The Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup 2021 is history. The Pictona Club provided the facility and an enormous amount of people power to facilitate the conduct of the tournament. The International Federation of Pickleball was responsible for the actual conduct of the tournament.
Many of you volunteered to help Pictona and the IFP with this event. Some of you worked more than one day in this multi-day event, some working all 5 days. From stuffing the goodie bags, to managing check-in, to parking cars, to being ambassadors of goodwill, and to collecting trash and keeping toilet paper stocked, you made this tournament possible and a better experience. Our team of 16 employees worked long hours staffing the Welcome Desk, overseeing many operations, awarding medals, and preparing and delivering food.
Julie and I thank you so much for your help, help that was given generously and positively. We received many compliments about our facility and our volunteers and staff. Throughout the event, each time we saw you wearing a Pictona shirt or hat, we felt a sense of pride, including the dark blue Pickleball Daytona shirts (an item sure to be of historical value). One vendor told me that as he travels across the U.S. to pickleball tournaments, he no longer says he is going to Daytona Beach or Holly Hill, he just says “I’m going to Pictona,” and the pickleball world knows where that is.
Yes, our facility and people were winners in conducting the tournament, but unfortunately the IFP was unable to manage the scheduling and communication necessary to make this a positive experience for everyone. Long delays and an unwillingness to communicate with the players about when they would be playing made this event frustrating for some. Our staff and volunteers sought to help, to find out what was happening, to encourage communication, but it fell on deaf ears. We regret that this happened at Pictona.
Some good news! Pictona members who played in the tournament took home a boat-load of medals. We’ll give you a summary of our medalists later this week once we can compile the results. Second, the tournament will generate a tidy income for Pictona which helps keep our membership costs lower.
Thank you all for your support of Pictona.