A host that went all in
The Pickle Lodge hosts Monster Smash, a Halloween tournament weekend at Lunken Landing in Cincinnati. In 2026 it made the tournament free for wheelchair athletes and helped them with travel and food. Athletes we support from Chicago Pickleball: Wheelie Big Dills made the trip from Chicago.
The medals
Six athletes we support made the trip, and they came home with six medals: two gold, two silver and two bronze.
- Juan Ortiz: singles gold
- Bob Swanson: doubles gold, with Kenneth Holman
- Robby Wolf: singles bronze, and doubles silver with Ken Carwell
- Ken Carwell: doubles silver, with Robby Wolf
- Amanda Tworek: doubles bronze, with Kasey Stelter
- Brian Liss: competed in Cincinnati
More than 38,000 views
We made a spotlight for each athlete, with The Pickle Lodge’s name on it next to ours. Together they drew more than 38,000 views across Instagram and Facebook. We offer our partner clubs the same: the courts, the athletes, and both names on the posts. Watch the reel.
The standard for Chicago
Monster Smash showed what a tournament can do for wheelchair athletes when the host covers the cost. That is the standard we want the Chicago Classic to meet: free registration, travel and hotels for every athlete. Gifts past the road to the US Open go toward it.
