From Saturday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, the Casper Pickleball & Sports Complex at 1911 Dunlap Way will host the Powerball Amateur Pickleball State Championship Series, a three-day tournament that brings together roughly 100 amateur players from across Wyoming and beyond — all chasing a spot on the grandest stage the sport has to offer.
The tournament is part of a nationwide series that spans all 50 states, and it carries a singular prize: gold medalists in each state earn a spot in the Champions Division of the Pickleball World Championships, held in early November in Dallas, Texas. Silver medalists receive half off their Worlds registration, and bronze medalists a quarter off. For the amateurs who gather in Casper, the road to the sport's marquee event runs straight through Wyoming's capital of the game.
The event is organized by Pickleball Is Great, a tournament company, and powered by the Carvana PPA Tour, with Powerball as the title sponsor of the state championship series.
For Casper, the tournament is more than a weekend of competition — it's a homecoming for a facility that has become the beating heart of pickleball in Wyoming. The Casper Pickleball & Sports Complex is the product of a partnership between Sam Dia, the complex's chief operating officer, and Todd Moore, his business partner. The complex features eight state-of-the-art pickleball courts, eight indoor batting cages, a party room, and a small retail shop selling "all things pickleball."
Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country, and the tournament reflects that growth. The tournament offers divisions across skill levels from 3.0 to 5.0 and age groups from 18 and under through 70 and over, in men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The schedule unfolds over three days: Women's Doubles and Men's Singles on Saturday, Sept. 5; Mixed Doubles on Sunday, Sept. 6; and Men's Doubles and Women's Singles on Monday, Sept. 7. Matches begin at 10 a.m. each day, with check-in at 9:30 a.m. The format is round-robin pool play followed by playoffs, with brackets adjusted as needed by the tournament director.
For spectators, entry is free. The tournament is open to anyone who wants to watch, and the organizers hope the weekend will plant seeds for future players. "Pickleball is for everyone," Dia said. "It's for all ages, all skill levels, all physical abilities. We have some players who play in wheelchairs. Different ages are able to play. We encourage people to come out and watch, and maybe they'll join us for the next year. It's just the most fun, social game you can ever play."
Dia knows the tournament's significance better than almost anyone. He has won gold at the Wyoming state championship for the past three years, he said, and he has seen firsthand what the event can mean for a state with a small population. "The State of Wyoming Championship is part of a 50-state tournament held across the country," he said. "They try to do a tournament in each state, which will qualify you for the world championship in Dallas in the beginning of November."
For Wyoming, the tournament is a rare chance to compete on a national stage. "This really gives us a chance to be qualified," Dia said. "We've been doing it for the last few years and several of us from Wyoming have been able to go and join the world championship. We've been really successful in getting Wyoming players to experience the world championship."
The field reflects the sport's reach. While players from across Wyoming gather for the event, competitors also travel in from Arizona, Washington, Texas, Colorado, South Dakota, and other states. For Dia, the tournament is the culmination of a personal journey that began more than a decade ago. "It means a lot," he said. "It's part of the journey that I started 11 years ago. It was my dream to win something big for Wyoming, and Casper, and the world. It's a great feeling."
Registration for the 2026 Wyoming championship closed in late August, with fees ranging from $45 for early registration to $85 for late entries, plus event fees for doubles and singles. The tournament director noted that spots were still available by direct contact even after online registration closed, a testament to the event's popularity. By the time the weekend arrived, 99 players had registered to compete.
The tournament is a showcase not just of the sport but of what a small community can build. Casper is now a stop on a nationwide amateur championship series, a place where Wyoming's players can chase their own championship dreams.
As the players take the courts this Labor Day weekend, the stakes are clear. Win gold, and the road leads to Dallas, where the world's best amateurs will gather to determine which state truly has the best pickleball players. For the amateurs of Wyoming, the journey begins in Casper, on courts built for a sport that welcomes everyone — proof that in pickleball, as in so much else, the biggest dreams can come from the smallest places.