MASON CTIY— Mayor Bill Schickel presented a proclamation welcoming a record 260 players from nine states to the Fifth Annual River City Pickleball Classic and will be officially designating Friday through Sunday, July 12-14 as “Pickleball Classic Days at Pickleball Nation Headquarters.”
The ceremony will take place at 8 a.m. Saturday, July 13, at the opening of the tournament at Mason City’s newly expanded East Park Pickleball Courts. The proclamation will be presented to Mason City Pickleball President Mandi Pralle.
“We are delighted to be hosting friends from near and far at Iowa’s only outdoor 12 dedicated pickleball court complex,” Schickel says in the proclamation.
The tournament features competitors from cities across Iowa and from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
“In addition to our growing reputation as the ‘Outdoor Recreation Capital of the Midwest,’ River City also enjoys international recognition for music and art, drawing $100 million in tourism spending annually,” Schickel will tell the visitors.
“We will see spirited play all weekend. However, there are three things beyond competition that people love about pickleball: building a sense of community, making friends and having fun,” Schickel said.
“I invite the entire community to join me in showing some radical River City hospitality to welcome our visitors,” Schickel said. “And we invite our guests to discover why so many visitors of today are becoming River City transplants of tomorrow.”