Holston Habitat brings back Rally for Roofs pickleball fundraiser in Tri-Cities
Rally for Roofs is back May 7-9 in three Tri-Cities cities, after drawing more than 250 players and raising over $15,000 in its first year.
Holston Habitat for Humanity is turning Rally for Roofs into something bigger than a one-off charity tournament. The second-year event will run May 7-9 across Kingsport, Johnson City and Elizabethton, with a lineup built to pull in everyone from 55-plus players to advanced DUPR veterans, while sending the proceeds toward affordable homes across the Tri-Cities.
The return carries real momentum. In its inaugural year, Rally for Roofs drew more than 250 participants and raised more than $15,000, giving the fundraiser a track record before it ever reached year two. This time around, the event has a title sponsor in Eastman Credit Union and a presenting partner in Eastman Recreation, signs that the tournament has grown into a regional draw rather than a novelty on the calendar.
Holston Habitat has set the format to keep the courts moving. Tournament play will use round robin brackets with a minimum of six games, followed by medal rounds for every division. The bracket list includes 55-plus, novice at 2.5-3.0 DUPR, intermediate at 3.0-4.0 DUPR and advanced at 4.0-plus DUPR. Moneyball divisions will add cash prizes for top finishers, giving stronger players an extra incentive to enter.
The action will be spread across three familiar stops for Tri-Cities pickleball: Kingsport Riverview Pickleball Center at 301 Louis Street in Kingsport, Memorial Park Community Center at 510 Bert St. in Johnson City and E-Town Pickleball @ The Warehouse at 175 Hudson Dr. in Elizabethton. Registration is open now and closes May 5, the same deadline for full refunds.
The tournament fits neatly into Holston Habitat’s larger local footprint. In 2023, the organization marked its 328th home and its 20th in Carter County during Jesse’s Build in Elizabethton, a project expected to take 13 weeks and more than 2,000 hours of labor. By the time E-Town Pickleball opened in April 2024 as the Tri-Cities’ only dedicated fully climate-controlled indoor pickleball facility, the region’s court scene had already started to look like the kind of infrastructure that can support repeat community events.
That is what makes Rally for Roofs stand out. It is no longer just a fundraiser with paddles. It is becoming part of the Tri-Cities pickleball rhythm, a multi-city event that gives players a place to compete, gives sponsors a visible way to help, and gives Holston Habitat another practical engine for the housing work that has defined its last four decades.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
