KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
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For the second straight summer, PickleCon is taking over downtown Kansas City, and this year, they made sure everyone gets to play.
The Beautiful Lives Project partnered with PickleCon, an annual convention for pickleball enthusiasts, to sponsor an adaptive pickleball clinic dubbed the Court of Dreams on Thursday and Friday morning.
“Everything's about inclusion, and I say inclusion is not a dream; it's a movement now,” Beautiful Lives Project Executive Director Tony Gionfriddo said.
Gionfriddo led the Court of Dreams clinic Thursday morning, teaching Special Olympian Ariana Ortiz and Thomas Klapp how to play pickleball.
“Everyone needs a beginning, someone to show them,” Gionfriddo said. We all remember that teacher or whatever, and that's all part of inclusion, having them come aboard and join you.”
Klapp — who also loves softball, basketball, golf and bowling — delighted in learning more about pickleball.
“I learned how to hit, serve and we do points,” he said.
Gionfriddo taught Klapp how to keep score and announce the score before each serve, in addition to the finer points of the game.
“Keeping the eye on the ball,” Ortiz said when asked what she learned from Gionfriddo.
The Court of Dreams was the Beautiful Lives Project’s first activity in the Kansas City area. The nonprofit also works with pro and college teams to create unique, inclusive experiences.
“We work with those with disabilities — all ages, all abilities — and we just like to try to get them out of their environment onto a court — basketball court, football field, anything where we can give them a chance to do something that they really never had a chance to do,” Gionfriddo said.
On a pickleball court or off it, inclusion isn’t just for those with developmental disabilities, he said.
“I remember the first time when I was like sixth or seventh grade, a freshman and sophomore asked me to come and play basketball with the big guys,” Gionfriddo said. “I can remember that first time, so that's something that comes from the heart.”
Much like Klapp’s love for pickleball and his favorite playing partner
“My sister Maddie,” he crowed. “She is beautiful.”
NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, former college basketball great Tyler Hansbrough and Sporting Kansas City Legend Matt Besler are among the pickleball pros and celebrities who are taking part in PickleCon 2025’s Celebrity Pickleball Bash on Friday afternoon. The convention continues through Sunday at the Kansas City Convention Center.
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PickleCon organizers said 3,400 people from 39 states and Canada participated in the inaugural event last summer, including 2,100 unique guests.
Visit KC said it should replicate or surpass those numbers, and already, there are plans for a third PickleCon next summer in Kansas City.
Spectator passes are $10 per day, and player passes — for tournament action or drop-in games — are $20 per day. The cost drops to $5 and $15, respectively, for students aged 8 to 18, with children under 8 years old entering for free.
Celebrity Pickleball Bash admission from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday is included with any pass.
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