Calling all Pickleballers! The Picklebomb Tournament is happening in just a couple of weeks in Rigby.
Amy and Ryan Oehler are the masterminds behind the tournament and are hard at work to make the tournament a fun and competitive event for people of all ages and skill levels.
The couple came up with the idea after hosting a tournament back in October. They both love the game and were searching for ways to bring competitive pickleball closer to Rexburg.
“We called it King’s Court Pickleball,” Ryan said. “We did a little tournament. We had a little turnout, and it was pretty good and worked pretty well, and then we decided to scale it up.”
Picklebomb was then born. With their passion for pickleball carrying them, Ryan and Amy decided to search for sponsors for their new tournament, landing a sponsor from a well-known paddle brand based in Idaho, Selkirk.
“We got a lot of support from them,” Ryan said. “We got some local sponsors too. We have Fixology, the soda shop, Carry Ann’s, the custard, the little ice cream place. We got Jigsaw health, you have OS First, we have Born to Rally. We just have a lot of companies that are just willing to help us out, help us put this together.”
The tournament will be split up into different skill level-based divisions to guarantee a fun time playing with other teams that match your skills.
The tournament will start with pool play and then a round robin, ensuring all teams have a chance to play multiple games and to decide the order of the single-elimination bracket for the 14 divisions represented at the tournament. The skill levels are based on the Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating which goes from a 2 to a 7, which 5-7 professional level.
The tournament will be split into women’s doubles, men’s doubles and mixed doubles, each being split into different skill levels.
The tournament is set to take place at Rigby Tennis and Pickleball on March 14. For more information, follow Picklebomb on Instagram and Facebook at Picklebomb Pickleball. You can register on their website.