13th Annual Funfest Pickleball Tournament Held In Harwich

HARWICH – On Saturday, Aug. 29 the Harwich Pickleball Association (HPA) held its 13th annual Harwich Funfest, a day-long pickleball event at Brooks Park that featured six tournaments across three groups and saw 135 players participate from all around Cape Cod, greater Massachusetts, and even as far as California.

The series of tournaments is the largest and longest running pickleball event on Cape Cod. The gathering featured a raffle and a barbeque and allowed the HPA to raise money for local charities. Prior to the event, tournament director Tom Bryant said he was looking forward to the 2026 edition of Funfest.

“The camaraderie,” Bryant began, “this brings together such a good group of people that have been doing this for years and to work with some of the best volunteers that any group could ever ask for.”

The day for the volunteers began at 6 p.m. the night before the event. Throughout the morning and the previous night, the crew of 30 to 40 strung power cords, blew out the courts, and got the place ready for when the participants for the men’s advanced and intermediate tournaments arrived for registration started at 7:15 a.m. Prior to the men’s tournaments beginning, Bryant explained the rules for the men’s portion of the tournament. Both men’s tournaments played six games in seven rounds within the bracket. Games were to 11, win by one, and switched to by two in the playoffs. 

In the men’s advanced tournament, which featured players over 50 years old with a rating of 4.0 or higher, the team of Nathaniel Boughton and Todd Zukowski won gold, beating Justin Tulman and Charlie Capp 11 to 4. The bronze match saw Tom Reynolds and Waclaw Hojnoski beat Corey Sprague and Juan Velasquez 11 to 5 to medal. Afterwards, Boughton and Zukowski reflected on their run.

“Great competition all day. Had to be focused. A lot, a lot of fun,” said Boughton. “Everybody tested us every single match of the day.”

They were also the first of many to comment on how the tournament ran and the amount of people who participated.

“It's wonderful. There's almost as many fans as there are players, and it just goes to show what pickleball means to the Cape Cod community and Harwich in particular, and we're just proud to be a part of it,” said Boughton.

The men’s intermediate tournament saw Ian Anderson and Joseph Creonte beat Tom Pollert and David Filosa 11 to 6 to win the gold medal match. The winners of the bronze medal were Paul Bourassa and Larry Augustus, who bested Jim Streisand and Jeff Berg 11 to 3. 

The women’s tournament began around 11 a.m. The women’s tournament played matches to 15. Winners of the advanced section were Nancy Boughton and Betsy Hargreaves, who defeated Amy Hotchkiss and SoonAe Bushing 15 to 5. Michelle Cuff and Patricia Regan took home bronze, beating Jessica Schmitchel and Nancy Morrissey 15 to 7. After the match Boughton and Hargreaves explained why they were excited to win.

“This is our first tournament. We just started playing with each other in the spring, the spring of this year,” said Boughton. Hargreaves added: “It’s so friendly — it’s the best.” 

Boughton said that their partnership is so new that she was taken aback by just how many people Hargreaves knew.

“Betsy, every person we got in court with, she said, ‘I worked with her, but I also worked with her,’” said Boughton, causing Hargreaves to add, “I lived in college with one, and it was great.”

The winners of the intermediate portion of the women’s tournament were Sara Grizzle and Lori House. The duo beat Michelle Ryan and Cheryl Kelly 11 to 7. Betsey Milmore and Amy Charron took home bronze, besting Patricia Kelly and Lisa Siddall 11 to 6. Afterwards, Grizzle and House shared what they were feeling.

“We’re going to Disney!” House exclaimed, jokingly. Grizzle added that she was “very relieved, very happy.” She also gave some props to Byant for the day. 

“Tom Bryant runs the best tournaments around,” she said.

The final portion of the event, the mixed doubles tournaments, began around 3:30 p.m. The winners of the advanced portion were Amy Hotchkiss and Michael Markowski, who beat Chris Taormina and Maryann Taormina 11 to 4. The bronze medal match saw Corey Sprague and Darla Hart beat Nancy and Mick Morrrissey 11 to 1. Afterwards, Markowski shared in the sentiment for the day.

“Good day, great competition,” said Markowski. “It was a well-run tournament.”

The final match of the night, the mixed doubles intermediate, saw Pat Bowie and Ian Anderson beat Erica Clark and Darren Finch 11 to 6 to win the gold. Bronze was captured by Lauren and David Filosa as they beat Jeff Berg and Teresa Fleming 11 to 4. 

As the matches ended just after 7 p.m. that night, Bryant reflected on the day. 

“Really fantastic. We had an incredible team of workers, volunteers, and all the players were very gracious. We did what we intended to do: provide some really good pickleball, have a lot of fun, meet new people, and raise some money for charity.”

When asked if he had any plans for next year, Bryant was quick to respond.

“Oh, we're doing it again, baby.”

For more information on the Harwich Pickleball Association, visit harwichpickleball.org. For full statistics from the tournament, check out the Harwich Funfest 2026 event on pickleballtournaments.com.