International Federation of Pickleball
(IFP)
Formation2010; 14 years ago (2010)
TypeFederation of national associations
HeadquartersGoodyear, Arizona, USA
Membership
63 national associations
As of June 2022
Official language
English
President
Sunil Valavalkar
Websitewww.ifpickleball.org/

The International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was created to act as the world governing body for the sport of pickleball. The IFP was founded in 2010 by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), now USA Pickleball (USAP). The IFP is a nonprofit organization that focuses its resources on providing support to national and local pickleball organizations.[1] [2] [3][4]

The IFP's goals include creating and maintaining official rules across all of pickleball, organizing international tournaments, and most crucially, spreading the sport of pickleball across the world. [5] The IFP's main goal is to have the sport of pickleball added to the Olympic Games.[3][4][6]

The IFP also organizes international pickleball competitions including the Bainbridge Cup, an international competition in which teams represent their continents and compete on professional and amateur levels.[4][7]

History

The International Federation of Pickleball was founded in the wake of the first National Pickleball Open competition, held in Surprise, Arizona in 2009. The tournament was hosted by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) and drew almost 400 players from 26 American states and several Canadian provinces. The interest of the Canadians, among other factors, influenced the USAPA to establish a committee dedicated to the formation of an international governing body for pickleball. This committee was formed in 2010 and is considered to be the founding of the IFP.[2][5] The IFP's constitution and bylaws were officially ratified in 2015 by its four inaugural member countries: the United States, Canada, Spain, and India. Since 2015, the IFP has steadily grown, adding over 20 countries to its ranks in the first half of 2021 alone.

In 2018 a rival organization, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF), was formed by Seymour Rifkind, who had previously established the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA). Both the IFP and WPF seek to promote pickleball worldwide, and both seek to obtain Olympic recognition for the sport.[8]

On April 22, 2022, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, France, Spain, Philippines, Finland, Cayman Islands and the Czech Republic withdrew their membership in the IFP reducing the number of member countries from 70 to 59.[9] Subsequently, the IPF has continued to add new country memberships.

Structure

Map of the world, the darker blue highlighting which countries are members of the IFP as of April 22, 2022

National and regional associations

Main article: List of pickleball organizations § International Federation of Pickleball

As of April 22, 2022 there are 63 national organizations in the International Federation of Pickleball, including the special administrative region of Hong Kong, China. These national associations are organized into four categories: full members (1), Associate members (22), Affiliate members (37), and Provisional members (3). Each member country is organized under the umbrella of a continental federation. Full member countries can have members elected to the IFP's board of directors, while associate and affiliate member countries cannot. [10] All member countries are required to follow the rules of pickleball as established by the IFP.

The IFP has five continental federations. These are the Asia Federation of Pickleball (AFP), North American Pickleball Federation, South American Pickleball Association, European Pickleball Federation (EPF), and Oceanic Pickleball Federation.

Overall, the IFP gives complete autonomy to member countries in their own nations, except if the actions of a member nation "affect the international image of the sport, the uniform application of one set of rules, or in some way affect the future Olympic status of the sport."[10]

Board of directors

The IFP's officers on the board are elected by the IFP's full member nations and serve two-year terms. The board consists of four officers, including the President, and lower-ranking members known as "At Large" members. The board may assign a maximum of six at-large members at any given time. The previous President is also reserved an "At Large" spot on the board. [11]

Board of Directors (2023)
Role Board Member National Association
President Sunil Valavalkar India India
Vice President Carl Burnett United States United States
Treasurer Dwight Crawford United States United States
Secretary Karen Long United States United States
At Large Tanyat Pham Vietnam Vietnam
At Large Patrick Fiore United States United States
Legal Counsel Marlon Schulman United States United States

Competitions

Bainbridge Cup

Team North America leader Marcin Rozpedski, holding the trophy earned by Team North America at the inaugural 2017 Bainbridge Cup

The IFP hosts the annual Bainbridge Cup, one of the first international pickleball team tournaments. The tournament is named after Bainbridge Island, where pickleball was invented by Joel Pritchard and his colleagues. It consists of two teams representing geographical regions, usually continents. Originally, the tournament pitted players from Europe against those from North America. In the 2021 Bainbridge Cup, the tournament was organized as "east" versus "west", with players west of the Mississippi River and those from Asia on one team, and players east of the Mississippi and those from Europe on the other.[12][13]

The tournament consists of divisions organized by age and skill level for men's, women's, and mixed doubles. Men's and women's singles were played for the first time at the Bainbridge Cup as a demonstration event in 2021.[12] The inaugural competition was held in Madrid, Spain in 2017.[12][13][14]

Year Date(s) City Country Results Notes
2017 Sep 15 Madrid  Spain 201 North America
119 Europe		 The inaugural was played concurrently with the Spanish Open Pickleball Championships.[15]
2018 Jul 20 Montesilvano  Italy 106 North America
82 Europe		 Played concurrently with the Italian Open Pickleball Championships.[16]
2019 Jul 12 Essen  Germany 193 Team World
173 Europe		 Played concurrently with the German Open Pickleball Championships.[17]
2020 Jul 3 Nottingham  England Event
Cancelled		 Originally scheduled to be played concurrently with the English Open Pickleball Tournament. Both events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[18]
2021 Apr 7–11 Holly Hill, FL  USA Team cup
Cancelled		 Event title: Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup by International Federation of Pickleball. Originally scheduled to be played using an East vs. West team format. Players east of the Mississippi River and Europe would be on one team, and players west of the Mississippi and Asia would be the other team.[19] The team format was eliminated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]
2022 Nov 30–Dec 4 Mumbai  India TBD[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ "What's The Difference Between the APP and PPA". Sarasota Pickleball Organization. May 16, 2021. Archived from the original on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "History of the Game". USA Pickleball. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on June 28, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PICKLEBALL". UColours. Archived from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Local man elected president of International Federation of Pickleball". Paso Robels Daily News. January 16, 2019. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "About the IFP". International Federation of Pickleball. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  6. ^ "What is pickleball and why do people play?". Pickleball Rush. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "Can Pickleball Go Global?". The Dink. January 7, 2021. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
  8. ^ Walters, John (May 24, 2022). "'Pickleball Is the Wild, Wild West': Inside the Fight Over the Fastest-Growing Sport in America". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "International Pickleball". USA Pickleball. April 4, 2022. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "CONSTITUTION for the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION of PICKLEBALL" (PDF). International Federation of Pickleball. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  11. ^ "IFP Bylaws" (PDF). International Federation of Pickleball. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2021. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c "Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup Tournament". Pictona at Holly Hill. February 23, 2021. Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "The Bainbridge Cup History". International Federation of Pickleball. Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Park, Clayton (October 26, 2020). "Holly Hill's new Pictona complex to host international pickleball tournament in 2021". MSN. Archived from the original on July 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "Spanish Open Pickleball Championships and Bainbridge Cup 2017". Pickleball Tournaments. Pickleball Station, LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Italian Open Pickleball Championships and Bainbridge Cup 2018". Pickleball Tournaments. Pickleball Station, LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "German Open Pickleball Championships and Bainbridge Cup 2019". Pickleball Tournaments. Pickleball Station, LLC. Archived from the original on April 12, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  18. ^ "2020 English Open Welcome Page". Pickleball England. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  19. ^ "Bainbridge Cup 2021". Pictona at Holly Hill. January 12, 2021. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  20. ^ "Humana-Island Doctors Bainbridge Cup by International Federation of Pickleball:Format". Pickleball Tournaments. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  21. ^ "Home page". International Federation of Pickleball. Retrieved August 11, 2022.

External links

International sports federations
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