Pickleball Magazine 3-6 Pickleball Central | Page 70

AROUND THE WORLD Pickleball Croatia BY MARIO KATARINCIC I ’m originally from Croatia, and have lived in the U.S. for eight years. Currently, my wife, daughter and I reside in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Last December, I began playing pickleball at the local YMCA. I liked it so much I decided to introduce it to Croatia when we visited in June. I contacted my Croatian friends Kresimir Dokuzovic and Mladen Rakic, and they agreed to help me organize a few workshops for P.E. teachers, tennis and table tennis players, and the general public in my hometown of Slavonski Bord (120 miles east of the capital Zagreb). Over four days, many players passed through the clinics— and the response was overwhelmingly positive. We promoted pickleball as a game for the entire family. In Croatia, there’s no sport where husbands and wives can play together, so the women were very happy. And kids, too! One 10-year-old boy said to his father, “Dad, this is the best thing ever!” As a result of our time there, two courts were established in Fortress, and the locals plan to organize an official club. Our next stop was the beautiful Family Hotel Amarin (part of the Maistra Group) on the Adriatic coast in Rovinj, Istria. 68 TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM The hotel’s sports and entertainment manager helped me set up a court and introduce pickleball to the tourists from Croatia, Austria and Poland. They all were very enthusiastic about the game. There’s much potential for pickleball in Croatia because it’s a tourist country (17.5 million guests in 2017). Everyone can help spread the word about pickleball by simply asking hotels if they offer pickleball. Many thanks to the USAPA ambassadors, especially Sharon MacKenzie, and the companies who generously donated their time and equipment without asking anything in return. For more information on Pickleball Croatia, email [email protected] or [email protected].