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2 <br />Everett Pickleball Club, of which I am a member. SMPA sponsors a program called <br />Diversity and Inclusion in Pickleball, which seeks to involve people of color in pickleball <br />and promote outreach to underserved areas. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle <br />Parks Department attend our Diversity and Inclusion in Pickleball events. Our SMPA <br />sponsored Westside Pickleball League is an indoor league with over 100 players and <br />raises money for schools and new courts. <br />The Seattle Mariners and the University of Washington, the Alzheimer’s Association, <br />AARP, and others reach out to SMPA annually to host events like Mariners Pickleball <br />Night at T-Mobile Park and UW Pickleball Night in Seattle. This year UW Pickleball Night <br />is honoring National Girls and Women in Sports weekend, and we are gathering top <br />female community leaders in pickleball to host our event and support women in sports at a <br />UW women’s basketball game. <br />Real pickleball paddles are the theme this year. UW is handing out UW-themed pickleball <br />paddles to 500 ticket holders. The world’s number one pickleball athlete and GOAT Ben <br />Johns is throwing out the first pitch at Mariners Pickleball Night and the Mariners are <br />handing out tournament approved pickleball paddles to each ticket holder. <br />SMPA is working again with the Seattle Parks Foundation and the Seattle Mayor on <br />Pickleball For All, a weekend event where temporary pickleball courts are constructed on <br />city streets. Last September, the event had 400 players on 10 courts, including people <br />walking by, playing pickleball for the first time. The mayor, Seattle City Council members <br />and the head of the Seatle Parks and Recreation Department showed up for a ribbon <br />cutting ceremony for two dedicated courts. <br />This July will see a whirlwind of pickleball events in Puget Sound, with the highlights being the PPA <br />Seattle Open and for the first time this year Major League Pickleball, which brings in the top stars <br />from all over the world and big bucks. The PPA Seattle Open comes to Seattle because Bainbridge <br />Island is the birthplace of pickleball and because pickleball is the state sport. Cities like Marysville, <br />Kirkland and Redmond are getting financial and community benefits from private pickleball facilities. <br />Everett should be benefiting too! <br />Let’s honor pickleball’s history and legacy as our state sport and let’s honor Snohomish County’s <br />grass roots effort to make it so. Supporting pickleball facilities supports the local economy, gets <br />people engaged and athletic. Let’s not forget pickleball makes stronger communities by building and <br />fostering community networks. Help us nurture this life-giving growth. Let’s make Snohomish County <br />a center for pickleball. Please support the Riverfront pickleball facility. <br />