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Pickleball Union sat down with National Pickleball League co-founders Beth Herr Bellamy, Michael Chen, and Rick Witsken to learn about the format of the Champions Level league, response from the community, growth plans, and more.
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0:00
foreign
0:10
there was a desperate need for Champions
0:14
level players to have team play in a
0:19
league format many of us talked about it
0:23
and we're very excited about that kind
0:26
of format and in addition to that it was
0:30
becoming apparent that for the
0:33
visibility of Champions level players we
0:36
needed to have an independent
0:39
production to properly
0:43
showcase the skills and talents both on
0:47
and off the court of our players
0:54
I think people are feeling more and more
0:56
positive about it but in general we
0:58
received such unbelievable support from
1:02
our group of fellow top Champions Pros
1:05
that we needed to sign on to sort of get
1:07
this thing going
1:09
um I mean we had
1:11
five out of the top five ranked women in
1:14
the world and probably
1:16
I would say maybe eight out of the top
1:18
ten sign on immediately really without
1:21
knowing much about it other than what we
1:23
told them same thing with the men
1:26
um Rick can speak to that but
1:28
again I think everybody was just we
1:31
weren't saying we were gonna you know
1:32
change their lives we were gonna we were
1:34
offering this as we want to get
1:36
something fun another alternative to
1:38
tournaments another opportunity for you
1:40
guys out there and so I don't think it
1:41
was that hard for them to
1:43
um take a chance on us but like I said I
1:46
think the trust is building and the more
1:47
we the more information that's coming
1:49
out about it um people are even more
1:51
excited to get Naples Naples Pitbull
1:54
Center which is the pigball capital
1:55
world to say I'm on board 100 I think
1:58
builds a lot of credibility that they
2:00
believe in pickleball they have the
2:03
everyone goes in Naples could pick a
2:04
ball that's why I'm here in Naples as
2:06
well and to see Bob strowman be so
2:10
passionate not only about the game he
2:11
wants to be part of league but he wants
2:13
to be a league not because he wants to
2:14
win championship of course everyone
2:15
wants to win Champion but he says I want
2:17
to build a team of people that have
2:19
chemistry that will have fun that
2:21
creates community that loves the game
2:23
and I want to build a legacy and that's
2:25
why he was interested in our league
2:27
because he goes a lot Legacy of the game
2:29
where all these Champion Pros that
2:31
create the game you know starting back
2:34
in the 60s till now and those are the
2:37
ones that made it successful all the
2:39
young pickleball players today and he
2:41
his name he has called jbb Naples jbb
2:44
United is a recognition to the old stars
2:47
that built the game
2:53
when you have a league and we're
2:54
requiring every team to have the base in
2:57
the city you can rally the city around
2:59
the team which is a very important
3:01
versus rallying you know
3:04
uh people around just two players and
3:06
and and and Champion Pros people 51
3:09
communities so we're making the team a
3:10
lot larger than MLB as well we're gonna
3:13
have 12 to 20 players on team because 12
3:15
to 20 players commit creates Community
3:17
around the team two to four players
3:18
doesn't really create a community so we
3:20
feel that by having much more of an
3:22
exclusive
3:24
uh number of people on a team or create
3:26
a pickleball community and like Rick
3:28
said this is much more about just
3:29
winning a championship in the league
3:31
it's about creating a community for the
3:33
champion pearls for recognizing the
3:34
legacy of the players that start of the
3:36
game and rally hopefully many cities
3:38
Across the Nation around pickleball and
3:41
Champion Pros as well
3:47
I really do believe that
3:50
um cities will rally around the team to
3:52
see for me just kind of like formulating
3:55
people wearing not only what I'm wearing
3:57
npl merchantment as a texture but even
3:59
to theirs they have to have their City
4:00
on their chest with npl and you know
4:03
what it's doing for these
4:06
um
4:07
Pros let me just like long term thinking
4:10
about playing home in a way like they do
4:11
in the NFL or Major League Baseball I
4:13
think it'd be really cool walking into a
4:15
stadium because everywhere is being is
4:18
building new and new facilities left and
4:20
right and they're going to be doing it
4:21
nicer and nicer so you know I just see
4:24
long-term nice venues music crowds and I
4:28
really believe that that's going to
4:30
happen and we don't need it to happen
4:32
you know but and the chicken tickles are
4:35
a really nice facilities we're gonna
4:36
have a great time there but I just
4:39
believe that the expansion of teams and
4:40
cities and models and Home and Away
4:43
merchandise like to me it's just um just
4:46
we're just a Discerning point in my
4:48
Minds
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