sportstyle

50 • July/August 2022 sportstyle • sportstylemag.com Skechers Viper Court Selkirk Vanguard 2.0 Cammy MacGregor SPECIAL REPORT / PICKLEBALL Skechers e $95 Viper Court, the first pickleball shoe from Skechers, brings the brand's signature comfort and innovation to the court. It provides responsive performance in a breathable, lightweight design. And it has the enhanced grip and stability of a Goodyear rubber outsole paired with a shock-absorbing Arch Fit insole — delivering comfort and support, match aer match. "With our experience and heritage developing running, golf and walking shoes, we see pickleball as an opportunity to leverage our award-winning performance innovations into a new pillar of sport," says Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. "Not only does pickleball offer incredible opportunity for Skechers as a fast-growing sport, it also has a multi-generational appeal that's ideal for our position as the third largest athletic footwear brand in the world. It's easy to learn and fun to play, so new and experienced players will see the benefit in our signature advanced comfort technologies on the court." Skechers is committed to supporting the growth and momentum of pickleball, and will be the Official Footwear Partner of the APP Tour, MLP, and USA Pickleball in 2023. Plus, the brand will be the Title Sponsor of the Skechers Invitational Summer Championship in partnership with the PPA – August 12 - 14 in Pacific Palisades, CA. Additionally, earlier this year, Skechers signed its first two elite pickleball athletes, Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin, who compete wearing Skechers Pickleball footwear and Skechers-branded apparel Prior to the launch of the Viper Court earlier this year, the brand worked directly with athletes who tested the shoes and offered feedback that helped guide the designs. e debut of the shoe was a "phenomenal success," says Greenberg. He adds, "is is just the start for us, and the national broadcast of the Skechers Invitational will help build awareness that we're a true player committed to this sport. We continue to get feedback, not only from our pros Catherine Parenteau and Tyson McGuffin, but also other athletes that will inform future styles that will expand our pickleball footwear range with more options for every type of player." Selkirk e VANGUARD 2.0 Midweight paddle from Idaho-based Selkirk Sports is described by the brand as one of its "most technologically advanced" pickleball paddles yet. It is constructed with a proprietary Quantum CarbonFiber Face, which incorporates bi-directional, cross- weave carbon fiber technology designed to achieve a larger sweet spot and longer resonance, along with more consistency, maximum spin, and perfect feel. e X5 Honeycomb ick Poly Core is built for consistent speed, using advanced polypropylene honeycomb technology. What does that all mean? Basically, the face and core are designed to work together to absorb the vibration from each hit, providing a larger sweet spot and soer feel, while also yielding accelerated velocity. e brand also recently resigned Cammy MacGregor, a former Top 75 professional tennis player on the WTA Tour, to a new a pickleball endorsement deal.

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