Category: Sports

by Beacon Staff and Wire Reports / Peninsula Beacon / Nov. 10, 2025

Ready to watch a rousing game of pickleball?

If so, you’re in luck: The 2025 USA Pickleball National Championships will take place at Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma from Nov. 15-23.

It will feature elite-level competition, with the most skilled players qualifying to participate in the prestigious tournament.

“Barnes Tennis Center will provide an exceptional backdrop, offering a dynamic atmosphere for both participants and spectators alike,” said USA Pickleball chief executive director Mike Nealy. “We are thrilled to honor the passion and talent within the pickleball community in San Diego.”

The national championships will build on the success of the 2024 tournament, which drew over 2,600 athletes from 47 states and 13 countries, along with more than 10,000 spectators.

by Scott Hopkins / Times of San Diego / October 28, 2025

Point Loma High School‘s football team will be playing to make dreams come true at home on Oct. 31 against Eastern League foe St. Augustine.

One of those dreams is to finish the regular season undefeated as the Pointers enter the game with a 9-0 record and first place in the league at 4-0.

The St. Augustine Saints are in second place at 4-5 and 3-1. But Point Loma scored 101 more points and gave up 109 fewer than the private school.

The Pointers last finished the regular season undefeated in 2005 under longtime coach Mike Hastings. That team went on to the California Interscholastic Federation championship, where it lost, coincidentally to the Saints and finished 12-1.

Another dream is to receive a high seed in CIF Division I playoffs when pairings are announced on Nov. 1. Highest seeds receive a coveted first-round bye and home games against every lower-seeded team.

These dreams, if realized, would lead to a third dream – the team’s first CIF championship since Bennie Edens guided his 1991 team to the title.

By Bradley Granieri / The Point – PL Nazarene University / Oct 8, 2025

Having a fantasy football team isn’t all that fun. But watching that team beat somebody else’s is thrilling.

I didn’t start playing fantasy football because I loved watching the NFL. Four seasons ago, I barely watched football. I said “yes” to joining a league because I was bored, and figured doing so would give me something mildly interesting to do in math class. But when the next season rolled around, I agreed again.

“It’s a fun thing to talk to your friends about, even though I don’t really care about football,” Kate Walter, a third-year applied health major, said.

Just like Walter, I don’t care all that much about the NFL, but I still sign up because it’s what happens off the field that makes fantasy football truly matter. It’s the community and competition that comes from it that keeps me coming back year after year.

When I started my first fantasy football team four years ago, I didn’t know how anything worked. I was a rookie, but I quickly learned the basics in a trial-by-fire period of just a few short weeks. What I learned was that fantasy football put me, the “coach,” in control of a virtual team composed of real NFL players who play against other virtual teams.

By Jillian Butler 

The Ocean Beach Woman’s Club (OBWC), a century-old San Diego institution, drew crowds of players and spectators to its Fifth Annual ‘Battle for the Paddle’ charity ping pong tournament, raising more than $5,000 for local causes.

With the current clubhouse being established in 1944, the OBWC is in its 101st year of operation despite clubhouses surviving a multitude of natural disasters from fires to being crushed by waves during a high surf advisory. This organization has spearheaded a multitude of charitable ventures, ranging from providing a center of refuge for servicemembers during the second world war to advocating for year round life guards to raising money for homeless pets. The Battle for the Paddle ping pong tournament is one of their larger annual fundraisers.

The Tournament was spearheaded by the OBWC Project Lead, Susan Winkie, and Christine Freeman, the Project Lead of OBWC’s Philanthropy and Social Justice branch. Ms. Winkie commanded a strong presence as she emcee’d the entirety of the event.

By Kate Callen / September 26, 2025

As expected, the San Diego Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the Midway Rising proposal after in-person public comments were dominated by speakers who will directly benefit from the development.

But there were a few surprises. Five commissioners seemed dubious about transportation issues, especially plans to develop now and upgrade transit later. And an observation from one of the newest commissioners could be the most shockingly honest remark a San Diego public official has ever made.

Jeana Renger questioned future traffic projections for the notoriously congested Midway district and said this: “Transit-oriented development is only successful if there is a whole system of buses and trolleys and also ridership. Just because you build it doesn’t necessarily mean they will ride it.”

(If anyone wants to thank Ms. Renger, an executive vice president at Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, for having the courage to speak a truth too long denied, her email address is jrenger@fpbarch.com.)

By Jeff Zevely / CBS8 / August 28, 2025

A San Diego man has completed a coast-to-coast journey on in-line roller skates, breaking a Guinness World Record in the process. Eric Balwin, a 32-year-old semi-professional roller hockey player, finished his 3,200-mile trip from the Atlantic Ocean to Ocean Beach, San Diego, on July 24th.

“It was a crazy idea, something that had never been accomplished in this fashion before, which is exactly why Eric Baldwin laced them up,” said CBS 8’s Jeff Zevely, a reporter covering the story.

Baldwin set off on his nationwide journey on May 24, accompanied by his girlfriend Clementine, who followed him on an e-bike. The pair encountered various challenges along the way, including a close encounter with black bears in the Appalachian Mountains.

