For the first time ever, Airport Fitness has invited professional pickleball players to Martha’s Vineyard to teach and compete, offering local players a rare chance to learn from top talent as the sport continues to become more popular among younger players.
Connie McHugh, a pickleball pro at Airport Fitness in West Tisbury, said the sport’s popularity has surged throughout the country in recent years, especially in lower-age demographics. McHugh credited this increase in participation to the fun social experience combined with exercise and competition.
Camps will be held at Airport Fitness from July 16 through July 19. The pros will face off in an exhibition match after the July 17 camp session at the fitness club.
“We teach all the time here, but this is the first time we are having people travel to the Vineyard who are professional players,” McHugh said. “The cool thing about the exhibition: It features a woman, Angie Walker, professional tennis player who turned pro in pickleball.”
Each camp session has 16 spots; sessions on the 16th and 17th are already full, and McHugh said the second set of sessions is filling quickly.
Four instructors will lead the camps, three from Moore Elite Pickleball, a pickleball program that hosts camps in New Hampshire, and one of the Islands’ very own, Brendon Ryan, a pickleball pro at Airport Fitness.
“We’re excited to spend the week in Martha’s Vineyard. It’s a great opportunity for our athletes to grow as players, build stronger friendships, and create memories they’ll carry for years,” Ryan Fu, international premier teaching professional at Moore Elite Pickleball, said.
Cobi Moore, the founder of Moore Elite Pickleball who’s competed internationally in professional tournaments through the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and the Association of Pickleball Players (APP), said the team from Moore Elite is excited to make the most out of the camps.
“Any time you can combine high-level instruction with a memorable location like Martha’s Vineyard, it’s a special opportunity,” said Moore.
McHugh, alongside her husband Andrew, and Airport Fitness pickleball pros Ryan and Michael Reidbord organized the camp.
At the camps, coaches will provide on-court instruction and real-time critiques. McHugh said it was the first major professional pickleball event of its kind on the Island.
“I think it’s going to be really cool,” McHugh said.