Starting a pickleball club at your school
Why should I start a pickleball club?
UHSPA’s vision is to help pickleball become a sanctioned sport in Utah. In order for this to happen, 30% of UHSAA member schools need to have pickleball as a sponsored emerging sport. This equates to approximately 50 High Schools in Utah. UHSPA would love to see every High School in Utah with a pickleball club, and we are here to help you know how to start one.
Our goal is to get as many High Schools set up with pickleball clubs as possible for the 2025-2026 season, so that they will be counted during the UHSAA surveys this fall for the sanctioning process.
How should I start a club?
Please see this onboarding document for the steps on how to start a club at your school.
Should I still start a club if our school is too far away to compete or if we missed the registration deadline?
Absolutely! During our first season, we only had room for 24 High Schools, but we are now ready to grow and expand both along the Wasatch Front as well as in Southern Utah.
In future years when pickleball is sanctioned, we envision that the sport will be played just like any other high school sport, region to region, culminating in the State Championship. We need every High School in Utah to form a club, so that you can help us achieve the goal of helping pickleball get sanctioned in Utah, and so that your students get a chance to be a part of a club sport that is inclusive, positive, fun, and helps improve mental health.
More Information
Click here for additional help for coaches/advisors when starting a club.
Click here for additional information on DUPR Digital Clubs
Click here to get information on how to apply for Selkirk’s Growth Program and get free paddles for your High School Team.
Click here to see a list of the Junior High Schools and which High Schools they feed into.