By JW August / Times of San Diego / September 22, 2025

If you play the Torrey Pines or Balboa Park golf courses, you’re probably aware of how difficult it is to get a good tee time, especially for slots on Thursday through Sunday from the early morning to noon.

It’s a common problem across municipal courses in Southern California, and a new federal indictment provides insight into the disappearance of weekend morning tee times within seconds of being released.

The possible reveal to the mystery of the vanishing tee times can be found in a grand jury document filed this month in Los Angeles, alleging that two men started a brokering business using digital devices to reserve thousands of tee times for resale at numerous golf courses nationwide.

In doing so, they allegedly created “a monopoly of Los Angeles and Orange County area golf course tee times by securing the most sought-after early morning slots, often within seconds of their release to the public.”

13 nonprofits control access to public sports land—without competition or review. It’s time for a more open and equitable approach.

by Stefan Boyland /  Voice of San Diego / September 10, 2025

As San Diego reflects on its past and imagines its future, there’s one small but powerful lever that could reshape how our parks serve the public: reforming the city’s outdated system of “special-use permits.”

Special-use permits are long-term agreements the city grants to select nonprofits, giving them exclusive control over public sports facilities for years at a time. Unlike day-use permits that anyone can request for a single event, these permits function more like private leases — the operator manages the site, collects revenue and sets the rules. But unlike leases, they’re rent-free and involve no public application or competition.

With demand for recreational space growing, the city has a responsibility to modernize how it manages long-term access. Right now, the system leaves huge potential untapped.

Today, just 13 sports organizations hold these permits: 12 are tennis clubs and one is a youth baseball league. All receive rent-free control of public land for years at a time, with no public application, virtually no performance review and no opportunity for others to compete.

August 25, 2025

Office of Mayor Todd Gloria
City of San Diego

Subject: Urgent Request to Address Parking Reform Rollout & Special Event Pricing Impacts Downtown

Dear Mayor Gloria,

I am writing to express serious concerns on behalf of the Gaslamp Quarter Association regarding the upcoming parking reform rollout scheduled for September 1, 2025, and more specifically, the Special Event Parking Rate Zone that will impose a $10/hour rate two hours before and two hours after major events at Petco Park. While I understand the need to address the City’s budget challenges, this plan fails to account for the very real and immediate consequences to downtown’s workforce, residents, and business community.

In 2025, there are 18 remaining Padre’s home games and 16 special events at Petco Park that meet the threshold to trigger this pricing structure. In 2026, we anticipate a minimum of 81 home games and up to 10 large-scale events or concerts. That means nearly one-third of the calendar year could be subject to this surge pricing, is proportionately affecting downtown.

See Schedule of ‘Surge Pricing’ Beginning Sept. 1

Editordude: The following is from local grassroots policy advocate Lisa Mortensen’s Wednesday, August 20 email blast, written in response from to Jay Clevenger, Community Representative of Councilmember Stephen Whitburn’s office, to her inquiry about changes to parking fee structures downtown within the Ballpark District. This is what’s referred to as “surge pricing.” Clelvenger’s original email follows Lisa’s questions. The email was edited for brevity purposes. 

By Lisa Mortensen

My first question is, will the pricing go into a specific account that will be audited to make sure the funds are directed at the specific infrastructure and maintenance uses that you mentioned in your message below? Or will the funds be placed in the general fund?

I read the IBA report and it states: “FISCAL AND POLICY DISCUSSION – While many administrative reforms are being presented, some of the changes in the parking reform are anticipated to result in additional revenue for the City, including the General Fund.”

This concerns citizens because we know that funds that are placed in the General fund can be used at the mayor’s (and council’s) discretion and not for the original stated intent. Assertions about intended uses and benefits that have been made in the past have not always been honored,

The following is a reposted letter to the Editor at the U-T by one of our writers, Paul Krueger.

Re: “$10-an-hour-parking comes to Petco Park next month” (Aug. 5): San Diego’s “surge pricing” at downtown parking meters for Padres’ games and special events will benefit city hall financially. But working people will shoulder the costs.

Sports fans and music lovers have a choice: pay $10 an hour for meter parking, use a public lot, or take a bus, trolley, or ride-share. But thousands of low-paid hospitality workers and night shift employees don’t have those options.

By Ben Higgins / 10News / Aug 15, 2025

The center of the pickleball universe is at the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma this weekend as the Major League Pickleball playoffs make their first-ever stop in San Diego.

“Pro pickleball is here,” said Samin Odhwani, commissioner of Major League Pickleball. “The amateur game is taking off. There’s so many people playing. There’s courts being built. So it was only a matter of time for pro pickleball to finally arrive on the scene, and I feel like it finally made it.”

The professional circuit is attracting a host of celebrity team owners, even with a $15 million franchise fee.

“Drew Brees, a great example, he’s going to be out here this weekend, supporting his team, the L.A. Mad Drops. You’ve got LeBron James, Tom Brady, Kim Clijsters, some amazing team owners all across Major League Pickleball and it’s really fun for us to get an opportunity for them to join in on the growth of the sport,” Odhwani told ABC 10News.

Many of the top players, like Texas Ranchers star Eric Oncins, were former tennis players who made the switch after seeing pickleball for the first time.