sportstyle

IN A PICKLE N ow considered the fastest-grow- ing sport in the U.S., pickleball accrued 4.8 million players last year, soaring 14.8 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the 2022 SFIA Topline Participation Report. However, Dan Santorum, CEO of the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR) and the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR), believes the actual number of players has been under-reported and is actually closer to six million participants. "Racquet sports are hot right now and by the end of the decade many people predict that pickleball will be the largest participation sport [in the racquets category], growing at 30 percent annually," Santorum says. "Pickleball will be a high school sport and a college club sport before the end of the decade and possibly an NCAA women's or co-ed sport. "We're seeing more and more leagues starting and this trend will only get bigger and will help grow the sport and the demand for lessons," he adds. "For team dealers, pickleball hasn't reached a tipping point yet and it's not too late to get involved. We're bullish on the future." Sonny Tannan, a PPR clinician and cer- tified professional, concurs. "Historically, pickleball was a sport played mostly by people ages 50 and over, but now much more attention is being focused on players of college age and younger. e sport's expansion is mostly due to a combination of growth in schools as well as the increasing popularity of youth programs and adult rec leagues," he explains. "From a business aspect, there is value in adding pickleball to the team sports portfolio. It's a fast-moving industry right now and it's important to get people engaged in the sport." He suggests that team dealers work with local assets such as schools, coaches, PTAs and booster clubs to help drive sales. Gearing Up for the Rush From the manufacturers' perspective, pickleball is the gi that is expected to keep giving for many seasons to come. For team specialists such as Champion Sports, the game's broad appeal, low learning curve and rapidly expanding participation among schools, municipalities, leagues, rec programs, camps and the like have huge growth poten- tial. In fact, the company launched Rhino Pickleball by Champion Sports in 2018 and made its first foray into the DTC pickleball market in 2020. "In the past two years, whenever we've exhibited at shows and other industry events, our Rhino Pickleball products are the number one-touched products that we set out on display," says Zach Meller, EVP and chief strategy officer at Champion Sports. "It's been an interesting progression. At first, pickleball was only familiar to dealers located on the coasts where the sport was being played. As the game eventually spread to the Midwest and then to other parts of the country, en- thusiasm rose and dealers started to become interested. ere's a shi taking place now and as pickleball continues to grow across the U.S., there'll be more demand for product." Meller reports that Rhino Pickleball has experienced massive growth. The brand primarily offers core products – paddles, balls, nets and court accessories – for the high-volume entry-level and recreational Photo: Courtesy of Champion Sports BY JUDY LEAND ARE TEAM DEALERS MISSING OUT ON THE EXPLOSIVE GROWTH IN PICKLEBALL? IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO GET IN ON THE GAME. TEAM / TRENDS sportstylemag.com • sportstyle September/October 2022 • 49

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