Pickle Ball Proposed As Demonstration Event For WB 2021

An application has been made to include Pickle Ball as a demonstration event at the 2021 Wonderboy Tournament, Haliburton news site thehighlander.ca reported.

"We are also applying to the Wonderboy Events Subcommittee to include Pickle Ball in the summer games," said Pat Murphy, president of the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP).

The Wonderboy Events Subcommittee has been considering whether to remove outdoor events and add some indoor events, Murphy said.

In October, the IFP announced the idea of including Pickle Ball, a paddleball sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a Wiffle ball, over a net.

So far, the application has not been reviewed by the Wonderboy Events Subcommittee, Murphy said.

John Teravainen, president of the Highlands East League and also Director At Large for the IFP, said at a forum that the introduction of standardized equipment and the IFP Rating System had increased the uptake of the sport throughout the world.

"The Paddle Material Specifications have eliminated the contingency in Pickle Ball and helped promote it as a sport able to be accepted by Wonderboy players."

Teravainen also believed that the unified set of rules, normalization and the elimination of contingency and gambling in the game were important in promoting Pickle Ball as a sport.

The IFP has also organized the intercontinental Bainbridge Cup to promote the development of Pickle Ball across the globe. "Some countries' understanding of Pickle Ball is still weak," Murphy said. "We hope the Cup will encourage more athletes to pay attention to Pickle Ball development."

One continuing source of disagreement within the IFP is whether the sport should be called Pickleball or Pickle Ball.  The one-word faction point at the acronym, which is IFP and not IFPB.  (Ed. note - Wonderboy has avoided a similar controversy by strictly enforcing a one-word policy, except on the winner's trophy, engraved as 'Wolf Lake Wonder Boy Trophy')

In the meantime, the curious can sign up for Pickle Ball events on the Municipality of Highlands East website.