Our Daily Show Interview! AMHSF: Pickleball Tournament at Grip & Sip!
COTTAGE HILLS – Community members have a unique opportunity to play pickleball while fundraising for an ambulance.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, Alton Memorial Health Services Foundation will host a Duck Pluckers Pickleball Tournament at Grip & Sip in Cottage Hills. Participation in the tournament costs $40 a player with 16 mixed doubles teams in the beginner/intermediate and advanced divisions. All proceeds go toward AMHSF and their goal to purchase an ambulance for Alton Memorial Hospital.
“So many calls that we answer, we are continually taking ambulances out of the fleet,” explained Shannon Fraley with AMHSF. “If you’re having an emergency, you want the top-notch ambulance there that runs and runs well and has all the equipment it needs. So we’re rotating those older vehicles out of that and then adding these new ones.”
AMHSF is known for their Duck Pluckers fundraising event every year, but this pickleball tournament is an alternative to the hunting-themed Duck Pluckers dinner. Fraley believes the tournament will be a fun, unique way for people to get involved and give back to the community.
“Not everybody’s a fisherman or a hunter as far as Duck Pluckers goes. But pickleball is new and people love it,” she said. “It was a win-win.”
She added that events like the tournament would not be possible without community partners like Grip & Sip. Jose Silva, co-owner of Grip and Sip, expressed his appreciation for the chance to help local initiatives like Duck Pluckers and AMHSF.
“Partnering with these great organizations that are doing so much good in the area, it’s great for us,” he said. “We’re meeting great people who commit so much time and energy towards these causes. If we’re able to provide our facility and help them fundraise, it’s a great side effect that we didn’t even know would happen. It’s been one of the most rewarding things we’ve done.”
In addition to indoor pickleball courts, Grip & Sip offers golf simulators, leagues and open play opportunities. Silva believes the venue is a great spot for people to meet one another and enjoy their sports. He emphasized his excitement to host the Duck Pluckers Pickleball Tournament.
The grand prize winner of the tournament will win a ticket to the main Duck Pluckers event later this year. Heaterz Hot Chicken will also be onsite to provide food, and Silva promises the Grip & Sip bar will be stocked.
Fraley and Silva are proud of their collaboration to make the first Duck Pluckers Pickleball Tournament a reality. They noted that Alton Memorial Hospital would not be able to provide their “top-notch” emergency care without the help of community members who attend fundraisers like this.
“We always talk about how we’re so successful at our Duck Pluckers event every year. We wouldn’t be successful at that event if it wasn’t for our community members and businesses and so forth,” Fraley added. “It’s fantastic.”
For more information about the Duck Pluckers Pickleball Tournament, including how to reserve your team’s spot, visit the official Facebook event page. To learn more about Alton Memorial Health Services Foundation and their work, check out their official website. For more information about Grip & Sip in Cottage Hills, click here.
