NOVA amateur pickleball tournament raises $2,870 for Alzheimer’s causes

Fifty-three players turned Northern Virginia’s fourth annual NOVA Amateur Pickleball Tournament into a weekend that produced both champions and a charitable haul of more than $2,870 for Alzheimer’s-related initiatives. The event mixed competition with a fundraiser built around registrations, sponsorships and a raffle, and it showed how a modest amateur draw can still generate real money when the community is tight and the format is organized.

The tournament opened May 30 at Rolling Valley West Park before moving to OneLife Fitness in Burke, which served as the host sponsor for the rest of the weekend. That venue shift mattered on a practical level, giving the tournament a municipal starting point and then a private indoor base to finish the bracket play, a setup that has become common for amateur pickleball events that need more than one kind of space to finish cleanly.

On court, the Beginner Division went to Michele and Kyle Fletcher, who beat Eileen Kwak and Sean Buckley in the final. The Intermediate Division belonged to Al Graziano and John Rehberger, who defeated Lindsay Kwane and Melissa Gezgic. The results gave the fundraiser the shape of a true tournament, not just a charity rally, with divisions, finals and clear winners driving the weekend’s competitive edge.

The event’s off-court details helped it feel bigger than its entry list. Players shared breakfast items, local restaurants provided lunch, and gift certificates from area businesses were handed out through random drawings. Each participant also received a mini portable speaker as a thank-you gift, a small touch that helped the tournament feel more like a neighborhood showcase than a standard weekend bracket.

The cause gave the event a wider purpose. The Alzheimer’s Association estimated that 7.2 million Americans age 65 and older were living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2025, and its 2026 facts-and-figures materials say about 7.4 million Americans are currently living with clinical Alzheimer’s dementia. The association also says Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation an estimated $409 billion in 2026. That scale explains why a Northern Virginia tournament mattered beyond the pickleball lines, especially with the Alzheimer’s Association National Capital Area Chapter serving Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Organizers are already planning for next year, hoping to bring in even more players, sponsors and spectators. For one weekend in Burke, amateur pickleball did what the best local sports events often do: it created competition, pulled in businesses and left behind money for a cause families know too well.