Eastern Pickleball Hosts Over 100 Players For Inaugural Peconic Pickleball Classic At Red Creek Park

Over 110 people came out to compete in the first ever Peconic Pickleball Classic held on Saturday and Sunday at Red Creek Park in Hampton Bays and hosted by Eastern Pickleball.

Despite it being largely a word-of-mouth gathering, organizers of the event, like Scott Green, were not surprised at the large turnout. Green helped put together the event with Jules Valencia and John Barrie.

“It’s the fastest growing sport in America, and younger people are playing it,” Greene said. “When I first started playing, there was the thought that it was a geriatric sport, that former tennis players who couldn’t move around anymore were playing. Now it’s getting younger, it’s blowing up.”

Green, who owns and operates Plate At The Plate, a company that specializes in forming men’s adult baseball tournaments and events at Major League ballparks, spring training facilities, Triple-A stadiums and other fields, parks or stadiums of interest across America, said pickleball is growing so much and so fast that he’s already in the process of starting a second company, Around The Post Pickleball.

“Play At The Plate has done very well nationally, and this is blowing up so much that I’ve already spoken to USPA officials and they’re looking for guys like me and we think we’re going to be holding a New York or Long Island Open at Nassau Coliseum next May, with maybe some smaller tournaments in between,” he explained. “A lot of these people go back to Florida or Arizona. I don't know if there's enough to hold a northeast tournament, but again, it’s growing.

“For our first time out to have over 100 people. Word of mouth is unbelievable,” Green added. “And look at everybody, they're having a great time, they’re conversing with a nice crowd.”

Eastern Pickleball was taking donations over the weekend to help pay for expenses. Green said there was a small surplus of donations above costs which the company will be donating to the Southampton Town Animal Rescue, located right next to the court in Red Creek Park.

”Eastern Pickleball is not in this to make a profit at all,” he said. “We just need to cover our costs. We had to rent the courts, get insurance, turn the lights on, it adds up quickly. Buy new balls, goodie bags, scorebooks, scorecards.”

Some of the avid pickleball players in attendance on Saturday, in addition to Green, remarked how there should be more outdoor facilities dedicated to the popular sport in Southampton Town. Currently, there are six known courts in the town — four that are being built at North Sea Park and two that are at Hampton West Park in Westhampton.

This weekend, the Peconic Pickleball Classic was being played on courts that were outlined in tape on the outdoor roller hockey rink at Red Creek Park.

“I commend the town for building what we have — they didn’t build this, they lined out a hockey rink — but the fact that they built four at SYS and there’s two in Westhampton at Hampton West Park is great,” Green said. “It’s a good start, but we need that,” he added, pointing to the tennis courts at Red Creek, “where we could put 10 to 12 pickleball courts and put it somewhere in the Town of Southampton. There’s demand for it. This is not enough.

“You come down here any time during the summer and you’re waiting,” he continued. “We have protocol — you play four on, four off, and it’s very organized and it’s the pickleball rules — but that’s what it is, so can we use more courts. And this is not a fad. This is not going to be a passing fancy because younger people are playing it, and if younger people keep playing it I think tennis is going to be in big trouble. Very big trouble.”

Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman, an avid pickleball player himself, regularly playing at the indoor courts at SYS, said that the new courts at North Sea Park, close to the SYS property, are actually not part of SYS at all, and therefore a membership to that facility will not be required to play on those courts, only a town residency. Southampton Town Parks Director Kristen Doulos said those courts should be done in the coming weeks.

Both Doulos and Schneiderman said there are more courts throughout the town that are lined for pickleball, like the ones at Red Creek Park. Doulos said the town is adding more courts when feasible. Schneiderman agreed that pickleball is a growing sport and that younger people are starting to pick it up. He implored anyone who wants to convey a plan for additional courts to attend Town Board meetings.