The first edition of the Pickleball By The Bay and Music Festival will take place on the ECR between September 26 and 28

Pickleball is the new posterchild of the sports world. This fast growing sport that was started by Joel Pritchard, William Bell, and Barney McCallum in 1965 in the US, now has fans all over the world. In Chennai, this game attracted more players post the lockdown phase. Few years down the line, it has a dedicated following with many former tennis and badminton players also taking to it. The growth spurt can be measured by the number of pickleball courts that have popped up across the city.

And now, Chennai gears up for the Rise Up Championship, which brings together pickleball players from all over India, with a side of music and food. Titled Pickleball By The Bay and Music Festival, the three-day long event, on the lawns of VGP Golden Beach, is organised by the Rise Up Championship (RUC) foundation in association with the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA), Tamil Nadu Pickleball Association, Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating (DUPR) and Pickleball World Ranking, making it one of India’s first PWR 1000 sanctioned tournaments.

“Launched three months ago, the foundation aims to provide a platform for players across sports who have achieved a lot but don’t get the support they need be it infrastructure or basic facilities or brand association,” says Selvakumar Balu, founder, RUC foundation.

The courts being set up

“Players across the ages of 18 to 60 years are playing pickleball,” he says. With pickleball being all the rage now, the team at RUC decided to go with this sport for their first-ever tournament. So this seemed like a good choice to begin with, he says. Next, there will be an e-sports and golf tournament.

Seventy two players have registered for the championship that begins on Friday. While there are participants from Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, the majority is from Bengaluru and Chennai. The players — in the 17-52 age category — have been selected by the Indian Pickleball Association, based on their (DUPR) rating.

What to expect?

A temporary court, with a view of the sea is being set up for the event. The 12,000 square feet air-conditioned, indoor area will have two courts and can seat 800 spectators. It will also have VIP lounge areas.

The organisers want to create a carnival atmosphere. The games will begin in the morning and continue till evening. By 7pm the lawns will come alive with the sound of bands and DJs and chatter from the food stalls. Day one will have DJ Lash and Aishwarya, Day 2, DJ Sparrow, Vinaitha and band, and Pineapple Express and Day 3 will feature Sublashini and band, Masala Coffee, and DJ Veekay.

“You know what IPL did for cricket. We will be doing a similar format for other sports,” says Selvakumar, adding that, “The idea is to make sure everyone picks up a sport; and if from the spectators attending even if five people take this up, it’s good,” he adds.

Passes are priced at ₹499 per day. Available on in.bookmyshow.com. For details, log onto riseupchampionship.com