IN HONOR OF NATIONAL PICKLEBALL DAY: 6TH ANNUAL GAINESVILLE PICKLEBALL INDOOR SHOWCASE HOSTED BY GAINESVILLE SPORTS COMMISSION AND TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME TO BENEFIT ELDERCARE OF ALACHUA COUNTY WAS OVERWHELMING SUCCESS
GAINESVILLE, FLA. – The 2023 Gainesville Indoor Pickleball Showcase Hosted by Gainesville Sports Commission and presented by Touching Hearts at Home has come to an end after three days of exciting pickleball matches.
The 6th annual Gainesville Indoor Pickleball Showcase featured 410 players of varying ages and skill levels. In addition, 249 (60%) of the participants came from out of town to play in the showcase.
The event took place at the Alachua County Sports & Event Center in Celebration Pointe and it was also the first pickleball tournament to take place in the new facility. 21 pickleball courts were running simultaneously throughout the three days. Friday, August 4 featured men’s and women’s singles match. Saturday, August 5 featured women’s doubles and men’s doubles while Sunday, August 6 pitted mixed doubles teams against each other. Gold, silver and bronze medals were distributed to the top three winners in each bracket.
Christina Ramos, Executive Director of Touching Hearts at Home explained their connection with the event: “Knowing that pickleball is the fastest growing sport, we approached the Gainesville Sports Commission a little over three years ago to see if they would be open to making their event a charity tournament to support seniors in our local community. We are very blessed and honored that the Gainesville Sports Commission said ‘yes’ to partnering with us to support a local charity each year. We’re all very proud to support ElderCare of Alachua County, which serves countless seniors here in our local community.”
Since the Gainesville Sport Commission’s partnership with Touching Hearts at Home, the annual pickleball showcase has donated $10 for every registration. With 410 registrants at this year’s event, $4,100 was donated to ElderCare of Alachua County. In addition, community sponsors paid sponsorship fees to table all three days at the event and interact with participants and fans. Touching Hearts at Home also worked with community partners to sell food and beverage at the event and 100% of all sales also benefited ElderCare of Alachua County. Prime & Pearl and The Keys Piano Bar and Grill donated hamburgers, hotdogs, and mimosas for the annual “Dink & Drink” Mimosa Bar.
Overall, it is estimated that over $12,000 will be donated to ElderCare of Alachua County from the tournament proceeds. These monies will benefit so many seniors in need within our community.
The Gainesville Sports Commission and Touching Hearts at Home would like to thank the following community sponsors for their support:
- Title Sponsor: CAMPUS USA
- Platinum Sponsors: Life Care Medical Transport, Prime & Pearl, The Keys Piano Bar & Grill, The Village at Gainesville, UF Health Rehab Hospital
- Gold Sponsors: Choreograph Gainesville, Florida Blue Medicare, Haven Hospice, Portal Realty
- Media Sponsors: KISS 105.3, Mainstreet Daily News, Classic Hits 100.9
- Silver Sponsors: Visit Gainesville, Mi Apa Latin Café, Loly Event & Décor, Fyzical, Daurine Wehbe
VIDEO AND PHOTO DOWNLOAD LINK: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/15d9503f9808af887401bdc83fe4f50f20230807014057/f4a080
Interviews are available by request. Please contact Christina Ramos, Executive Director & Administrator at (352) 283-0468 or [email protected]
About Gainesville Sports Commission Founded in 1988, the Gainesville Sports Commission (GSC) is a not-for-profit organization that strives to promote tourism through sports while creating a positive economic impact on Gainesville and Alachua County. The Gainesville Sports Commission is a liaison that brings sporting events to our local community and assists with hosting, creating and supporting over 70 events annually. Since its inception, Gainesville Sports Commission has directly contributed more than 300 million dollars of economic growth. By bringing participants and spectators to sporting events, Gainesville Sports Commission creates approximately 20 million dollars annually of direct economic impact for our community.
About Touching Hearts at Home
Touching Hearts at Home provides in-home care and personal care services for seniors and adults with medical conditions and/or disabilities. Touching Hearts at Home’s team of compassionate caregivers are background checked, drug tested, trained, insured, bonded and specialize in Alzheimer’s/Dementia care, Parkinson’s care, respite care, hospice care, assisted living community care and fall precautions. This family-owned and operated company has been a part of the Gainesville community for over nine years, and provide exceptional care for seniors and adults in Alachua County and 11 surrounding counties including Columbia, Bradford, Citrus, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union. Visit HTTP://TouchingHearts.com/Gainesville for more information. FL License #
About ElderCare of Alachua County ElderCare of Alachua County is committed to raising money and awareness of the services and programs needed to enable seniors to remain independent in their own home for as long as they are able to. We are a 100 percent grant- and donation-funded agency.
Serving seniors and adults in our community for over eleven years!
Our Website: www.touchinghearts.com/Gainesville-LakeCity