Listen to this articleSportime Pickleball, a division of Kings Park-based Sportime Clubs, is partnering with a global rating organization in its ongoing pickleball facility expansion.
As part of the partnership, Sportime Pickleball will adopt DUPR (Dynamic Universal Pickleball Rating presented by Delaware Life) as its official rating system and utilize DUPR to coordinate club events, tournaments, level rated play and more, according to a company statement.
“Sportime Pickleball’s partnership with DUPR underscores our commitment to provide our players with the best and most diverse Pickleball programming in the Northeast”, Joe Siegel, Sportime Pickleball’s managing director, said in the statement. “DUPR is the industry’s gold standard for evaluating a player’s level. Our DUPR partnership enables us to offer our players a variety of great programs and events that will allow them to compete with and against other players at their levels, which we know is critical to having a positive pickleball experience.”
DUPR is the official pickleball rating of leagues, tournaments and clubs around the world, including UPA, PPA, MLP, Pickleball.com, LifeTime, The Picklr, National Team Pickleball League, National Pickleball League, Pickleball England and Asian Pickleball Association, among others. The rating firm evaluates players based on match results to provide a real-time assessment of their skill levels, analyzing a player’s match results on a scale ranging in value from 2.000 – 8.000.
“Sportime Pickleball and DUPR share a common goal of making pickleball even more accessible, enjoyable and competitive for players of all levels,” Tito Machado, CEO of DUPR, said in the statement. “Together, we are working to grow the game and to unify the sport for all players under a single common language. Clubs and facilities across the country and around the world look to Sportime for inspiration in growing pickleball in their communities, and we are proud to enhance their efforts to drive even more fun pickleball playing opportunities and continue to support the growth of the game.”
Sportime Pickleball has 68 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts throughout Long Island, Westchester County, New York City and the Albany area. The company is also in the midst of a major expansion of its facilities. Great Neck-based Hornig Capital Partners has been working on a $2.5 million redevelopment in Westbury to create a 30,000-square-foot pickleball facility for Sportime Pickleball that’s slated to open this fall.
The new Westbury venue, designed by Mojo Stumer Associates, will be housed in three buildings on 1.6 acres at 575 Merrick Ave. and will feature13 indoor pickleball courts, a café, pro shop, two party rooms, new locker rooms and showers. The developer is also working on new Sportime Pickleball facilities in Armonk, Englewood, N.J. and Wayne, N.J.
Founded in 1994, Sportime Clubs has more than 190 indoor and outdoor tennis and pickleball courts, fitness clubs and sports arenas. Sportime and Hornig Capital recently completed an $8 million renovation of its 200,000-square-foot Sportime John McEnroe Tennis Academy in Port Washington, which now has 13 tennis courts and 12 pickleball courts.