Competitive Social Ventures Hires Pickleball Professional Chris Wolfe as Director of Pickleball Operations for Pickle & Social
PPR Certified teaching professional and 5.0 player joins the CSV team for branded Pickle & Social venues opening across the U.S.
Atlanta, March 17, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Competitive Social Ventures (“CSV”) proudly announces its newest addition to the team and Pickle & Social brand, Chris Wolfe. Wolfe will serve as Pickle & Social’s Director of Pickleball Operations.
Wolfe has been a USA Pickleball Ambassador since January 2020. He is also a PPA Certified Teaching Professional, and a 5.0 player sponsored by Team Paddletek. Additionally, Wolfe is well known and respected in the pickleball community for his pickleball lessons and training.
Wolfe grew up playing the sport of tennis, spending countless hours hitting a tennis ball on his garage door. In his junior and senior year, Wolfe made his high school’s tennis state finals. In addition to tennis, he also took dance classes until the age of 16, as his mother was a dance teacher. Dance was instrumental in his development of excellent footwork on the tennis and pickleball court.
Wolfe’s life changed 11 years ago when he was introduced to the sport of pickleball while he was hosting a morning show in Greensboro, NC. Wolfe called this “the second most fantastic day of my life.” He became hooked on the sport and was determined to be on the court every day as he found it to be not only fun, but also a great stress reliever.
He started playing in many tournaments, earning various titles and awards. When he relocated to Atlanta in 2016, his focus changed from his pickleball career, to helping others with theirs. He spent his time studying the sports and helping others play. Following his relocation, Wolfe became a co-owner with Chad Cromwell of the Atlanta Pickleball Association (ATLPBA). His role started out as helping run the ATLPBA, while also organizing some of the country’s first pickleball round-robin and 5-line leagues. By 2017, ATLPBA had 400 players signed up and ready to play.
In 2017, Wolfe convinced Lifetime Fitness at Peachtree Corners, GA to let them facilitate a pickleball tournament. Then, Wolfe and Cromwell ran and hosted the first Atlanta Open Pickleball Tournament. This tournament ended up being a huge success, being one of the country’s highest-paying pro tournaments at the time.
Fast-forwarding to 2019, the Atlanta Open became the first tournament in the country to have the pros play 3 out of 5 games in the finals. In 2021, Wolfe and Cromwell partnered with the Pro Pickleball Association (PPA), had 1,168 registered players, and gave away over 100K at the Atlanta Open. Registration for this year’s Atlanta Open is live now, learn more here.
“I have been teaching and organizing for years. I have been trying to figure out how to center my career using my expertise in the sport,” states Wolfe. “When people say, if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. This new role will allow me the opportunity to never work again in my life, and I could not be more excited for this opportunity.”
“There could not be a more important role in our Pickle & Social brand at CSV than the Director of Pickleball Operations for our venues across the US,” stated Joe Reardon, General Partner of CSV. “Chris has an incredible pedigree that is unmatched in the industry today. His knowledge of organizing major tournaments with over 1200 people to running top-rated clinics in the state of Georgia makes him a natural leader in our group. His ability to teach the game along with his business acumen of running major events is like no other. We could not be prouder to have Chris Wolfe leading our brand through our rapid expansion of Pickle and Social,” stated Reardon.
On top of the addition of Chris Wolfe to the CSV team and Pickle & Social brand, Pickle & Social recently gained additional ambassadors to further promote the brand, including Dave Weinbach, Matt Wright, Lucy Kovalova, Altaf Merchant, Todd Robertson, and Leslie Bernard.
Dave Weinbach “The Badger,” Pickle & Social’s original brand ambassador, has generated overwhelming support for the concept from the pickleball community resulting in many new partnerships, driven by his passion for the sport and his confidence in the Pickle & Social concept. Matt Wright, Lucy Kovalova, Altaf Merchant and Todd Robertson were recently announced week as CSV investors and Pickle & Social brand ambassadors, as well as Leslie Bernard.
The first Pickle & Social location is slated to open Q1 of 2023, in Buford, GA and second location in Alpharetta, GA expected to open in 2023 as well, that is in close proximity to CSV’s two other “Social” venues, Roaring Social and Fairway Social. There are 5 potential Pickle & Social sites in discussion in locations from Florida to Arizona. To learn about investment opportunities with CSV, visit www.cosoventures.com
*About Pickle & Social*
Pickle & Social will be a unique combination of indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, table tennis, and an outdoor gathering space known as “The Yard,” featuring a stage for live music and curated food & beverage options. “The Yard” will be a perfect place to gather before or after some friendly competition and ideal for league play, pickleball and table tennis tournaments &
clinics, private & corporate events, parties, family outings, fundraisers and more. Learn more about Pickle & Social here.
*About Competitive Social Ventures*
Competitive Social Ventures, LLC (“CSV”) is an Alpharetta, Georgia-based real estate holding company created in 2020 for competitive socializing entertainment concepts. Fairway Social opened in Q2 2021, and Roaring Social opened in Q3 2021. Two inaugural Pickle & Social locations are currently being developed and expected to open in 2022. CSV’s venues are unique, innovative, high-quality, full-service entertainment destinations with strong expiration differentiation for competitors. Learn more about CSV here.*Attachment*
· Chris Wolfe
CONTACT: Sommer Shiver, VP of Branding and Communications
sshiver@hotelequities.com
Joe Reardon, General Partner
For more information regarding Investment Opportunities:
joe.reardon@cosoventures.com