Pictured: Danielle Pfeil, Janet Kempton, Yanette Davis, Grayson Hall, Jennifer Bright and Tatyana Ayaroglu.

The Play for Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Pickleball Club, recently celebrated winners from its first tournament. Benefiting the foundation’s mission, the tournament was held on July 29 at The Pickleball Club near Lakewood Ranch. The 3.0/4.0 women’s and men’s doubles tournament were open to the public and brought in more than $5,000 in entrance fees and donated $1,000 of the proceeds to The Play for Life Foundation.  In total, 43 teams competed during the 10-hour event. “We are so thankful to all of the players who came out for our first tournament and are extremely proud and humbled to see how our foundation is changing lives through pickleball,” said Valerie McCarthy, executive director of the foundation. “By serving youth, veterans and first responders, we have seen first-hand how the sport is decreasing stress levels, encouraging teamwork and promoting healthy lifestyles.” Youth clubs and organizations, schools, veteran programs, fire stations, EMTs, police departments, sheriff offices and highway patrols are encouraged to request a Club-N-Box. Each box contains nets, paddles, balls and instructional material on how to play and setup a court. Qualified requests will be granted a Club-N-Box free of charge. The Foundation has distributed over 40 Club-N-Boxes to date at a cost of $24,000. Each Club-N-Box benefits 200 to 1,000 recipients.  The foundation relies on local businesses and individual support for most of its funding for the Club-N-Boxes. For more information or to donate to help fund a box, visit P4L.org. 

Pictured: Danielle Pfeil, Janet Kempton, Yanette Davis, Grayson Hall, Jennifer Bright and Tatyana Ayaroglu.