07/27/2026
Feeling blessed and full of gratitude!
Thank you everyone for a wonderful weekend and for being part of the pickleball community near & far.
You made the First City Pickleball Classic a success.
The tournament hosted 182 players from 7 different states. The level of play in all divisions and age groups was amazing. Whether you earned a medal, or not, EVERYONE WAS A WINNER!! Many games were so close that the outcome could be different on any given day. That’s what makes pickleball fun but keeps everyone humble.
There are many things to be thankful for today:
-VPC Board for organizing & overseeing the event. There were many unseen works performed that made things run smoothly.
-Sponsors from the local community were a blessing. Without the gifts from our sponsors the tournament would not be possible. Please patronize these businesses &/or services in order to pay it forward.
-Volunteers are priceless. When the rain came Saturday morning the troops arrived to help dry the courts, not once but TWICE, with squeegees, leaf blowers, towels and fans in order to get the games started.
Our chair persons who worked COUNTLESS HOURS:
Cindy Beaman (& club members) on registrations;
Deb Pinney for picking up food each day for the players;
Jackie Foley & Mallory Hughes on the hospitality table keeping water/Gatorade & Snacks replenished (while playing too);
Vanessa Purdom, Deb Pinney, & Melanie Theriac on goodie bags;
Mindy McCrary on fundraising & anything else (while playing too);
Don Beaman for being there to help with everything from drying courts, collecting trash, set up/tear down, & hauling misc (while playing too).
Tonya Beard for sliced watermelon.
As well as anyone else who stepped up in any manner to help!!
*James Tapley did an excellent job as our tournament director. He kept everything moving & was a pleasure to work alongside with as well as Tyler & Jess Denbo. Great trio that are also very talented players and nice people
Thanks to 3rd Shot Pickleball members for all the participation! Way to represent! 👏
* Players/Guest participation is what makes hosting a tournament worthwhile. Meeting new people, experiencing different players, developing new friendship’s and seeing friends. Everyone was so supportive all three days.
Reflecting on the past three days, I thank you for being a part of our event. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. We look forward to seeing you on the courts somewhere down the road.
Thank you again for your support and good sportsmanship! Have a great week ahead! Thank you! 😊
