FARMINGTON—With pickleball taking the nation by storm as one of the fastest growing sports in the country, young players from all skill levels competed in the West Coast Junior Olympics AAU Tournament at the Farmington City Outdoor Pickleball Courts on June 23-25. 

The Amateur Athletic Union, or AAU, partnered with the West Coast Junior Olympics as they brought young athletes with different skill levels from across the United States to play pickleball in Utah.

AAU Pickleball Executive Director Mike Nielsen said that this was the second tournament that they have hosted in pickleball, the first being in Houston, Texas, last year, but he wanted the sport to be included in the Olympics as well with the rapid growth and interest. 

“I wanted AAU to get into pickleball because we are known for sports like basketball and 40 other sports,” Nielsen said. “Since it is a sport that has seen growth in popularity over the past few years with over 5 million players nationwide, I thought that it deserves to be in the Junior Olympics and AAU so young competitors could face each other.”

The tournament consisted of 174 total participants ages 8-18, with 115 who played in more than one of the many tournaments that were offered. There were singles, doubles and mixed doubles where a boy and girl would partner up and face other groups.

Round robin play was in effect as Nielsen said that everyone would play against each other and see who could go the furthest in each bracket.

“Everyone played against each other based on their skill level,” Nielsen said. “We wanted an equal playing field where everyone is playing against each other with the same skills and nobody being substantially better than the other.” 

Tournament organizer and Farmington Parks and Recreation member Linda Weeks said that since the tournament wasn’t fully recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee, she could run the competition her way and she wanted it based on skill level instead of age.

“We had started off at a 2.0 which is the equivalent of a beginner and went up by 0.5 all the way to a 5.0, which was the more advanced players,” Weeks said. “It is important for us as a part of the Utah Parks and Recreation Association to always have a round robin so that these kids can get more playing time than just playing a couple of games and being done.” 

The tournament games went up to 15 points each and whoever reached the total won. 

Players like sisters and Kaysville natives Emma Monson and Mary Monson competed against each other in the mixed doubles finals of the 4.0 tournament and Mary came out victorious with a 15-4 over her sibling. 

After the tournaments were over for each level and format of play, medals were handed out to the first, second and third place participants or teams from the West Coast Junior Olympics. 

Weeks says the tournament was a success and everyone enjoyed playing with each other while demonstrating good sportsmanship.

“Overall, I thought it was a huge success,” Weeks said. “Players followed the rules and every game that we had was competitive. We want them to continue to play pickleball and the kids and families really enjoyed the event over the past few days.” 

Farmington City donated money toward the tournament and Weeks handed out $500 in scholarships to players as an incentive to keep playing. 

“With some donations that I got from Farmington City, I was able to give out some money for scholarships to those kids that never played in a tournament format before,” Weeks said. “I think when they hear about tournaments, it brings pressure and makes them feel like they are not that good to compete. I wish it was labeled as an event so kids can have fun and have no pressure or stress when playing pickleball.”

As the success and growth of AAU pickleball has grown from around 50 players in Houston last year to 174 this year in Farmington, Nielsen said he would like to bring the tournament back to Davis County again in the future.

“I think we would love to bring back the tournament next year,” Nielsen said. “We have grown exponentially and want to continue the growth of youth pickleball. This tournament was great and hopefully we can have an even better one in the near future.”λ