The year was 2020. As the world sought new ways to stay social safely, who knew that pickleball would emerge as such a strong national pastime? 

The Madison Area Sports Commission did. 

“We were on hiatus from hosting IRONMAN Wisconsin, a world-class event we’d welcomed since 2002,” says Brandon Holstein, Senior Sports Account Manager at the Madison Area Sports Commission (MASC). “As much as we missed bringing thousands of IRONMAN athletes and fans to our capital city, it gave us time to explore what sports were trending—and where Madison’s offerings may have been lacking. We knew pickleball was rising in popularity and the Professional Pickleball Association had just been established, so we got to work.”