AROUND THE WORLD
IFP INTERNATIONAL
ACTION BY
ALICE TYM
Pickleball continues to grow! The International Federation of Pickleball( IFP) is encouraging its member organizations to begin thinking of a World Cup of pickleball. France, India, Spain, Japan, the UK and the USA all have strong programs under the governing body of the IFP. This column will report on their activities and opportunities for play.
Sunil Valavalkar reports from India that pickleball has been growing there for the past eight years. It is being played in eight states with the main centers in Mumbai and Kolkata. Jaipur, Ranchi, Panipat, and Patna also have active groups. Check out the Facebook page at Pickleball India. Tourists are welcome to join them on their courts. Both men and women play, although it is mainly men at this time. Play is primarily outdoors on taped tennis and basketball courts.
Daniel Moore reports from Japan that there are now about 50 people playing regularly in the Tokyo area. He has also played in Nagano Prefecture and Takayama( Denver’ s Sister City). In October he will play in Shizuoka Prefecture. Pickleball will be an indoor sport in Japan because there are so many badminton courts. I personally think there is great potential in Japan because the centers are already in place and badminton exchanges with
the USA already exist. The really big news in Japan is that the 2019 World Games will be held there. I tried to get pickleball in the 2017 World Games in New Zealand but the organizing committee felt it was too late. The IFP will work hard to spread pickleball in Japan in hopes of having the sport in the 2019 Games. The World Games are by age so the U. S. could send multiple teams— it is a wonderful event!
Steve Hughes, Vice President of the United Kingdom Pickleball Association, reported that on May 1, 2016, there was a pickleball event at the White Horse Tennis and Leisure Center in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, a one-day event with more than 80 players from all over the UK.
The Canadian Nationals are coming up July 8-10 in Kelowna, B. C. This tournament is open to U. S. nationals. This year it is a skill tournament. Hopefully, the tournament will add senior age divisions in the future. It was a great tournament when it was in age divisions and held in Abbottsford— the best Rainier cherries ever. I would like to put a challenge out there to the Canadians in the form of a CanAm Challenge Cup. There are so many good Canadian players and so many lovely places to play in both countries; couldn’ t we have a team challenge?
Don’ t forget that the USAPA Nationals VIII will be November 5-13 at Palm Creek in Casa Grande, AZ. It is open to international players and will be a wonderful time to gather and exchange ideas.
The IFP encourages everyone to help expand the pickleball community by welcoming international visitors and visiting international pickleball hotspots. •
Alice Luthy Tym was ranked 13th in the world in women’ s tennis and was a Master Professional for the USOTA and a USTA Clinician. She is now Chair of International Promotions for the IFP and a pickleball tournament player. She recently retired after 40 years of teaching geography and geology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She lives and works on a horse farm in McDonald, TN, and welcomes all players to the beautiful courts in Collegedale, TN, where she is a Parks and Rec board member.
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