Pickleball tournaments are held all over the country, and unlike other sports, pickleball is played all year. If you live in the southern midwest and are a pickleball aficionado, you should be familiar with McKinney, TX. They host an important pickleball event each year that should be on your list to attend called the McKinney Pickleball Tournament.
The USA Pickleball Mid-South Diamond Amateur Championship is one of the biggest pickleball events in McKinney, TX, and the surrounding states. It’s a regional tournament meaning that it is a regional qualifier for the chance to compete on a national level.
As an amateur, if you are looking to begin competing on a higher level than your local pickleball club, this is definitely an event to consider, even if it just makes for a fun experience.
Though the 2022 event has already passed, take a look at the details of the weekend, including results and what to expect for next year.
McKinney 2022 USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Event Details
The USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship, sponsored this year by Visit McKinney, the USA Pickleball Association, Franklin Pickleball, Kinetic Center of Dallas, Burdick Auto Solutions, and Massage Chair Tours, is always an exciting weekend.
Gold and silver medalists earn pre-registration for the Diamond Amateur Championship, which is another sponsor of the event. The Diamond Amateur Championship 2022 is scheduled to be held in Holly Hills, FL, in December. Additionally, first place in the open events wins a cash prize.
Below are details from the 2022 regional tournament, though it’s worth a look because it’s often quite similar each year, meaning that you can use the information to plan for 2023. This is especially helpful if you’ll need to travel.
Location
Courts of McKinney Tennis Center at Gabe Nesbitt Community Park
3253 Alma Rd
McKinney, TX 75070 United States
Dates
The 2022 USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship in McKinney, TX, was held from Thursday, April 28th, to Sunday, May 1st. Though the 2023 dates have not officially been released, you can expect it to be mid-Spring again.
Ball Used
Franklin X-40
Event Format
The USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship follows a round-robin format for events with three to seven teams and a double elimination bracket for events with teams of eight or more. An event with only one or two teams will be combined into another bracket.
Of course, all matches will follow USA Pickleball Association rules and will be refereed.
Competition Events
Competition events for a regional qualifier such as this include singles and doubles for men, women, mixed, ages 19-70+, and 3.0-5.0 skill levels.
All events in the regional tournament are divided into skill levels and then further divided into age groups within each skill level. The age ranges of each division vary based on the number of registered participants and their ages, so it is always different each year.
Venue Details & Amenities
The host, Visit McKinney, brought in food, drinks, merchandise vendors, and McKinney, TX, community business partners for the event.
Food was not provided for event participants, though spectators and participants alike had plenty of food options for purchase on-site and were permitted to bring their own food and drink into the pickleball venue.
Speaking of spectators, all had fun with giveaways, games, and of course, some fantastic pickleball action on all 38 courts!
Visit McKinney also typically partners with local hotels to give registered pickleball players a discount on their stay as long as it is booked by the provided deadline.
Requirements to Compete
Though there are no requirements to attend any regional tournaments like the 2022 USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship, there are requirements to participate in the event.
Event participants are required to have a USA Pickleball Membership and at least a 3.0 skill level, as is standard for any USA Pickleball-sanctioned Diamond Amateur Championship qualifying tournaments.
Many of the individual events have their own pickleball qualification requirements as well. For example, a 3.0 skill level pickleball player cannot compete in a 4.0 skill level event.
Participants must pay the registration fee and sign the waiver by the registration deadline.
2022 USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Tournaments Notable Results
Though this McKinney, TX event is an exciting weekend for all who attend, it is extra fun for the gold and silver medalists who earn pre-registration to the Diamond Amateur Championship in Holly Hills and the winners of open events.
More than 100 people earned their chance to participate at the Diamond Amateur Championship, including Katie Gaines & Brandon French in mixed doubles and Jenna Hessert & Lynzee Mattingly in women’s doubles. These first-place winners were awarded $1,000 each.
Other event results that were notable for 2022 in McKinney, TX, included Lynzee Mattingly, a women’s doubles winner, and her partner Shaun Buckles who took bronze in the mixed doubles open event. Just as Mattingly had two wins for the day, Buckles was also a silver medalist in men’s doubles.
Preparing for the 2023 McKinney USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship
If you missed the chance to participate in the 2022 McKinney Diamond Amateur Championship regional qualifier in TX, it is time to prepare for 2023.
Hit your local pickleball club to brush up on your skills and see which event you are qualified to participate in. Also, don’t forget to purchase a USA Pickleball Association membership if you don’t have one.
Additionally, you may want to attend the pickleball 2022 Diamond Amateur Championship in December to check out the competition you are up against!
We hope to see you at the 2023 USA Pickleball Mid-South Regional Championship in McKinney, TX, for another exciting weekend!
