> > >
John Koncoli in Budapest with a young man
who, despite his disability, helps run a camp for
children who are orphans in Romania.
But getting intellectually disabled people jobs wasn’t
enough for Koncoli. He decided he needed to go on the
road. So, after 14 years, he went home to Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and for the past five years, he’s traveled the
globe, including all 50 of the United States, supporting
Special Olympics.
Until he discovered pickleball, that is. Now, he’s
changed his mission to getting pickleball into the Special
Olympics as an official sport.
“My spiritual
mission is to
inspire inclusion,
acceptance and
value of people
with intellectual
and developmental
disabilities. In my
mission, there is no
better organization
to partner with
than Special
At a Special Olympics event at Heinz
>>>
Olympics. Few
Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., with special
athletes as well as the Pittsburgh Chief of
people know how
Police and Port Authority Chief of Police.
huge it is—190
countries and 5
million special athletes,” says Koncoli. “I never heard of
pickleball in my life until four months ago and it’s the
most amazing sport I’ve ever played—and I’ve played all
sports. It really hit me very powerfully that pickleball
needs to be an official sport in the Special Olympics.
They have 32 official sports, and of all of them, pickleball
would be the best.”
He adds that pickleball’s community of inclusion and
sociability is what would make the sport perfect for
Special Olympics.
“Special Olympics is all about inclusion and here’s
a sport where I can play with a guy who’s 85 or with
a group of kids. Every level can play, and you make
amazing friends,” Koncoli explains. “It’s already played in
15 countries and I think there are as many as 22 countries
where pickleball is growing at an amazing rate.”
According to Meg Jean, Coordinator of Sport Grants
and Resources for Special Olympics, there are currently
no Special Olympics programs officially offering
pickleball based on 2018 reporting.
“We are currently reviewing our Sport Classification
System, as this happens annually. As an associate
member of the Global Association of International
Sports Federations (GAISF), we defer to their rules and
regulations when it comes to adding a new sport to
our organization,” she says. “While Special Olympics-
accredited programs may choose to introduce new
sports based on their own criteria, the sport must have
an international sport federation recognized by GAISF in
order to be considered eligible for possible inclusion in
the Special Olympics World Games.”
In addition to a host of other criteria, GAISF
requirements mandate that a sport have 40 active
Member National Federations from at least three
continents if it’s a summer sport and at least 25 active
Member National Federations from at least two
continents for winter sports.
Koncoli plans
to
do all he can to
In
Toronto
with
a
group
of
folks
working
> > > to inspire inclusion of people with
promote
the sport.
intellectual disabilities.
“I’ll continue
to do whatever
one person can
do. Becoming an
official sport is
a huge deal, and
it would make
pickleball spike all
over the world,”
he says. “If it takes
off in Special
Olympics, people
who come to watch, who are surrounded by this, they’ll
fall in love with the sport. So, I’ll continue traveling.
I’ll show up in Bangkok, find the Special Olympics
headquarters and meet with the CEO, business leaders,
and government leaders to tell them about pickleball.”
Koncoli was scheduled to head back out on another
globe trot January 1. It will be his fourth time around the
world; this time making stops in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan
and Germany. The trip will introduce pickleball to
potentially 40,000 Special Olympians through meetings
with the local chapters.
“This is the fastest-growing sport in America that
nobody knows,” he says. “I talk to many people all over
the place, and 80 to 90 percent have never even heard of
pickleball. I’m trying to change that.” •
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2020 |
MAGAZINE
47