iPadel founder poised to embrace The 100 format
The iPadel leagues are an established part of the GB padel scene, with clubs up and down the country competing regionally to win through to the national summer and winter finals, which have been held at We Are Padel, Derby, for the last year. The tournament was founded by Ian Colligon, who has seen it grow massively in the last 18 months. Now he has plans for a new competition, as The Bandeja’s Robert Mitchell reveals.
iPadel Leagues founder Ian Colligon (below) believes his new ‘The 100’ competition can go on to rival the success of his flagship competition.
‘The 100’ will provide open seniors events for men’s, ladies and mixed teams with a minimum age of entry 45 years and the combined ages of both players reaching at least 100 years. Already more than 20 teams from England and Wales have expressed interest in entering the tournament, which will be held over a weekend rather than as leagues, the approach that has made the iPadel Leagues such a roaring success.
‘The 100’ will provide open seniors events for men’s, ladies and mixed teams with a minimum age of entry 45 years and the combined ages of both players reaching at least 100 years. Already more than 20 teams from England and Wales have expressed interest in entering the tournament, which will be held over a weekend rather than as leagues, the approach that has made the iPadel Leagues such a roaring success.
It’s another shrewd move by Ian (above), who has seen the success of The 100 format at various international seniors events. He said: “It might not be quite as big as our iPadel Club Leagues, which I believe will continue to grow, but if we have enough teams in each area to play each other then that would be a great achievement.”
Why The 100?
Ian added: “At the Winter finals of the iPadel Leagues I noticed that the standard was getting better but the age of the players was getting younger. Some of the more senior players asked when I would do an event for them – it does get harder when you are in your 50s and 60s and you are playing 20 year-olds! That’s the motivation behind The 100.”
Finding the right venue is key to the success of the event, with several considerations to take into account: “The teams are spread out across the country and I can’t do this as a local league comp. I’m trying to hold it as an event and that means we need a venue which can accommodate all of the teams in one or two days,” added Ian.
Timing is also a key consideration; the iPadel Summer finals are at We Are Padel, Derby, in September so it’s likely The 100 will be a winter event
With the iPadel Club Leagues going from strength to strength Ian now has 146 teams competing in the current summer edition of the tournament across 21 leagues – and soon there will be an exciting technological innovation which will make this even easier.
Ian revealed: “I’m working with Padel IQ – from August teams will be able to enter directly via the app and from October they will be able to input their match results directly in to it. When I started the leagues in summer 2021 we had about 12 teams and now we are up to 146 minimum this summer. When you are doing all that on Excel spreadsheets it can be a challenge!”
With Roehampton the reigning men’s champions and Harbour Club Chelsea champs in ladies and mixed, the iPadel Club Leagues have grown exponentially since Ian introduced them as a seasonal competition aimed at club players, and the iPadel brand looks set to continuing expanding. 🎾
