Black Friday is now upon us, and you know what that means? Yes, it’s the start of holiday shopping season, and that means it’s time to brainstorm some gift ideas. Pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport, so why not shift yourt gift-giving focus to paddles? They’re a unique a memorable option for people in all walks of life- corporate types, hobbyists, youth, elderly, and everyone else in between. And a custom pickleball paddle is a gift that can easily be a win-win-win for all involved.
Designing a custom paddle can help build brand visibility for the gifter while providing hours and hours of fun and activity for the recipient.
Custom pickleball paddles are ideal for corporate gifting, because they stand out from your usual standard swag bags. Your clients will appreciate this more than other gifts because of the high level for potential engagement.
Paddles are a more meaningful gift, because of how much it
A.) fosters team building among your employees and
B.) allows others to get the word out about your brand.
Pickleball is an extremely social sport, with appeal to all demographics.
We explored these concepts during an exclusive interview with professional pickleball player Megan Fudge, at the APP Chicago Open.
“We have had people in our camps that have never done a sport in their lives, in their 30s and 40s, and they’re like ‘my parents never let me play a sport’, so we’re like here- catch this ball, and they caught it,” said Fudge.
“Now with the paddle- can you tap it back? and it’s like ok, now you play a game…it is really easy to learn, but hard to master, so there it becomes this phenomenon, ‘I really want to get this, I really want to master this.’
“It’s like this chess game on the court, while at the same time, it’s very social and playful, I feel like anybody can play and try to get the hang of it.”
Megan Fudge is right, as she inadvertently pointed out the other major stereotype about this game- pretty much everybody is nice to each other on the court.
It’s very much a game that fosters community building, as opponents often go out for drinks and food after competing against each other.
We also spoke with APP Tour pro Salome Devidze at the same event, and she had an uplifting, encouraging message for those who are looking to get into this game.
“Come out and try, get your buddies, if it takes beer, take your beer with you, whatever it takes,” she said.
“Because once you play, you’ll see this is what I’ve been waiting for.”
For those who are not quite ready to get on the court, but want to learn more about the sport, well, it’s a sport that is televised quite often.
While there are three leading professional pickleball leagues, the aforementioned MLP and the PPA, the APP Tour (which began in 2019) is the only one officially sanctioned by USA Pickleball. Novices can learn by watching any of the three on TV, and picking up the specifics from there.