AROUND THE WORLD
THE FRENCH
PICKLEBALL OPEN IS A
GRAND TOURNAMENT!
I
By Ken Aiken
National Kaohsiung Normal University
(NKNU) campus pickleball promotion.
TAIWAN PICKLEBALL
C
omedians Cheech and
Chong often spoke of
something being “far
out, man!” Well, now the
sport of pickleball is Far East, man.
Far East like in Taiwan. Neighboring
states to the small island include
the People’s Republic of China to
the west, Japan to the northeast,
and the Philippines to the south.
Taiwan is equivalent in size to
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and
Connecticut combined.
Pickleball has recently swelled
in popularity. The Chinese Taipei
Pickleball Association was
established in 2016 and outlined
a charter whereby there are four
main goals for promoting the sport.
Campus promotion and establishing
the pickleball society and school
team is one goal—and another,
affectionately called a silver-
56
haired group community pickleball
promotion, is the second facet.
Training pickleball referees, coaching
courses and hosting the Taiwanese
pickleball tournament round out the
main parameters of the association.
Earlier this year the Chinese Taipei
Pickleball Association hosted a
referee and coaching clinic, while
a tournament was staged last
November. “Since those two events,
interest in the sport has been on
a steady rise,” said Yang-Dain-Lin,
Chinese Taipei Pickleball Association
Engage Ambassador and Coach.
Currently, Taiwan has about 200
pickleball players and promotes the
sport in four cities: Taichung, Nantou,
Kaohsiung and Pingtung. “We look
forward to continuing to grow the
sport and eventually we hope it
becomes as popular as basketball in
our country.”
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n August, gathered in the
picture-postcard medieval
“perched village” of Fayence,
overlooking the plain between
the southern Alps and the Côte
d’Azur, 110 players from 13 nations
came together to play in France’s
first tournament, the French
Pickleball Open. There were 50
women competing, ages 14 to 78.
The USA was well represented with
23 competitors, the largest group next
to France.
Pierre Obozinski, President of the
Pickleball Federation of France, was
superb as Tournament Director and
was assisted by many volunteers
(thankfully all of whom spoke English).
The matches were held on 16 outdoor
courts with high-tech lighting at the
beautiful Fayence Tennis Club.
Pickleball’s exceptional sporting
spirit was felt everywhere, from the
beginning singles matches to the last
mixed doubles games. Throughout
the competition, the sun shone