Plover hosts first 70-and-over pickleball tournament, drawing over 30 players

More than 30 players brought their paddles to Plover on Tuesday for the Heart of Wisconsin Pickleball Association’s first 70-and-over tournament, a turnout that showed how much of pickleball’s next wave is being driven by older amateurs. Instead of treating senior play as a side attraction, the event gave players in a highly specific age band their own competitive lane and proved there is enough demand to fill it.

The local association, which serves Stevens Point, Plover and the greater Portage County area, has been building around the Sentry Pickleball Complex at Lake Pacawa Park in Plover, and this tournament extended that footprint into a format tailored for older players. For a first-time event, drawing more than 30 participants was a strong sign that the appetite for age-based competition goes well beyond open play and casual rec sessions.

That matters because pickleball’s growth is no longer being fueled only by young athletes chasing fast points. Senior divisions are becoming a core part of the sport’s business and participation model, giving older adults a reason to keep competing without having to cross paths with much younger players. Tournament listings on Pickleball.com already show senior amateur brackets split into age bands such as 70 to 74 and 75 to 79, and Plover’s event fit neatly into that broader structure.

The timing also lines up with a bigger demographic shift in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Public Radio reported in April 2026 that community groups are increasingly focused on aging-friendly communities and social connection, with projections showing the state’s population age 65 and older could top 1.5 million by 2040. Pickleball, with its smaller court, manageable pace and built-in social energy, has emerged as one of the clearest ways that trend is playing out in sports.

The game’s staying power for older players is not an accident. The Associated Press has noted that pickleball was invented in 1965, and six decades later it has evolved into a sport with enough depth to support youth, adult, senior, open and age-gapped tournament divisions. Plover’s first 70-and-over event suggested that organizers who adapt for older amateurs can build something durable, not just sentimental, and other communities looking to grow pickleball may copy the model.