We appreciate how vested many of you have become in our programming decisions and bigger plans for the year ahead. Your responses to the questions below directly inform decisions about new clinics, themes, locations, formats. Every kooky idea we ever get starts right here.
Each year, like clockwork, pickleball is said to have reached some critical TIPPING POINT. I take these endless tipping points with a grain of salt.
But Entering 2026, it’s clear that many of you are grappling with the tension between different pickleball experiences, expectations, and values. From the DUPRization of pickleball to the sudden rise of local private clubs to all the new people showing up—there’s a lot to be excited about. At the same time, these forces are also reshaping the local landscape in ways that feel irreversible.
As we launch our 2026 season, I realize we’re increasingly speaking to very different audiences, who have very different expectations about the pickleball experience—and the meaning of community. I also realize that many of you actively move between these audiences—we see this as a strength.
Is it dramatic to suggest that 2026 will be a battle for the soul of pickleball? Maybe! But this year, we're going to indulge the question. Whenever we make a decision about a new clinic or Jamboree theme, I like to ask what Joan Didion would think. Is it authentic? Is it challenging? Is it fun? And most importantly, how will it shape this place we’re building together? I stick Didion’s words at the top of most of my big files:
“A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that they remake it in their image.”
We’re contemplating some significant twists in direction this year. We feel excited and a little bit nervous. As you answer these questions, please be sincere. We’ll return that sincerity back to you in 2026.
If there are questions below that don't interest you, just skip them. Depth matters more to us than completeness. If you didn't get the question you're looking for, there's a box at the end for you to share anything.
You can access the form here: https://forms.gle/AFe8vRAg5ASWPdRv8
Many thanks,
—JHPS & Pickleball Jamboree
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