Announcing the 1st Annual jojo+lo Pickleball Open!
Feb 22, 2024
Jojo and I love pickleball tournaments! We love to play in them and we love to set-up our pop-up shop at as many pickleball tournaments as we can throughout the year. In fact, our business was launched shortly after we played in our first pickleball tournament together. In the winter of 2021 we registered for the PPA Arizona Grand Slam at the JW Marriott in Phoenix, Arizona. We couldn't find anything online that was cute and specifically for pickleball to compete in as doubles partners. It was the spark that launched jojo+lo Pickleball Wear ~ With Flair! Soon after, we started brainstorming ideas for pickleball clothing designs that we could proudly wear on and off the courts...and of course at tournaments!
Karen, Cindy, JoJo and Lo at the Arizona Grand Slam in Phoenix, 2021
Our love of pickleball tournaments has now inspired us to host our very first tournament! We couldn’t be more excited to announce that the 1st Annual jojo+lo Pickleball Open will be held on May 18 & 19 at our favorite pickleball destination in Lake Odessa, Michigan. Lake Odessa has 8 new fenced-in courts in an idyllic setting surrounded by farmland, rolling hills, and a beautiful lake just down the road. It truly is a field of dreams. We're excited to join the ranks of so many awesome 2024 pickleball tournaments in Michigan.
We want our event to be extra special and to stand apart from other pickleball tournaments, so we came up with the idea of having a family-friendly day!
On the 2nd day of the tournament, families are invited to play together. So parents or grandparents can partner with their child or grandchild. Any mix of male and female family pickleball partners can play together. The family brackets will be split-up per combined skill level. So if a father is a 3.5 and plays with his daughter who is a 2.5 they will register in the 3.0 bracket.
Jojo couldn't be more excited that her family and other families will have the opportunity to play competitively together! Jodi's dad, Ken has been playing competitive tennis since he was 16. At the age of 76 he has recently picked up pickleball and is getting really good very quickly! Ken and his wife Linda just decided to winter in the Villages where he is now playing 3-4 times a week. Jojo has played in several tennis tournaments with her dad but this will be their first pickleball tournament playing together...and her dad's first pickleball tournament ever! Ken doesn't know it yet, but Jojo is planning on being the dominant player on their team. 😂 Watch out Ken!!! Her mom Linda will be cheering on their family, and also helping us run our pop-up shop. Jojo's husband Peter will play with their 12 year old daughter Ella who has been playing tennis since she was 5. When it comes to pickleball, she is a natural and loves it! She can't wait to play in her first pickleball tournament with her dad. We are both so excited that this tournament will bring their family, and so many other families together, making new pickleball memories.
JoJo, Linda, Ella, Ken and Peter just dinking around in Siesta Key, FL
We also want our tournament t-shirt to be extra special! Jojo's inspiration was the beautiful setting in Lake Odessa, and all of the beautiful lakes in the Great Lake state of Michigan. The centerpiece of the artwork is a yellow pickleball sun rising above the various shades of blue lake waves. The bright rays of sunshine are symbolic of how pickleball is a sunny spot in many of our lives. She used line art in bright bold colors that would “pop”. We decided that this year navy shirts will be the perfect backdrop for this sunny design.
Since we are an apparel business, the jojo+lo Pickleball Open pickleball t-shirts really matter to us! We want our participants to love them and wear them. We would be crushed if our tournament shirts ended up in the bottom of a drawer, never to be worn! It’s so important to us, that instead of one basic t-shirt, we are offering our participants four styles of our best-selling shirts to choose from when they register. For women, we are offering a performance v-neck t-shirt, as well as a performance racerback tank top. Our men’s shirt will be a performance moisture-wicking t-shirt. Men, women and children may also choose our very popular tri-blend crew t-shirt. As I said to Jojo…I absolutely love it that our participants will have an opportunity to shop while registering for our tournament!
jojo+lo Pickleball Open 2024 Tournament Shirts
We are having so much fun planning this tournament and we are learning so much! Our pickleball friends and families have been so supportive, offering to help us with finding food trucks, volunteering, and some even want to sponsor our event! Please shout out if you want to get involved or have any ideas for us. Thank you for all of your support…we can’t wait to see you and your families at the 1st Annual jojo+lo Pickleball Open! To see updates and photos for the jojo+lo Pickleball Open, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
