IT MAY come as a surprise to many, but pickleball was created back in 1965 in Bainbridge island in Washington state, USA. It's creators were Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barne MacCallum.
They invented the game as a backyard activity for their families using pingpong paddles, a perforated plastic balls and a lowered badminton net.
Pro player Sara Ash first introduced the game in 2016 in Mandaue City, Cebu and quickly bacame famous and spread in other cities and provinces. Hence Mandaue City is historically famous as the birthplace of pickleball in the Philippines.
There is still no clear explaination as to why so many people are getting obsessed with the game of pickleball in the municipality of Odiongan. The explosion of pickleball in Odiongan is perhaps a direct reflexion of a massive nationwide and global sports trend. It may also be the influence of Philippines' tennis icon Alex Eala who brought honor to the country with her winning streak at the world stage.
It may also be that pickleball is easy to play that beginners, kids, young and not so young can learn the basic rules and start rallying within their very first session.
The size of the court is much smaller compared to
tennis which needs a larger court using a stringed racket and a bouncy felt ball.
Locally, the sport has grown so rapidly that pickleball courts mushroomed in almost all barangays. In some places, covered basketball courts have been repurposed to pickleball courts.
Lakan Indoor Spot opened its first didicated indoor facility to accomodate the fast growing number of enthusiasts. Its was made by PJ Agustin, a smalltime contractor. He received a lot of praise for his work that two days after it was featured on a local news network, a new contract was signed to build another pickleball court in Barangay Anahao.
Aside from pickleball courts in almost every barangay, six pickleball courts are currently being constructed in Barangay Dapawan. This is owned by entreprenuer Diven Dimaala who has only recently become obsessed with the game.
He plans to turn the place into state of the art facility equipped with CCTVs, a guardhouse and family friendly dining spots. It can also serve as a venue and host large tournaments.
The Odiongan Pickleball Club regularly holds friendly inter-town matches matches with neghboring towns turning it into an exciting regional community event.
The growing interest in the sport of pickleball contibutes significantly to local tourism and economy of Odiongan. Rodelino Fallaria, a retired school sports coach offers his services to train uptarts for coffee. You may contact him through his FB page; or Susan Factor, who, after a week of playing, her husbands weight dropped by 10 kilos.
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