PickleballSOUTH AFRICA
MEMEL : BIRTHPLACE OF PICKLEBALL IN AFRICA
The first dedicated pickleball court in Africa isn ’ t in Morocco or Egypt or Kenya . It wasn ’ t built at a club in Johannesburg , or on the playgrounds of Capetown . It wasn ’ t engineered or built by a professional company ; it didn ’ t use cement trucks , nor feel the thump of mechanized machinery . There ’ s no lighting , no fencing . It didn ’ t cost much .
No , the first dedicated pickleball court in Africa was built in the tiny village of Memel , by a team of locals as a project to keep them healthy and employed during those first scary days of the pandemic .
This column will enthusiastically describe everyday working folks , who — after pickling a couple of years on crumbling old courts in public areas — came together with hand tools to establish the first dedicated pickleball court in Africa ,
Daily pickling . a continent of a billion sportscrazy people .
Pickling began in 2018 using the faded lines and tattered net of an old tennis court . Those lines were spaced larger than a proper pickleball court , but we didn ’ t mind the extra running , and played every morning . The kitchen was created with tape , which the African sun and winds blew away in short order . Games continued using the hint of adhesive residue left over after the tape had vanished .
Every morning , neighbors awoke to the sounds of joy . Plunks , whoops , banter , fun and competition . Quite frankly , they were puzzled .
In these articles , you will hear people occasionally identified by racial group . Elsewhere it is fashionable to never use such adjectives , rather to assume we are “ all one .” In South Africa , since Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994 , everyone is “ one .” But in a country that suffered apartheid , stories won ’ t have importance without mention of race .
Pickleball unites genders , reintroduces seniors to exercise and wellness , and connects all ages and all skill levels . In Memel , pickleball offers the miracle of bringing together blacks and whites , rich and poor .
By Steven Ablondi & Cindy Burns
Breakfast , pickleball , and sorting books .
White and black people have appeared barefoot , because they didn ’ t have athletic footwear . Players have competed in spiked soccer cleats and Sunday-best dress shoes .
Importantly , elite black professionals visit us from the cities . They bring their sneakers ; we provide paddles . They love it ( as you would know ). Spouses come to watch with their morning coffees . They join in and love it .
Americans came to visit and brought paddles , balls and nets ( you could guess that ). Memel Primary is the first school in Africa to include pickleball in its official curriculum .
It ’ s not just play . Through Memel . Global we make sanitary pads so girls don ’ t miss school each month , and give books because few homes have any and there were no libraries in the schools . Generosity , fun , and inclusivity merge on the pickleball courts of our rural village .
Know anyone wishing to help from America ? Volunteer ? Incorporate our work into an existing nonprofit ? Establish a boutique travel enterprise ?
It ’ s a new South Africa — they call it the Rainbow Nation . Bring some friends . •