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Selkirk buys LevelUp camps, becoming the world's largest pickleball camp provider

By Pickleball Skill Levels · November 6, 2026 · 3 min read · Last updated November 6, 2026

Selkirk Sport has acquired LevelUp Pickleball Camps, which runs more than 400 camps a year in over 35 states and has coached about 25,000 players.

A coach teaching a small group of players at a pickleball camp

The biggest name in pickleball paddles just became the biggest name in pickleball lessons, too. Selkirk Sport announced on November 5, 2026 that it has acquired LevelUp Pickleball Camps, which runs more than 400 camps a year in more than 35 states. Together, the announcement says, Selkirk and LevelUp are now the largest provider of pickleball camps in the world.

LevelUp, founded in 2016, focuses largely on intermediate to advanced instruction and has coached about 25,000 players across multi-day skill camps and destination camps. It joins Selkirk Academy — Selkirk's own program, started in 2026, offering topic-specific instruction for intermediate and advanced players — in Selkirk's growing teaching lineup.

What changes for campers

Not much, on the surface — and that seems to be the point. The Dollard family, who built LevelUp, stays on as head pros, and campers keep the more than 30 professional coaches and camp formats they know. The 2027 camp calendar is already set, including new international destination camps, and players can view it and register online.

"Camps are where players get better fastest," said Mike Barnes, co-founder and co-CEO of Selkirk Sport. "LevelUp has built one of the best camp experiences in the country, one player at a time. Bringing it together with Selkirk Academy means more players, in more places, can learn from great coaches with Selkirk behind them."

A ball dropping just over the net tape into the kitchen, close-up

Wayne Dollard, founder of LevelUp Pickleball Camps, added: "We started LevelUp to give players the kind of camp we always wanted to attend: great coaching, real improvement and a lot of fun. Joining Selkirk gives our camps the resources to grow, and we can't wait to see where that takes us."

Why it matters if you play

Selkirk Academy runs multi-day and single-day destination camps in Arizona and traveling camps in California and the Great Lakes region, and has expanded internationally to Malaysia. For everyday players, the deal means one company now offers a path from beginner lessons to pro-level camps almost anywhere in the country. If a camp is not in the budget, our guide to practicing pickleball alone gets you reps for free — and the free skill check tells you which skill to work on first.

Source: Backbone Media / Selkirk Sport announcement, "Selkirk Sport Acquires LevelUp Pickleball Camps" (Nov. 5, 2026). Figures and quotes as published there.

Now find out where YOU stand

Reading about levels is step one. The free skill check scores your six shots and names your level — and your weakest shot — in about two minutes.

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Pickleball words, in plain English

Players throw these words around like everyone knows them. Here is what each one actually means.

Kitchen
The 7-foot zone right at the net. You can stand in it, but you can't hit the ball out of the air while you're there.
Dink
A soft, gentle shot that just clears the net and lands in the kitchen. It forces the other side to hit up, not down.
Third-shot drop
Your team's first shot after the serve and return. Hit it soft so it drops into the kitchen — that lets you walk up to the net.
Reset
When a hard shot comes at you, you block it softly into the kitchen instead of swinging back. It slows the point down and saves you.
Drive
A hard, fast shot hit low over the net. The opposite of a dink.
Pop-up
A ball you hit too high by accident. It hangs in the air, and the other side gets to smash it. Most points at low levels end this way.
Speed up
To suddenly hit the ball hard and fast on purpose, to rush the other side before they're ready.
Volley
Hitting the ball out of the air before it bounces.