By James Tabafunda
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Pickleball, first played on Bainbridge Island in 1965 and now the fastest-growing sport in the United States for five consecutive years, brought over 150 players and spectators to a South Seattle sports complex for a cause that addresses a specific kind of affordability that many people must confront.
Photo by James Tabafunda
The Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA)’s Greater Seattle chapter hosted its second annual AREAA Pickleball Charity Tournament on Aug. 20 at the Side Out Tsunami Pickleball Center, a 26-court, nearly 100,000-square-foot facility in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.
The event raised money for the AREAA Foundation Greater Seattle First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Program, which provides grants to low- and moderate-income families, including military veterans, seeking to buy their first homes.
Leah Bueno, an AREAA Greater Seattle board member, organized the tournament. The event also drew tournament players, spectators, vendors, and both local and national AREAA members.
AREAA Greater Seattle and national AREAA members (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Frances Nguyen, the 2026 AREAA Greater Seattle president, welcomed attendees to the lunch-hour event, then explained its fundraising goal. “This year, we’re raising $40,000 to help poor families so this would not be possible without all of you.” Last year’s inaugural tournament raised $20,000 for down payment assistance, she said.
Frances Nguyen, AREAA Greater Seattle president (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“We help underserved populations gain homeownership,” Nguyen added.
A sport’s major rise in popularity
Pickleball participation nationwide reached 24.3 million Americans in 2025, up 22.8% from the previous year and 171.8% over three years, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The paddle sport has ranked as the nation’s fastest-growing for five straight years, with approximately 4.5 million new players taking up pickleball in 2025 alone.
The sport attracts players from all age groups, with young adults and teens ages 13 to 24 leading participating rates of any age group.
The Side Out Tsunami Pickleball Center, which opened in 2025 as the largest dedicated indoor pickleball facility in Washington state, serves as the home court of the Seattle Tsunami, a National Pickleball League franchise. The venue’s large scale proved to be necessary for a tournament designed to combine fundraising with competitive play.
Vendors, auctions, and raffles keep crowd engaged
Beyond the courts, the tournament featured vendor booths, including one hosted by Asian Counseling and Referral Service; a photo booth; and a silent auction featuring donations from local sports teams. Attendees also could win prizes in four, hourly raffle drawings.
“We have a ton of prizes,” Nguyen told the crowd. “The grand prize, which you have to be here for, are two tickets to the Seahawks game so make sure you hold on to that raffle ticket … so make sure you do that.”
She also described AREAA’s scope of over 40 chapters nationwide and over 18,000 members. “The network that you have, if you’re an AREAA member, is not just your local network here, you have connections in California and Florida and Texas,” she said.
AREAA, a nonprofit professional trade association serving professionals in real estate, banking, mortgage lending, and related housing fields, was founded in 2003. Nguyen said about its mission, “We’re dedicated to promoting sustainable homeownership opportunities in Asian American communities by creating a powerful national voice for housing and real estate professionals that serve this dynamic market.”
Foundation chairwoman details impact
Nancy Obando, AREAA Foundation chairwoman, traveled from California and was introduced by Nguyen as the tournament’s next speaker.
Nancy Obando, AREAA Foundation chairwoman (Photo by James Tabafunda)
“It is events like these and partners like yourselves that create life-changing opportunities for AANHPI families,” she said, using shorthand for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander.
She said the foundation this year also provided $2,500 in disaster relief grants to families affected by recent Washington state floods, in addition to its $10,000 grants.
“Even with our down-payment assistance program last year, I had the privilege to attend the gala,” Obando said. “I hope you attend this year because you get to meet the families that this money is going towards, and that’s $10,000 towards a down payment. And that’s hard to do, right? Especially in this economy, it’s not easy to save up, especially in high-cost markets like Seattle for a down payment so know that what you are doing is creating a difference. I thank you for that.”
In a separate interview during the tournament, Obando, who has led the AREAA Foundation for the last two years, said the down-payment assistance program awarded $10,000 grants to two families in 2025 and aims to award four families in 2026. One of last year’s recipients closed on a home last Dec. 19, just before the holidays, she said, while the other recipient remains in the home search process.
Obando also said the foundation targets low- to moderate-income AANHPI families who often qualify for mortgages but struggle to cover down payments in high-cost markets such as Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
“It’s completely forgivable,” she said of the grant. “They do not have to pay it back. It’s essentially like a gift.” She said the foundation is expanding the down-payment assistance model to San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, and East Coast markets.
“I definitely need the support and help from all of you or whoever would like to help to make all those programs come into fruition,” Obando said. “We’re also going to be in Texas in October … We’re going to be there fundraising, and we want to do something for veterans there.”
Sponsor presents check
Rob Walworth, vice president of mortgage sales at Boeing Employees’ Credit Union (BECU), the tournament’s diamond sponsor, said BECU has supported AREAA Greater Seattle for about eight or nine years, including as a sponsor of the tournament in each of its two years.
“Our goal is to increase homeownership for first-time home buyers,” he said. “It’s one of our stated objectives at BECU, and we also put a lot of money behind that. We have a grant that we make available every year. It’s now up to $2 million a year that we set aside specifically just for first-time home buyers.”
Following Walworth’s remarks during the earlier welcome portion of the tournament, “BECU donated a $5,000 check to the AREAA Foundation,” Nguyen announced to the applause of the crowd.
Diamond sponsor Boeing Employees’ Credit Union awards the AREAA Foundation with a $5,000 check. (From left:) Frances Nguyen, Nancy Obando, Leah Bueno, and Rob Walworth (Photo by James Tabafunda)
Other event sponsors include Northwest Asian Weekly, Lensit Studio, and F7 Media as media sponsors; Washington Trust Bank as gold sponsor; and Washington Realtors, CrossCountry Mortgage, Daikin, Pop Up Photo Booth, Goosehead Insurance, First American Title, American Home Shield, HSBC, New York Life, Banner Bank, Ameriprise Financial, and Lemonade Laboratory.
Walworth said BECU regularly surveys members it has helped become homeowners and has met recipients of AREAA’s first-time homebuyer grants.
“Just hearing how just getting into a home for their family just transforms their lives, put them on a path to financial freedom,” he said.
“It’s the biggest investment most people will make, and so just hearing those stories is great and how it’s affecting people.”
The conclusion of the tournament
At the end, Nguyen announced AREAA Greater Seattle had surpassed its goal of raising $40,000 and awarded all winning teams in the beginner, intermediate, and advanced divisions with medals.
After a one-hour clean up, the event continued with an after party at Pasifika NW Grill and Bar, a restaurant featuring several Pacific Island cuisines, in Tukwila. The word “Pasifika” refers to the people and cultures of the Pacific Islands.
For more information on AREAA Greater Seattle, go to areaaseattle.org.
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