Unfortunately, I didn't read Nancy and Leo's reviews before I played in a WPA tournament. My experience was just as terrible as theirs. You can skip to my summary at the end, or read the details if you like.
I should have known something was wrong as soon as I registered. This is no "World Pickleball Association tournament." This is more like "John Gill's tiny pickleball tournament." There was no transparency -- no way to know who else signed up, or even how many others signed up for our event.
3 days before, I got an automated email stating that we would be in the DUPR under 4.00 division, essentially a 3.5 event, not the 3.0 event my wife and I signed up for. I asked the tournament director, John Gill, to withdraw, as this was not appropriate for us. He assured me that there were enough players at our level, that everyone had DUPR ratings under 3.5, or they didn't have ratings.
John flat out lied to me. The other players' DUPR ratings were 3.8, 3.6, 3.6, and 3.4 before the tournament. Besides me and my wife, there were only 4 other players under 4.0. These are facts, not my opinion. John knew this, and I think he chose to lie to me because without me and my wife, he would have had to combine all the players (including 4.0+) into one division.
We tried to make the most of it. We played the 2 other teams and tried to have fun. Unfortunately, the tournament was utterly disorganized. Want to know why? It's because John played in the tournament, rather than running it! He gave a brief talk at the beginning, and then he was unavailable. There was nobody running the tournament, just one helper writing down scores.
After we played a couple games against each team, we waited for someone to tell us what to do next. We waited, and waited, and waited. For about 45 minutes. Finally I interrupted John during a game, and he said that the 2nd place team should play the 3rd place team. I told him we needed help figuring that out, but there was nobody to help us, so we ended up arguging about it. He had one volunteer entering scores, but she had no idea what was going on.
One of the other players made a decision, so we went ahead and played the other team, which turned out to be wrong. As I learned the next day through Pickleball Brackets, it was a tricky issue involving the order of the 2nd and 3rd tiebreakers. So we (#3) played the #1 team when we should have played the #2 team, and that was the end of our tournament. We grabbed our 3rd place medals and left. John was still playing.
I should also add that the venue (Westgate Hotel, Las Vegas) was disappointing. There were 8 outdoor courts, way too close together, with very little netting or fencing separating the courts. There was no water at the courts, just an empty water jug, so we had to go hunt for it. Snacks consisted of a few bananas and a bag of oranges. There was no swag or anything else to make this tournament remotely worth $70 per person.
So here's my summary:
1. There was no organization whatsoever. The supposed tournament director, John Gill, played in the event when he was supposed to be running it. He did not run it at all, and neither did anyone else.
2. John lied to me about our opponents' DUPR ratings. He combined divisions due to low turnout, and our opponents were far above the level we signed up for. There were no other players at our level.
3. The courts were disappointing. Also snacks were poor, and there was no swag, nothing remotely worth $70.
Did we have a good time? Well, the weather was nice, and I got to spend time with my wife and play pickleball. We made the most of it.
If this sounds like a good tournament to you, then by all means, sign up for the next one. We won't.
Addendum: After I posted this review, John Gill called me because he wanted me to take it down. Rather than acknowledging any of my points, he accused me of being a complainer because I lost. I told him that if he disagrees with anything I said in my review, he can respond in writing here.
Addendum #2: And there you have it. John replied to my comment, and his disjointed and disorganized response speaks for itself. 3 out of 7 reviews so far are 1 star, because this is how he treats his customers. It is really exasperating talking to a business owner who won't listen to anything you say. If this is what you want, take your chances and play in his tournaments!
Addendum #3: Here's an analogy to sum up my experience. Imagine going to a restaurant. The chef, instead of cooking in the kitchen, is eating at a table next to you. There's a guy in the back microwaving food and bringing it out. The customers are all arguing, but the chef insists that his food is excellent. He says, "I volunteer at a homeless shelter, and they like me there!" read more
