Pickleball Fed hosts fundraising tourneys for World Cup berth

After more than six years of growing pickleball in the CNMI, the Pickleball Federation of the NMI is preparing to send its first national team to the Pickleball World Cup in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The invitation-only tournament will be held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 and is expected to bring together about 80 countries and nearly 4,000 players. It will mark the federation’s first appearance on the international stage.

PFNMI president Nelson Krum said during the final day of the Paddle for the World Stage tournament on Sunday, June 28, that nearly 50 players were considered for selection, but only 28 will make the trip to Vietnam due to roster limits and travel availability.

To help fund the team’s trip, the federation hosted the Paddle for the World Stage tournament over the weekend, featuring singles, doubles, and mixed doubles play from Friday, June 26, through Sunday, June 28. Matches were held at both the American Memorial Park and Capital Hill courts—the island’s two pickleball venues. Despite ongoing court lighting issues following Super Typhoon Sinlaku, players have continued training and playing before sunset.

Asked about Team NMI’s expectations at the World Cup, Krum said, “We’re going to get spanked big time. But what’s going to be fun about it is to promote Saipan. There are 1.9 billion Asians playing pickleball, and if we can attract some of them to our island for sports tourism—we’re hopeful we can turn a lot of Asia on to our little island.”

Krum added that each team is allowed only one professional player at the World Cup, but that Team NMI does not have one. The federation’s top players, he said, are Chelsea Henzon and Mikayla Lopez, who are rated around 4.0 to 4.5, while top international players sit between 6.0+ and 7.0+.

Another fundraising tournament is scheduled for the first weekend of August, and the federation continues to seek community donations to help send the CNMI’s first national pickleball team to the World Cup.

Krum also gave a shoutout to the Northern Marianas Sports Association, which donated $2,000, along with Latte Built Gym and Da Bao, which each contributed $1,000, as well as additional $500 donations. “We have to keep that coming in because we’re looking to raise about $30,000 to $50,000 to support the team.”