Our History
Kate Beck got bitten by the pickleball bug early in 2022, frequently joining the women who participated in weekly clinics organized by Theresa Haynie. With her own skill level improving, her competitive side kicked in and she started organizing games for women interested in competitive play. That’s not surprising to anyone who knows Kate. Pulling people together for a common cause—whether a political issue, school carpool, or neighborhood block party—is something that brings her joy.
She and her wife Veronica, who goes by V, put out the call for a weekly women’s single-elimination bracket tournament, which soon evolved into a double-elimination bracket, which then evolved into a round robin—so popular that spots are often snapped up minutes after Kate posts the event on Playtime Scheduler.
In between was a lot of learning. Running tournaments was challenging and in the early iterations, there was a lot of downtime between matches, late cancellations and no-shows that made tracking games challenging, and lots of paperwork. Even when volunteers stepped up to help (thank you Dana and Doug!), the early tournament format was problematic.
That’s when Marie Abaya, a frequent participant, suggested a round robin format. Kate grumbled a little (change is challenging) but decided to give it a try and the Friday Round Robin was born.
Next came a suggestion from Amy Frederickson, another player, for a ladder league. Kate and V weren’t sure what it would take to get a league started (or even what a ladder league was, to be honest). That’s when player and uber-organizer Yvonne Calavan stepped in. With years of experience running racquetball tournaments, she was up to the task. She interviewed other folks who were running ladder leagues and researched pickleball software. Over coffee and pastries at Kate and V’s kitchen table, the three hashed out the details. Yvonne and V took a deep dive into the inner workings of Pickleball Brackets software—an important tool for running a ladder league—while Kate recruited players.
It turns out that Pickleball Brackets requires a club and league name. And that’s how SeaShore Picklers was born.
After a pilot in August and September 2022, the Seashore Ladder League debuted in October 2022 with its first open session. Now, dozens of women participate in two concurrent ladders (Red or Green depending on skill level). The 8-week sessions run February-October with a three month break over the winter. Kate, V, and Yvonne continue to fine-tune the ladder to make the league as fun, welcoming, and competitive as possible.
Meanwhile, as the round robin became more competitive—both in popularity (i.e. long waiting lists) and skill level—some women expressed an interest in more casual play. Kate and V answered that call with a weekly offshoot, Queens Court.
SeaShore Picklers continued to find new play opportunities. In the fall of 2023 Marie Abaya organized Team Pickleball. Loosely based on Major League Pickleball, Team Pickleball is designed as a women’s competitive development league with players of different skill levels on the same team. The trial run of Team Pickleball had eight teams. Word spread and the second session boasted 12 teams! The format of Team Pickleball continues to evolve as does the team leadership with Marie passing the baton to Laura Meyer and Thea Lerman. Sessions generally run 8 weeks, from April through October (weather dependent, as always).
What else? A newsletter, bi-annual potluck, this website, and a new business venture started by Kate and V, Picklebecks.
Seashore Picklers is also about more than just playing pickleball. Kate, V, and Yvonne believed strongly in contributing to their community. In whatever way SeaShore Picklers grows and evolves, they will continue to be committed to giving back: raising money for pickleball equipment donations, recruiting volunteers for local tournaments, and supporting members in creating offshoot projects to spread the joy of pickleball far and wide.