Pickleball Palooza Hits Randolph, NJ
For the past few years, Montclair Pickleball has been hosting some of the best – and biggest – tournaments in the tri-state area. This past weekend’s Northeast Winter Open at Randolph Pickleball Center was no exception.
By the numbers…
• $3,000 – amount of prize money awarded
• 530+ – number of players who participated
• 10 – number of states where players hailed from
• 8 – 80 – age range of the players
• 2 – number of countries where players hailed from
As has been a tradition of late, Montclair Pickleball Assistant Director and comedian, Adam Stone, kicked the doubles tournaments off with some jokes. “If you are 40 years old or older, you get two bounces,” Stone said. “If you win the men’s bracket, you get a date with Taylor Swift. If you win the women’s bracket, you get a date with (New York Giants quarterback) Tommy ‘Cutlets,’ DeVito.”
Plus, pro pickleball player and influencer, Christina Chin, came all the way from Canada to play in the tournament. (She wound up winning the two brackets she played in, so it was probably the worth the trip.😊) While Canada and many other states were represented, the states with the most players represented outside of New Jersey were New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Delaware.
“It was amazing to see players of all ages and levels playing at the same time with the same goal of competing and having fun,” said Montclair Pickleball Co-Founder, Matt Slowinski. “The energy was palpable – there’s nothing else like the atmosphere of a Montclair pickleball tournament.”
Montclair Pickleball tournaments truly are special – and the good news is that there are more coming up! The next one goes from February 23 – 25, and it’s all about love. Why? Because it’s the Valentines Classic, also hosted at Randolph Pickleball Center with a purse of $3,000. After that, Montclair Pickleball heads down the shore for the Seaview Championship at the Seaview Hotel courts in Galloway with a purse of $2,000.
The growth and success of the Montclair Pickleball tournaments is not lost on its directors. Aaron Reznik, the other Co-Founder of Montclair Pickleball, summed it up when he said, “We feel truly blessed to have the community we’ve built. We feel like the luckiest tournament directors in the world!”
