The growing popularity of pickleball in Lancaster County is evident at Bent Creek Country Club in Manheim Township, which now hosts the newly established Central PA Pro Pickleball League. This league includes sponsors, and enthusiastic fans, and offers a championship payout.
The league consists of 4 teams with 7 male and female players. Two dates of competition have been scheduled. The first came in April.
the league will have a regular season where teams play a series of scheduled games. After the regular season ends, the top teams will compete in playoff games to determine the finalists. The season will culminate in a championship match held in November, where the final two teams will compete for the league title.
The inaugural championship team will get six thousand dollars, which will be divided among the players.
“These are all pro players,” Bent Creek Country Club director of pickleball Brandon Wortkotter said. “Their rating is 4.5 or higher. That was the minimum rating to be in it.”
USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body in the US, has a skill rating ranging from 1.0 for beginners to 5.5 for top-caliber players.
“It’s an amazing concept,” 40-year-old Mountville resident Steve Borja Jr. said. “I’ve been shocked at the traction the league has gotten in its 1st year. We had 100 fans here the first week. I didn’t expect that.”
