event the top pros are back in.

Image credit: pickleballtournaments.com / Pickleball Brackets / PPA Tour

To keep things rolling along, PPA will be hosting the Kansas City Open August 24-27 and to say that the PPA is dominating the month of August would be an understatement.

The Kansas City Open is also a tournament that existed pre-PPA and has since been absorbed by the pro tour. Many of you may not know but this tournament first started off in the Hi-Vee arena in Kansas City, MO which is a hardwood floor facility.

It has always been - and appears continues to be - a golden ticket opportunity for the US National Championship. It is the last event that a player can hope to qualify for US Nationals for the current calendar year.

The general registration fee for this tournament is $95USD (pre-event fee) and doesn’t have many top pros registered - so far the bigger names are Dylan Frazier and Andrea Koop, with recognizable names such as Tyler Loong, Sarah Ansboury and Callan Dawson sitting on the waitlist.

It looks like this tournament has come a long way from the Hi-Vee Arena - it’s now being held at a tennis facility, very similar to pretty much all of the other pro tours.

In 2019 I played in this tournament to qualify for the US Nationals. I actually travelled from Kansas City directly to Indian Wells following this tournament to compete at Nationals.

What was particularly fun about this tournament is that I was also able to visit the original Chicken ‘n Pickle and it did not disappoint. If you’re looking to snag a golden ticket, this is a solid option!

To Play

Image credit: Pickleball Hamilton / Pickleball Brackets

A local classic, the Steeltown Showdown in Hamilton is always a well run tournament and is their 4th year. It’s occurring between August 12-13 with 154 registrants already entered.

Although registration is still open, I scrolled through the list and am seeing waitlists and full categories. A good, annual tournament to consider for 2024, though, Pickleball Hamilton has great outdoor courts and the cost is very reasonable at $50 for registration.

Image credit: Pickleball Canada Organization / Pickleball Brackets

From August 23-27 the Canadian National Championships will get underway in Regina, SK. The attendance is currently showing 621 players, which is a decent showing but a few hundred less than the 2022 Nationals in Kingston, ON.

The court surface is mainly a concrete hockey pad, both last year’s tournament and this year, which is unfortunate. According to the information found on the registration page there are 20 courts on the hockey pads and 12 dedicated courts at the Queen City Pickleball Hub.

This is very similar to Kingston’s set up with 6 permanent indoor courts and I’m sure will garner similar feelings from the athletes too - whoever gets to play on the permanent courts are lucky.

I know, leading up to registration, there was a bit of uncertainty as to which level and categories would be assigned to the professional courts, it wasn’t a given that the highest level categories would be there.

Whether that has since changed or not, I am unsure and can’t provide the confirmed information. Effective since 2022 Pickleball Canada Organization (PCO) changed the criteria for athletes and every player must prove their Canadian citizenship upon check-in.

In 2019, Nationals was again, in Kingston, ON and at that time the tournament accepted players from the US. Catherine Parenteau’s finance (American citizenship) and top player Riley Newman both registered and added an extremely fun and competitive edge to the competition.

Registration, before category fees, is $90CAD, not bad, but flying in Canada isn’t cheap, so the expenses will add up.

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