Hot on the heels of announcing the UK’s first national schools competition, UK PADEL has innovated once again by organising the inaugural Universities and University Alumni Padel Championships.
To be held in early 2025 (venue TBC), UK PADEL see universities and their alumni as the next great opportunity to broaden the appeal of padel.
The tournament’s format will be the same as UK PADEL’s other recent competitions including the County Championships: teams of four to six players playing two-pair matches in men’s, women’s and mixed pairings.
“Running the Universities and the University Alumni tournaments concurrently will help to build even more team atmosphere,” UK PADEL CEO and co-founder Nick Baker (pictured above) told The Padel Paper. “The Alumni can cheer on their university teams and vice versa.”
He added: “Momentum is starting to build with universities and padel, so we thought now was the perfect time to launch a national championships. We have also heard the groundswell of alumni keen to get out there and compete in their old university colours!”
Tournament details and sign-up will be published in the autumn.
UK PADEL’s new competition will sit alongside the recently-announced National Universities Padel League (NUPL) organised by students Fia Tweedie and Barnaby Stephenson.
University padel has developed quickly in the UK from the first student padel society at Leeds University in January 2023 and Golden Point Padel’s first inter-uni competition in October last year.
