The GAMMA Pickleball Classic was brought back to Pittsburgh this year! The annual tournament took place on August 6-8, 2021 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. After almost a year of no large-scale tournaments and having to cancel the Classic in 2020, we finally got to have the 5th year of one of the largest indoor pickleball tournaments in the United States!
This year brought huge successes for the GAMMA Pickleball Classic! There were over 800 referees, volunteers, participants, GAMMA Sports staff and spectators combined that made this tournament come to life! We can't go without giving a special shout-out to Team GAMMA that includes our pros, juniors, and ambassadors. Some of them couldn't go home without getting to the podium:
- Monica Paolicelli - Silver in Pro Women's Doubles, Bronze in Pro Mixed Doubles, Silver in Pro Women's Singles
- Jonathan Truong - Gold in Men's Singles 4.5 19+
- Bladen Williams - Gold in Men's Singles 3.0 19+, Silver in Men's Doubles 3.0 19+
- Steve Vozza - Silver in Men's Doubles 4.0 55-59
- Perrin Yang - Silver in Men's Singles 4.5 35-54, Gold in Mixed Doubles 4.5 50-54, Bronze in Men's Doubles 4.5 50-59
- Kevin Eaves - Bronze in Mixed Doubles 4.0 60-64
- Frank Ferraro - Bronze in Men's Doubles 3.0 60-64
- Zach Roggow - Silver in Men's Singles 4.5 19+
- Stan Shoemaker - Bronze in Mixed Doubles 4.0 60+
- Andrea Chiodo - Gold in Women's Singles 3.5 19+
- David Kukleski - Silver in Men's Singles 3.0 60-64
GAMMA added some new things to the 2021 tournament, including live streaming, a Pittsburgh-style Cookie Table, and a large vendor village. The BoxCar Productions team blew it out of the water providing live content on our first-ever championship court where all pro matches were streamed on Facebook and YouTube! GAMMA also added the traditional Pittsburgh Cookie Table, which can primarily be seen at weddings in the area. With the help of local bakeries, each cookie was sold for $1 where all proceeds will be donated to the Parkinson Foundation. We ended the tournament selling out of ALL the cookies! The GAMMA Pickleball Classic also had a large selection of vendors, including pickleball accessories, apparel, tens/EMS devices, and more!
Finally, this tournament would never have been possible without the help of these great sponsors: Hydrant, PNC Bank, HICO, Total Pickleball, Tinuiti, Citizens Bank, Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Pittsburgh Speaks, GYF, and more! With the help of these sponsors and donations, we are able to make a significant donation to the Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.
Save the date! The 6th Annual GAMMA Pickleball Classic will take place on August 5-7, 2022 at the David L Lawrence Convention Center. We hope to see you there!