Pickleball Magazine 1-4 | Page 44

AROUND THE WORLD Pickleball on the Rise ACROSS EUROPE BY ALICE TYM T here is lots of exciting news on the international pickleball scene! The United Kingdom Pickleball Association (UKPA) was founded in 2014 in Oxfordshire, England. It has set up 400 clubs throughout the UK and is currently working on getting pickleball into the schools and leisure centers. In May of 2016, the UKPA held its first national tournament. The first International Tournament will be held October 21-23 in Stratford-on-Avon to commemorate the 400th birthday of Shakespeare. Great Britain Pickleball, a separate association, has been conducting surveys in preparation for a meeting with the board of Sport England in June to discuss the recognition, growth, and development of pickleball across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain Pickleball is hosting its first international pickleball tournament on May 26-28, 2017. Friday will be a day of clinics and referee training followed by a dinner. Saturday is men’s and women’s doubles, and Sunday is mixed. With all the Brexit excitement and the devalued pound, now is a great time to visit the UK. Spain held a summer pickleball tournament in a beautiful park in the center of old Madrid. The Second International Tournament will be held outdoors this coming September 16‑18 at LA Chopera in Retiro Park. It is age and skill WD, MD, and MXD. You may register in English on Pickleballtournaments. com. Easy, peasy, so start packing. There are partner hotels 42 within walking distance of the museums and historic center of Madrid. Go to www.PickleballSpain.org/en/torneointernacional-2016/. During the recent tournament in Amsterdam, Pickleball Europe representatives met to create a continent-wide organization. They plan to establish a social media presence and coordinate tournaments across Europe including a 2017 European Championship. See pickleballeurope.com. According to David Conover of the Ukraine Pickleball Association, the “main focus right now is on growing the sport.” Here in the USA, Executive Director Justin Maloof is working on an IFP logo so we can move forward with a Canadian/U.S. Challenge and a World Cup. We will have an IFP booth at the USAPA Nationals in Arizona. Please stop by and let us know if you are interested in representing your country. We hope to have representatives from other associations there to answer questions and to encourage U.S. players to play internationally. • TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 724.942.0940 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM Alice Luthy Tym was ranked 13th in the world in women’s tennis and was a Master Professional for the USOTA and a USTA Clinician. She is now Chair of International Promotions for the IFP and a pickleball tournament player. She recently retired after 40 years of teaching geography and geology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She lives and works on a horse farm in McDonald, TN, and welcomes all players to the beautiful courts in Collegedale, TN, where she is a Parks and Rec board member.