TOURNAMENT IN BRIEF

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The Finland 2nd International Pickleball Tournament, The 2nd Finnish Pickleball Open, will take place on June 9–11, 2017 in the city of Espoo at "Esport Center", the largest indoor sports complex in the Nordic countries. We will play women's, men's and mixed doubles and are welcoming players from all countries. The deadline for registration is May 19, 2017. The Primary Event and the Official Paddle Sponsor of the tournament is ProLite Sports from USA. (More about the co-operation >)

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Weather you are a seasoned player aiming for the medals or have recently started to play and want to experience what pickleball tournament is all about, we welcome you to participate. We'll do our best to give you a great time, enjoy pickleball, as well as meet old and make lots of new friends. 

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Tournament infomation

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• Dates: June 9-11, 2017

• Location: Esport Center, Tapiola Sports Park, Koivu-Mankkaantie 3, 02200 Espoo, Finland

• Up to max. 16 badminton courts available, depending on the total number of participants. Correct kitchen lines will be marked and portable pickleball nets will be used. 

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Competition format & rules

 

• The tournament categories are based on skill level (official or self-estimated).

• All playing levels are welcome

• Events include Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

• Intention to have all games refereed. All players should referee or provide a replacement to referee for themselves

• Participants are guaranteed a minimum of 4 games per event

• The Tournament Director reserves the right to modify divisions, age categories and competition format (from age to skill based) based on number of participants to make the categories relatively even, interesting and to ensure enough games to players. Groups may be combined or cancelled if insufficient entries and more age categories may be added if needed. 

• International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) official rules will apply. Official rules can be found at www.ipickleball.org. Note: Although we play for medals, we also play to have fun and to meet fellow pickleballers from other countries. This is a non-sanctioned tournament.

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Tournament schedule (tentative, will be confirmed)

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Friday afternoon/evening, June 9th:

• Registration

• Free warm-up play

• Clinics (the ProLite Pros Gigi LeMaster, Cookie Drake, Brian Ashworth & Bill Ritchie)

• Exhibition match (the ProLite Pros)

• Referee session

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Saturday, June 10th:

• ​Women's doubles

• Men's doubles

• Medal ceremony for Women's and Men's doubles

• Tournament dinner 

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Sunday, June 11th:

• Mixed doubles

• Medal Ceremony for Mixed Doubles

• Closing of the tournament

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Tournament fees

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• Registration fee 30 €

• Women's or Men's doubles 10 €

• Mixed doubles 10 €

• Tournament dinner (Saturday) 32 €

• Special tournament t-shirt (dry-fit material, unisex model) 15 €

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The venue & additional program

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Esport Center (Koivu-Mankkaantie 3, Tapiola, Espoo) is located in the Tapiola Sports Park, just 15–20 minutes from Helsinki. Esport center offers a wide range of facilities for visitors, such as café with 70 seats, a pro shop, spacious locker & shower rooms with saunas (of course in Finland!) and reception personnel ready to help you. With public transportation it's easy to arrive to Esport Center weather you're staying in Helsinki center or somewhere in Espoo closer to the venue. Check out how to get there by public transportation.

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Our goal is to arrange also other kind of voluntary & self-paid activities for participants before the tournament. In addition, there will be more pickleball available at different venues (price 5 €/2 hours) in Espoo on our regular game sessions during the tournament week, prior to the official events. So if you arrive early, you will have time to see the sights and hit the ball to get your game in perfect shape before the tournament begins. More information about the additional program will be announced later. Check out tips for what to see & do in Espoo, Helsinki and elsewhere in Finland.

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Registration & payments

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Registration will be done by using an online form. Fill in carefully all the required information. Please note, that each player has to register personally and accept the Release, Permission and Indemnity Agreement Waiver by submitting the form.

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The payment method is bank transfer to the organizer’s bank account. After submitting the registration form we will send an email with the fees and bank account number. All fees will be in euros (€). Fees are due immediately, so please register only when you are also ready to pay the fees. For identifying, please submit your name and given reference number with the payment. Players who submit a registration but do not make the payment are NOT registered. No registration will be processed until payment is received. We recommend to register in early as the number of participants may have to be limited.

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Please visit the Tournament FAQ page to review the cancellation and refund policy before submitting your registration.

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Lodging

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We have arranged a special deal with the hotel closest to the venue. Read more about tips for accommodation.

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Additional information – FAQ

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Please see the FAQ page for more details about practicalities. Should you have any questions or concerns you can't find an answer to, don't hesitate to send an email at pickleballtournament.finland@gmail.com. 

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  Players needing partners  

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We recommend that you try to find yourself a partner for your chosen events BEFORE your registration. Submitting your partner's name(s) with your registration will save us a lot of time and effort. NOTE: every player has to fill in the registration separately.

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In case you don't yet have a partner, you can still register and start looking for a partner by writing a post on the Tournament Forum. Or you can try to find one by using the Tournament Players' Facebook Group. This would save us a lot of work. NOTE: Please send us an email (including your partner's name and which events they play with you) immediately after you have found a partner. Thank you.

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Organizer

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Pickleball Finland

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Tournament email: pickleballtournament.finland@gmail.com

Website: www.pickleballfinland.fi

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pickleballfinland

Facebook (tournament event): www.facebook.com/events/1832555880355662/

Facebook (tournament group): www.facebook.com/groups/1783282158619186/

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Tournament director: Tuomo Antikainen

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NOTE: Information on this page (such as the schedule and competition format) may be subject to changes without further notice until it's confirmed after the registration deadline.