Nonprofit pickleball organization quickly spreading through Eastern Idaho

RIGBY — Pickleball continues to be one of the fastest-growing sports in the area, and the American Youth Pickleball Organization (AYPO) keeps outgrowing local facilities, with 183 students who signed up this year alone and anticipates growing more next year.

AYPO concluded its two-week tournament last week with 183 students from various schools in Eastern Idaho. This is the second year since Bryan and Stevilynn Tom took over the organization, and they said that the sport is booming.

“To be able to accommodate all of them (the players) to play every week, we have to go over a period of five hours,” Bryan said.

Through this nonprofit organization, the Toms make sure each athlete gets a chance to play and learn pickleball over the course of eight weeks.

During the tournament, there are medals given to first, second, and third place finishers across four divisions of skill. All players receive a participation medal.

“We got beginner, novice, intermediate, and advanced,” Bryan said. “We got anywhere from school teams that have five players to some schools that have over 50 kids.”

A total of seven schools participated in last week’s tournament, and AYPO is looking ahead to expand the organization into more chapters across the upper parts of Idaho.

There are also hopes for a state-wide tournament in the future.

“When we started, we were just high school,” Linn Beck, the director of marketing for AYPO, said in an interview with East Idaho Sports. “But now we’re middle school and high school.”

For a lot of the students who sign up, the Toms said that many of them approach and talk about how pickleball has allowed them opportunities to meet and talk to kids they never would have otherwise.

“I’ve been coaching my whole life, but there is something different about pickleball, a certain magic to it. Everybody can play,” Beck said.

While some students have experienced trials and restrictions in other sports due to health challenges or scheduling, AYPO makes a direct effort to be as accommodating as possible.

“I love these kids,” Stevilynn said. “They’re the reason why we do this … Some of (the kids) have even become friends.”

AYPO currently stands as a fall sport where sign-ups begin as early as June. However, the organization hopes to expand more into spring as more facilities become available.

“We are excited to hear that The Flying Pickle is coming in with over 16 courts. That would allow us to play on a lot more courts at a time,” Bryan said.

More information on AYPO and how to sign up for the next season can be found here. According to the website, early sign-up fees are $125 and go directly into equipment, transportation, and funding the nonprofit.