Last month saw the inaugural DUPR UK University Pickleball Championships – the brainchild of Theo Young.
A Canadian currently studying for a Master’s in Education Research at the University of Oxford, he began playing pickleball during his time as an undergraduate in the USA.
Pickleball was already getting a foothold in the city when Theo came to England – and the club is now the biggest at a university in England, welcoming students from both Brookes and Oxford.
And Theo was inspired to create a national championship thanks to his experience of seeing similar competitions in the US.
“You spend so much time at university, it’s cool to be able to represent them,” he tells Pickleball 52.
And with support from DUPR and companies within the pickleball sphere, as well as the organisational skills of Dylan Stephens of the University of Leeds and the hosting offer from Courtside, things got up and running quickly.
Indeed, the event ran with two categories – the main tournament and an improver division – with 16 universities involved.
Oxford may have come out on top in the final, with Sheffield winning the improver division, but that wasn’t the most important thing for Theo.
“I’m really pleased because I think we got a bunch of people who wouldn’t normally be competing in inter-university sport out at this event because of that,” he says, “and I think that that’s so great for a health and well-being perspective.”
He adds: “It was just so amazing to see something we built and see this – more than that, this community – come together at Courtside.”
And what’s more, there’s potential for growth in the future.
“There are different universities that competed on the day that don’t actually have clubs at the universities, but this event is spurring them to start one,” he says, adding that there are also universities who didn’t compete but who are set to take part in the next edition.
“We’re bringing to light all these new players from different corners of the UK that don’t play PickleB [events] every week, that you don’t see around all the time, so I think it’s really cool because I think we’re forging more pathways, more connections as well.”
And he concludes: “I think we’re going to have tons of opportunities for anyone and everyone to grow their pickleball game and make a lot of similar aged friends in the process – and I’m excited to see how we go.”
