A group of pickleball enthusiasts around Minot have joined forces to form a not-for-profit Pickleball Association, which is meant to be a resource for people to become involved in the sport, said Cale Mogard, the organization’s treasurer.

On Saturday at 8 a.m., the association will host its first pickleball tournament at Cameron Indoor Tennis Center in Minot.

This will be the first event since the group’s start, and it plans on having tournaments occasionally through the year, Mogard said.

Fifty-two teams had signed up as of noon on Tuesday, and Mogard said between 60 and 70 teams are expected. The tournament will have seven classes: men’s beginners and intermediates, women’s beginners and intermediates, and open classes of beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels.

The main focus of the event is to generate awareness, Mogard said, with the group’s ultimate goal to give its seasonal players a facility to enjoy their sport all year.

Mogard said pickleball is a sport that “anybody can do and anybody can be good at.” He compared it to a combination of tennis and ping-pong. “If those two sports were to have a baby, it would be pickleball,” he said.

He explained players don’t need to be as athletic as in other sports to enjoy time spent playing it. He called it “the great equalizer sport.”

The pace of pickleball varies depending on the player’s skill level, with more advanced players playing a game that is “slow until it isn’t,” Mogard said. According to Mogard, each player tries to get the ball into the “kitchen” near the net, with strategies and styles varying from game to game.

The tournament is a fundraiser for the association, with proceeds going to pay for facilities and supplies to make future events possible.

To those who may be hesitant to try pickleball, Mogard said, “We’re not a closed off group. Whether you know everything there is to know, or have no idea how to even spell the word, we want everybody to get involved with us.”