2022 Diamond Amateur Championships
Posted on December 12, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
Earlier this month Brian and I traveled to Florida so I could compete in the first ever Diamond Amateur Championships. I qualified to compete when I won triple gold earlier this year at the Middle States Diamond Regional tournament in St. Louis. This was our first time at Pictona in Holly Hill, FL. The facility is amazing! They have 49 dedicated pickleball courts in one location, with 13 of them covered, and one being a championship court with stadium seating.
My competition dates were December 1, 2, and 4 and so Brian and I traveled there on November 30 and traveled home on December 5. Brian originally found a cute one bedroom and one bath rental that was directly across the street from the venue and would only be a six-minute walk. However, a week before we were to arrive, we found out that the property incurred some hurricane damage and we could not stay there so we had to scramble and quickly find another place. The new place we found was about 15-20 minutes walk to Pictona. It’s close to the venue but quite a longer ways to walk. Thankfully, Ramon had a rental car. He stayed with Ryan and Kendra at a rental about 2 minutes car ride from our place so we all carpooled each morning while they were there.
Our rental check-in was originally 3:00 PM but we landed in Daytona around 11-ish. I reached out to the host and she said the earliest we could get in would be 1:30 PM so Brian and I decided to go straight to the venue from the airport. I dropped Brian off the Kitchen to have lunch and then went roaming around hoping to find some people I recognized.
As luck would have it, I ran into Jill Blessinger, Jill Thyr, and Kim Stevenson, and they didn’t have a fourth. I think their fourth player was on the way but, as she was there yet, I got to play with them in her place. I met Jill B earlier this year at Marco Island when I went to open play with Joe and Cindy Witte when we were all there for the US Open. It was my first time meeting the other Jill but I had seen Kim at other tournaments before. Anyway, I was so happy to be able to play a little. I mean, I love food just as much as the next person but pickleball > food. Actually, there’s not much in this world higher than pickleball on my list currently. In fact, pickleball > sex these days. And we all know how much I love sex.
Around 1:15 PM, I went back to check on Brian who was feeling much better having eaten lunch. We checked in to our Airbnb and then took a nap (because we were up super early that morning for our 5:00 AM flight). It worked out because it actually rained in the afternoon so I couldn’t play anyway. Then, when Ramon arrived (he actually arrived a day earlier than I expected because I didn’t think he was going to come out until Thursday), the three of us went to dinner at Hull’s Seafood and hung out before Ramon had to drive to the airport to pick up Ryan and Kendra.
The next day was women’s doubles day. Kendra, though she isn’t particularly fond of pink, was a good sport and wore the neon pink Lucky in Love outfits that I picked out for us. I thought it was fitting because the color is perfect for Florida sunshine.
Thursday was fantastic. It was great having our friends there to watch and cheer. Kendra and I won our pool and advanced to the playoffs and then, eventually, to the championship. Brian got all of our matches on video and they’re posted here.
Photographer Toni Bocz got a ton of great pics and they’re posted here.
Kendra and I ended up taking finishing first overall and first in our age group, punching our ticket to 2023 USA Pickleball National Championships.
Friday was mixed doubles day. Ryan and Kendra had an 8:00 AM start so we all decided to carpool. Ramon and I didn’t have to play until later in the day but we wanted to be there to cheer them on.
Ramon and I played in 3.5 35+ but the teams had much higher DUPRs than that. We actually looked everyone up leading to the tournament just to see how we stood. Ramon and I had the third highest DUPR of our division so, while I liked our odds, I knew that it would be a competitive field because there were two other teams higher than us. To top it off, we had the three teams with the highest DUPRs in our pool. I was relieved to make it to the playoffs.
We ended up re-matching the one team that we lost to in our pool and, though we got really close this time around, they still beat us. So we finished in second place. No ticket to Nationals for us but there’s still plenty of chances throughout the coming year to earn a spot.
Saturday was men’s doubles day so I had a break but Brian and I spent most of the day at the tournament live streaming our friends’ matches. Ramon and Jason ended up in 4th place in 4.5 35+ and then Mike and Dave went completely undefeated in their division, 4.5 55+. Videos of all their matches are available here.
On Sunday, I fought off minor period cramps and ended third place overall in women’s singles 3.0 19+ 35+ and earned gold in my age group. That’s my second golden ticket so I already have a spot in two events at Nationals. I just need to earn my mixed doubles spot. You can see the full results of the Diamond Amateur Championships here.
This was one of the best, most organized, well-run tournaments I’d ever participated in. I had a ton of fun competing, meeting people, making new friends, and hanging out with my pickleball pals. I am so glad that I got to be there for the first one and that I brought back three medals. And, that I have Nationals to look forward to next year. I originally thought this would be my last pickleball event this year but I’ve got two more (a team event in Kansas City and a team event at the Pickle Club) local ones to cap off the year. I just love having these tournaments and events to look forward to. I’m already thinking of which ones (besides Nationals) to hit next year. Until then, GNG.
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