PickleballMEXICO
By Javier Regalado
PRESIDENT , LPPM
LEADERSHIP : PICKLEBALL ’ S GREATEST ASSET
Pickleball is the fastestgrowing sport in North America , and probably around the world . It is becoming quite popular in some countries but is still unknown in most . So how do we replicate the tremendous success in some nations to other regions of the world ? The answer is : vision , perseverance , resilience and overall leadership .
There are several challenges that we are confronting to expand the sport in Mexico . For starters , the name itself becomes a barrier . The word pickleball is difficult just to pronounce for people whose native language is something other than English . Furthermore , it doesn ’ t have any suggestion of being a racket sport .
That doesn ’ t mean it can ’ t be sold ; it just means that we must be very creative . After all , soccer , tennis , baseball , and ping-pong are names with different language origins .
Another challenge has to do with the accessibility of the sport .
Pickleball has grown tremendously in Canada and the USA because racket sports are highly accessible in public areas . You can find public tennis courts , or basketball courts , in just about any small town or big city . In some countries like ours , however , racket sports are mostly located in private clubs . Therefore , they are perceived as elitist sports .
It is believed that because soccer is the most popular sport in our country , it is highly accessible .
I refute that . The results in international competition support my argument . European countries like Germany , France , Italy and Spain have an infrastructure that makes soccer very accessible to everyone . Obviously , there are other factors for their international success , but this is the very bottom layer of their success . Although soccer is played widely in our country , well-designed and built installations are limited for a country of approximately 135 million people .
High demographic growth of our cities for the past 40 years has made the cost of land very expensive . Large areas required for soccer fields inside large cities become very difficult to sustain .
One other challenge we are confronting is the idiosyncrasy of our nation . As I mentioned before , racket sports are perceived as elitist , only played inside private clubs . Soccer success around the world , on the other hand , is based on how it has been positioned — since the very beginning — as a sport of the people . Male people , I might add . Until very recently , women ’ s soccer and most sports now highly practiced by women did not have the support that they are beginning to have . So , racket sports have remained niche or specialized sports mainly played at private clubs and mostly practiced by a male population .
The incredible thing about pickleball is that it has the ingredients to overcome these and other challenges . It is easy to learn and inexpensive to play . It is fun and it is great exercise . It is highly inclusive . The nature of the rules allows for a wide diversity of population to practice it .
In Mexico we will have a very exciting calendar of events for 2022 . We will start the year hosting two APP tournaments in February , one in Guadalajara and the other in Cancun . Come join us to play awesome pickleball , meet new international players , and visit our beautiful country .
Introducing pickleball to PE elementary teachers at public facilities , Naucalpan , Mexico .