Spicy Pickleball Academy has announced the UK’s first ever female-only Femme Pickle festival on 6 April at Batchwood Tennis and Sports Centre in St Albans.
The festival – which is the first of many forthcoming Femme Pickle events in the UK – will give participants unlimited pickleball matched to their level in a non-competitive format. Each player will be given partners and players can choose to move up or down the levels if they don’t feel comfortable or want to challenge themselves.
All players will receive a free T-shirt and gift bag, plus discounts to future Femme Pickle events and brands. It costs £35 to enter with play running from 10.45am to 3.45pm. The festival is sponsored by UK Pickleball Shop.
Mollie Kubrick-Finney, founder of Spicy Pickleball Academy which runs Femme Pickle, says the project is inspired by her personal vision to support women and girls into (and back into) sport.
“As a performance and mental skills coach, I’ve always had huge motivation to help girls and women with their self-worth and confidence,” she told Pickleball 52. “Making women feel empowered is all part of who I am and what I want to achieve – and Femme Pickle is the perfect vehicle for that.
“Pickleball is so easy for anyone to pick up and get into. You can be a complete beginner and a couple of weeks later go and play a 3.0 level tournament. There’s almost no other sport in which you can do that – so it provides the perfect opportunity for females to get into – or back into – sport. Making it a female-only environment makes it even more comfortable for them to do that.”
Mollie said she has already been inundated with interest from women wanting to be part of the Femme Pickle movement. One woman in particular, who is the best female player at her club, said she would love an environment where she “didn’t feel like she had to prove herself all the time” when playing with men.
“That’s something I think a lot of females can relate to,” explained Mollie. “It’s just something women and girls grow up with, starting at school. It might be hard for males to understand, but we can build confidence much better in a female-only environment. I want to help as many women and girls feel good about themselves and realise their full potential through pickleball.”
Sign up for the first Femme Pickle festival here.
