PAX,
Get your paddles ready and join your fellow PAX and others in the Lake Norman community for our first annual “2025 Pickle for Hope” Challenge. The challenge will be a month long event in April that encourages the men of F3 Isotope, nearby regions, and others in our fine community to get out and have fun this spring, while supporting our friends at Hope House in Huntersville. Several of you already play pickleball outside the normal weekly AO’s so here’s your chance to show off your competitive skills while enjoying some 2nd F.
The Challenge will provide plenty of flexibility in scheduling matches as you can participate in as many matches as you’d like. Matches would initiated by the participants joining the challenge as their schedule allows (see details and ideas in scheduling below). You’re free to play doubles, singles, round-robin or whatever format you’d like. Note prizes will be awarded to our top participants so if you are already playing Pickleball and want some great 2nd F, sign up for this event!
Sign-up
- $25 sign up fee per player to join the challenge
- Challenge will be open to the community, both men and women so invite your friends, M’s, pets, and others! Great opportunity here to promote F3 and a worthy community cause.
- The “pickleheads” mobile app will be used to track the players in the challenge and can be used to schedule matches, track results and there’s even a chat function for #mumblechatter Download the app and join the group “F3 Lake Norman Pickle For Hope”. Several of you have already joined the group. Participation will be tracked in the app.
- For questions or help, please email f3pickleforhope@gmail.com for 24/7 support. No live chat available yet, but that will be at our coffeeteria.
Official Rules and Regulations
- Challenge is doubles only so pick your partner early. Pick a name for your doubles team.
- Round Robin play will be scheduled throughout the challenge so doubles teams have an opportunity to play with other participants.
- As we say in our F3 cirlces, if it’s not on Strava it didn’t happen. If it’s not on the “pickleheads” app, it didn’t happen so participation will be tracked and tallied in the “pickleheads” app.
- Players will propose matches by reaching out to other players and scheduling a place and time that works. For example, Hippie may call out a round robin match at Holbrook Park on a given Saturday and any number of players can join. Likewise Omega could schedule a doubles match during a week night that fits everyone’s schedule. By the way, Omega has a portable pickleball court so playing at his office parking lot might be an option
- For our Saturday AO’s, consider scheduling a dedicated Pickleball challenge at 7am for a convergence. Bedrock will have one on April 5th.
- Awards will be given to the most active 4 participants. Participation will be based on the number of matches played, including any round robin matches played outside their normal doubles matches.
- Participant receiving the most sponsorship $$ will have a brick engraved with their name and “F3 Pickle For Hope”
- The top 4 participants will compete at the end of the challenge in a doubles match. Location TBD
Fundraising and How You Can Help
- As we did in the 2023 Dunk Tank at Hope House, a GoFundMe will be setup for this event for the sign-up fees and other donations like sponsorship.
- PAX are encouraged (but not required) to get “sponsorship” whether it be from friends, families or area businesses
- You can “sponsor” a player by making a donation in the GoFundMe page.
- AO’s can chip in and “sponsor” a player. By the way, Hollywood, a PAINinsula regular would be a good candidate here!
- NOTE: This will also be announced on social media so others around the community can participate or sponsor the event.
- If any of you would like to help or have other ideas about fundraising, please discuss with Airstream or Possum separately.
Let’s have some fun this Spring on the Pickleball Courts!