Are you a
But don’t worry – there’s still hope that we might see some
What Is Pickleball ?
First things first, let’s all get on the same page and answer this question: what is
If you haven’t heard of it before,
It’s popular in plenty of countries around the world, so many athletes are hoping that one day it will become an official Olympic sport.
We’ve written plenty about the history of
Why We Don’t Have Pickleball in The Olympics Yet
So why isn’t there any
First, it must be widely practiced around the world (which, check!). Second, it must follow rules recognized by international federations (also check!).
Finally – and most importantly – it needs to receive approval from at least 75% of IOC members. And unfortunately for us
The good news is that
But isn’t pickleball extremely popular?
Pickleball has become increasingly popular in the United States and Canada, but if it’s going to be accepted as an Olympic sport, it needs to gain a following in other parts of the world too.
International Olympic Committee (IOC) regulations state that for a sport to receive approval from at least 75% of IOC members, it must be widespread throughout the world.
At this point,
The sport’s governing body, USA
Every year there is a US Open
Additionally, there is now an international governing body for
How You Can Help Make Pickleball An Official Sport
Just because
In fact, there are plenty of ways you can help push for recognition and make sure your favorite game gets its chance in the spotlight.
You can start by joining forces with fellow athletes and raising awareness through social media or local events – or even contacting your local government representatives about making changes to international sports policy!
Professional athletes often comment on social media about how fun and exciting the game can be to watch and play—which bodes well for its chances of becoming an Olympic sport.
To put things into perspective, badminton became an Olympic sport in 1992. Another small sport called ‘kabaddi’ also became an Olympic sport (a team game from India that is like tag but with wrestling). If they can do it, so can
What this means for pickleball lovers
It’s true – as far as we know right now, there won’t be any officially recognized
But just because something isn’t happening today doesn’t mean it won’t happen tomorrow. So don’t lose hope – if you’re passionate about seeing more
Who knows – maybe we’ll see some official
Final Verdict – Pickleball as an Olympic sport
So is
Unfortunately, while it has made tremendous strides towards meeting all of these criteria in recent years,
However, if it continues to grow in popularity as it has been lately, we may see some form of
Who knows? Maybe one day soon you’ll even get to watch your favorite player compete for gold on TV. One thing’s for sure: whatever happens next with