SAN ANTONIO – Fiesta is a party with a purpose. This weekend, an event is taking on the sport of pickleball with a purpose.
The third annual CommuniCare Classic, hosted by the Valero Alamo Bowl and the San Antonio Pickleball Association, began Friday and will run until Sunday at Fairchild Park. All proceeds from the weekend go to scholarships for San Antonio students.
“100% of the proceeds are going right back to scholarships,” Rick Hill, the vice president of marketing with the Valero Alamo Bowl, said. “We love being a part of San Antonio’s calendar where you have rodeo season, Fiesta season and then bowl season.”
The tournament, which drew 320 pickleball players last year, will feature 400 players between the three-day tournament and a separate PartyPICKLE round-robin style tournament, a news release said.
“The growth has just gone crazy,” San Antonio Pickleball Association president Cindy Waddell said. “You’ll have tons of vendors here, tons of players, tons of spectators.”
Each day, competition in each division begins at 8 a.m. The men’s and women’s singles tournament took place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Friday, while the PartyPICKLE’s round-robin and co-ed format will take center stage between 6 and 8 p.m. on Friday.
Men’s and women’s doubles teams will own the courts between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Mixed doubles teams will face off starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
“If you are trying pickleball for the first time, be careful because you will get the bug and you will be playing pickleball four or five times a week because you just can’t get enough of it,” Waddell said.
According to the tournament, the San Antonio Parks & Recreation facility at Fairchild Park has grown from eight temporary, part-time courts to 18. Each court is open between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Proceeds from the CommuniCare Classic will be awarded to San Antonio students through the Valero Alamo Bowl and San Antonio Pickleball Association scholarship programs.
“I’m hoping with the way this tournament’s going, we have even more to donate back to the scholarship committee,” Waddell said.
Fairchild Park is located at 1214 East Crockett Street in San Antonio.
