Long Island pickleball challenge blends competition with retreat-like community feel

The Long Island Pickleball Challenge at SPORTIME Hempstead Lake had the feel of a small retreat wrapped around a serious bracket. Doubles teams played through round-robin matches and then into knockout rounds across four divisions, with a complimentary continental breakfast and a happy hour giving the day the kind of easy social rhythm that keeps players lingering after their last match.

That mix of competition and hospitality was the point. Tournament Director David Sickmen thanked title sponsor Orlin & Cohen Orthopedic Group for helping make the event run smoothly, and he credited SPORTIME Hempstead Lake and co-director Michelle Stoerback for the court setup and organization. For a tournament that Long Island Tennis Magazine described as the first outdoor event in its 2026 Event Series, the venue mattered as much as the draw sheet.

SPORTIME Hempstead Lake sits inside Hempstead Lake State Park on Long Island’s South Shore and says it runs an extended outdoor season from April through October. The club lists six dedicated pickleball courts and four hybrid pickleball courts, while the state park’s own listing adds the broader setting: 18 tennis courts, trails, picnic areas, and a historic hand-carved wooden carousel. That combination makes the site feel closer to a destination than a pop-up court block in a parking lot.

The action on court matched the setting. In the Men’s Doubles 3.5-4.0 Division final, Josh Lesh and John Enriquez erased a 5-10 deficit and won the last 10 points to take the title. Enriquez called the finish all or nothing, while Lesh said the timeout mattered because he was cramping and needed the reset. In the Men’s Doubles 4.0-4.5 Division, Brad Berger and Jordan Engel beat Luis Paloma and James Valerio 15-10 despite hot, humid, and windy conditions.

That format has clearly worked before. The 2023 and 2024 editions of the same event used round-robin play feeding into knockout rounds, and both leaned on catered breakfast, drinks, and a social atmosphere that players described as fun and well run. The 2026 stop continued that pattern, showing how a local tournament can function like a compact retreat when the venue, hospitality, and scheduling all pull in the same direction.

The bigger lesson is hard to miss. Pickleball’s U.S. base has exploded from 4.8 million players in 2022 to 24.3 million in 2025, and tournaments like this help turn that demand into repeat visits. At Hempstead Lake, the competition gave players a reason to come, but the community feel, the park setting, and the polished court experience gave them a reason to stay.