MPA To Submit Application For Pickleball To Be Included As Demonstration Sport At 2027 SEA Games

KUANTAN, Nov 13 (Bernama) – The Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA) will submit an application to have pickleball included as a demonstration sport at the 2027 SEA Games in Malaysia.

Its president, Datuk Khoo Khiam Ping, said the association would seek the support of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), the Malaysia SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games Organising Committee (MASOC), as well as the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), to make the proposal a reality.

He said the initiative would also require the support of at least six countries willing to send athletes and officials to participate in the event.

"For demonstration sports, the SEAGF does not provide financial allocations. Therefore, we need to prepare our own budget, including the costs of athlete participation, officials, refereeing, technical arrangements and administration," he told reporters at Bernama's Pahang Bureau here today.

Meanwhile, he said MPA planned to propose three events: men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles. Each country is expected to send approximately 20 representatives, including players, officials, security personnel and administrative staff.

"We do not want too many categories as this would increase the costs of organising the event and participation for each contingent. The estimated budget for bringing pickleball in as a demonstration sport is around RM250,000, depending on the selected venue," he said.

Khoo said there would be no issues regarding facilities for hosting the competition, as international-standard pickleball courts are available at all four SEA Games host locations: Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Sarawak.

He said Malaysia was estimated to have approximately 150,000 active pickleball players, with 10 to 15 per cent of them being competitive players who could potentially participate in tournaments.

"Malaysia also has several players who have achieved good positions in international rankings. At the Asian level, Malaysia is among the most active countries in the development of pickleball.

"Vietnam, meanwhile, has shown very rapid growth and is among the most active countries after Malaysia. Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia also have competitive players in the sport," he said.

On the development of young players, Khoo said MPA was committed to establishing pickleball as a core sport in the country to ensure that the development of new talent could be carried out in a more structured manner.

He said among the initiatives being planned was collaboration with the National Coaching Academy (AKK) to incorporate a pickleball syllabus into coaching training programmes.

He said the move was important to ensure that coaches obtained the appropriate accreditation and qualifications, particularly if the sport was to be introduced in schools and established as a core sport.

"We have registered the syllabus with AKK and expect to complete its preparation next month, before awaiting the relevant authorities' decision," he said.

In addition, he said MPA was also focusing on implementing anti-doping programmes as part of its efforts to ensure that the sport complied with established sporting standards and regulations.

-- BERNAMA