BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — The USA Pickleball Golden Ticket event series is coming to Opelika on March 11-15. With the path to nationals running through Alabama. Registration is open now on www.pickleballtournaments.com/tournaments/usa-pickleball-golden-ticket-opelika.
“From a community standpoint, these are events that, whether you want to participate as a competitor if you’re a pickleball player or a volunteer [there is a place for everyone],” said Sports Development Director at Auburn-Opelika Tourism Anthony Terling. “We have a lot of people in the community who love to volunteer for various charitable things and events, including sporting events like this. So obviously you can volunteer, but also you can sponsor, partner and promote the event.”
Along with participating, watching or volunteering, Terling said local businesses can use the event as a way to share their name and products with the community.
“Local businesses can get involved, whether it be vendors — like food vendors, food trucks and product vendors,” he said. “If you’ve ever been to a pickleball tournament, you will know there’s a lot of vendors, as far as merchandise goes, whether it’s pickleball paddles and balls, whether it’s knick-knacks, jewelry, all kinds of stuff. So there are multiple ways the community can get involved. And come out and watch, if you love pickleball — it’s a very spectator-friendly sport.”
Terling said months of planning and preparation have gone into bidding for and hosting this event in Opelika, and it will be one of only 12 USA Pickleball Golden Ticket events in the nation.
“USA Pickleball is the official governing body of pickleball in the United States,” he said. “They are a very prestigious organization. So their Golden Tickets are their pathway to the National Championship for the country. Billions of players play pickleball — so for Opelika, for Auburn-Opelika tourism and all the partners, to be able to host a prestigious Golden Ticket tournament which qualifies players all across the country for nationals [is incredible]. When we were putting in a bid for this, we were working probably eight months to a year prior on this, working directly with Parks and Rec of Opelika, Sam Bailey, Opelika pickleball club, to make this happen. So it’s a very big honor for our community, specifically the city of Opelika, and us to host an event [where we] we’re competing with major cities and other destinations.”
Along with providing a space for pickleball players and viewers to enjoy the sport, Terling said the event will support local businesses by bringing in an expected 800 to 1,000 players from approximatley 15 to 20 different states. With only 12 Golden Ticket events and other hosting cities, including Las Vegas, Chicago, San Diego, Cincinnati and more large cities, Terling emphasised the significance of hosting a Golden Ticket event in Opelika.
“It is a big opportunity for us when it comes to just hosting sports events of any type,” he said. “When you think of pickleball, the sport as a whole, it’s the fastest-growing sport and one of the most participated in sports in our country. It’s just a prestigious honor. From an impact standpoint. It obviously gives local community members, whether they’re pickleball players, whether they’re businesses, whether they’re volunteers — an opportunity to participate in the event. [And it will give locals] pride that their community is hosting something like this, and also it [will have a positive] economic impact and the economic value that it brings to [not just] Opelika specifically, but Auburn-Opelika and Lee County as a whole.”
