BP Fossella to host Pickleball tournament at CSI

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Borough President Vito Fossella was joined by more than a dozen pickleball enthusiasts in the CSI Sports and Recreation Center on Wednesday for the official announcement of The Borough President’s Pickleball Cup.

The tournament, which is co-sponsored by USA Pickleball, is the first of its kind; catering to the ever-growing pickleball community. The two-day tourney will take place over Columbus day weekend, Oct. 7 and 8. As the competition will be held on the College of Staten Island campus, the college will have the distinction of being the first City University of New York school to host an official pickleball tournament.

“We all know how pickleball is just exploding across the country, but especially here in Staten island,” Fossella said. “We’ve been very sensitive to the demand and the needs of the growing community of play, and we want to make it as fun, as exciting, as enjoyable as possible…we’re going to continue to look and identify areas to build new pickleball courts across Staten Island to meet the demand…With respect to this tournament, we want it to be fun, we want it to be competitive…”

Recently, the island has seen a surge in demand for pickleball courts and leagues. Groups such as the Fairview Pickleballers have formed as a response, welcoming players of all ages to try their hand at the sport. Pickleball’s appeal may just lie in the fact that it is a sport which is easily accessible to all groups, pickleball being an unofficial blend of sports such as tennis, badminton, and ping-pong.

Much like the sport itself, the tournament will be open to all ages, genders, and levels of experience. Whether you feel you’re a beginner, an intermediate player, or consider yourself a pro pickleballer, you can pick up a paddle and join in…