Walmart and Break the Love Renew Partnership Expanding Access to Pickleball and Introducing Golf to Everyday Communities Across the Country

• 250,000 comped court and course reservations for Walmart customers, Walmart+ members, and Associates
• Addressing increased demand for pickleball, America’s fastest-growing sport and expansion into new categories to democratize access to sports
• Series of large-scale community-based events this summer focused on bringing to life the key pillars of this partnership — community togetherness and a sense of belonging

BENTONVILLE, Ark. & NEW YORK, April 10, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Today, Walmart is doubling down on its commitment to provide access to sports for communities across the country by increasing comped pickleball court reservations offered through sports booking platform Break the Love from 125,000 to 250,000. These reservations, offered to Walmart customers, Walmart+ members and associates, ensure access to courts, publicly accessible spaces, and affordable equipment to meet the growing demand of pickleball and other team sports at a national scale. This renewed, award-winning partnership between Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, and Break the Love, a leader in its space, offers a simplified way to prioritize time with family and friends through a shared love of sports.

Building on the success of last year, which surpassed monthly booking targets by more than 50%, winning Modern Retail’s Best Brand Collaboration, this partnership is not only renewing its commitment to providing access to pickleball, but it’s also breaking into the new category of golf to further engage the greater Walmart community. Parks and outdoor spaces have always served as a focal point for bringing communities together for Walmart consumers, and golf was a natural extension of our collective brand's mission to bolster shared experiences. Break the Love and Walmart believe this is only the beginning of what the brands can achieve together and look forward to expanding into additional sports categories in the near future. 

“Expanding our collaboration with Break the Love allows Walmart to redefine our engagement and connect in unique, groundbreaking ways with our customers,” said Casey Schlaybaugh, VP brand marketing and strategy for Walmart US. “The program reinforces our unwavering commitment to enhancing our customers’ lives by establishing access to experiences that unify and strengthen our communities.”

NATIONAL ACCESS TO PICKLEBALL

In order to meet the demand from last year, Walmart will increase the quantity of complementary courts offered — now providing 250,000 free reservations for customers, Walmart+ members and associates. In order to access the courts, once again, both brands will leverage proprietary technology created specifically for the partnership that allows for “receipt verification,” whereby customers upload their Walmart in-store/digital receipts and immediately a free court is unlocked.

POP-UP SUMMER SERIES

In order to further engage nationally with customers, Walmart and Break the Love will also add a new series to this year’s partnership, “Ultimate Park Days,” pop-up events taking place in publicly accessible parks across Dallas, Salt Lake City, and the D.C. metro area throughout the summer. These events will bring together communities, foster a sense of well-being, and ultimately provide a way for consumers to unite over their shared love of sports. Each event will have top sporting apparel and equipment picks for customers to try and buy, with recovery and nutrition from featured brands like Biofreeze and CLIF Bars, amongst others. 

CREATOR-LED MEETUPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

The partnership will also support 50 meetup events across the country led by professional athletes and local creators across grassroots communities to create even more opportunity for Walmart and Break the Love to meet the consumer where they are and engage in real-life recreational sport activities. Athletes and creators participating include Jalen Rose, original member of the Fab Five; Julie Ertz, retired soccer player; Golden Tate, Superbowl Champion, and more. 

CURATED PICKLEBALL PICKS TO GET OUT AND PLAY

To expand our shopping integration, Break the Love and Walmart created a seamless way to shop via a newly launched shopping experience on Walmart.com/PlayForAll. This page includes sports equipment and apparel to shop from and the ability for consumers to book complimentary courts. In a joint effort with select suppliers, Walmart and Break the Love are bringing pickleball experiences to some Walmart stores in Florida and Georgia later this year. These initiatives will serve to further amplify the partnership's commitment to enhancing community access to sports.

“Given the success from last year, we are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Walmart providing even more people with access to unplug, get outside, and connect through recreational sport activities,” said Trisha Goyal, founder and CEO, Break Sports Inc. “We look forward to providing more access to court and now courses for customers while engaging with the community with new offerings nationwide.”

About Walmart

Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better — anytime and anywhere — in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 240 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 20 countries. With fiscal year 2023 revenue of $611 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting https://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at https://facebook.com/walmart, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/walmart/.

About Break Sports

Break Sports Inc. is the parent company of community-based sports booking platforms Break the Love and Break the Birdie, which break down the most common barriers to playing recreational sports across pickleball, tennis, and golf, including difficulty in finding a place to play, difficulty in finding other players, and the high cost of learning. Through both online platforms, players are able to find places to play and people to play with, in turn helping property owners monetize their spaces more effectively. Visit www.breaksports.com | Instagram: @breakthelove @breakthebirdie 

Source: Break the Love