Our History
The Philippine Pickleball Federation is grateful to the many personalities who have helped us establish pickleball in the Philippines. Below is a brief look at our history including some of our activities, events and milestones. Sadly much of our older historical information has been deleted by Facebook censorship robots, but you can still review our history here and visit our Facebook Group page www.facebook.com for more.
2016
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February
The first known pickleball clinic was held in Cebu by Sara Ash, professional pickleball player from Team Onix. Sara introduced pickleball to the PPF founders in February 2016 providing the first portable net, paddles and balls. |
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2017
June
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2018
February
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April
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October
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2019
January
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March
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April
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April
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April
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May
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July
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July
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July
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August
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August
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September
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September
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September
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October
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November
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November
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November
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November
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December
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December
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2020
January
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January
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February
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March
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March
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March
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May
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July
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July
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December
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2021
January
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February
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February
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February
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March
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March
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April
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April
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May
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June
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July
Fourteen new IFP Certified Pickleball Instructors are trained and certified. PPF adds a Certified Instructor Directory to the website, so players can easily find and connect with qualified trainers. |
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August
PPF is invited by the US Embassy to participate in a five week "Summer Sportsfest" held at the US Embassy Seafront Compound in Manila. Over 50 US Embassy personnel and their family members learned how to play pickleball and participated in a series of games and drills led by IFP Certified pickleball instructors. |
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August
In August we began shipping PPF pickleball starter kits to select Philippine play groups, to help them get started and grow the sport domestically. Kits include 24 balls and 10 paddles, and will soon include a portable net system. The PPF also produced our first IFP branded composite pickleball paddles in both PP+fiberglass and PP+carbon fibre configurations for worldwide distribution under the newly created IFP equipment grant program. |
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September
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October
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November
Our President visits the Moalboal Pickleball Association (L) in Moalboal, Cebu and the Santander Pickleball Club (R) in Sanboan (south), Cebu, to play with and support new new clubs forming in central Visayas. The 1st annual RUSAC Pickleball Tournament is held at the RBE Covered Court in Rosales, Pangasinan. The event is organized by Bro. Costy and the United Stars Athletic Club. |
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December
As pickleball continues to grow, so does our list of visiting players hosting clinics and tournaments. This month Ken Cuaderno visits from Nashville, Tennessee to host clinics in Asingan, Rosales and Lagro, QC. Up in Asingan, Pangasinan the first inter-barangay, inter-agency MAYORS CUP Pickleball Tournament kicked off with over a hundred players joining the opening ceremony hosted by Mayor Lopez and attended by a number of PPF Directors and supporters. |
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2022
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January
The new year brought back street pickleball, as Pasig City reinstated Carless Weekends after 18 months due to strict covid-19 social distancing restrictions. Although the Federation now has thousands of players nationwide, street pickleball remains a favorite amongst many in Metro Manila, as we still lack play venues. |
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February
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March
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April
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May
In May the newly formed "Unify Pickleball Task Force" held its first meeting in an effort to bring the IFP and WPF together to form a single, unified governing body. Pickleball magazine publishes an article about our efforts to unify the sport into a single governing body and put an end to years of wrangling between the two international governing bodies. UPTF founding members include Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain and the United States of America. |
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June
In June World Pickleball Ambassador Rodel Chiu organizes the 2022 "Philippine Pickleball Tour" and travels around the country to host clinics and playdates in a number of cities from Baguio in the north to Cebu in the South. A number of Phil-Am players visit in June to host demos and clinics in central Philippines in what was billed "Pickleball Fever". Including Shanna Upperman (host of FB page Pickleball Philippines), John Babon, Ken Cuaderno and Dalta DuMond among others. |
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July
Certified Referee Gigi Maceda holds a special webinar to teach the basics of pickleball officiating. PPF President Mike Johnson visits Gigi in Palm Deseret, California during the last leg of his 10 city, 2022 USA tour. The PPF revises its constitution in July to include provisions for mediation and arbitration as required by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee. In 2021 we applied for membership to the Philippine Olympic Committee and hope to receive approval of our application to be the National Sports Association (NSA) for the sport of pickleball within the next few months. (fingers crossed) |
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August
In August PPF is invited by Palawan State University to join a sports clinic for PE teachers and coaches who will be introducing pickleball into their various sports programs at a dozen universities. Stella Lavy and Mae Brown conduct a webinar to teach skill definitions to help new Filipino players assess themselves as they begin to compete in tournaments and participate in competitive play. |
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September
PPF launches a Club Logo contest in September to encourage pickleball clubs to create their own logos and join our nationwide Club Directory. PPF receives daily inquiries from visiting players asking where to play, so the online directory and forthcoming website upgrade will make it easier for visitors to find and connect with local organizations and schedule play during their local travels. |
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October
It's official.. after more than two years our legal name change from the "Philippine Pickleball Sports Association" to "Philippine Pickleball Federation" is finally approved by the SEC. Our membership has now grown to over 40 clubs nationwide. We began planning our first post-covid tournament, the "2022 PPF Invitational" with over 150 players representing 22 clubs. |
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November
The 2022 PPF Invitational Tournament was held in "The Zone Sports Center" in Makati on 6 beautiful indoor courts... now the new home of the PPF. Over 160 players from 23 clubs competed for medals, cash and bragging rights. The PPF wishes to thanks all organizers, sponsors, the media and press for their great work in organizing and promoting this great event. |
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December
December was a very busy month for pickleball including the Bainbridge Cup in Mumbai, India; the LGU Inter Agency tournament in Asingan; the Rosales Invitational tournament in Rolsales; the Tayug Year-End tournament in Tayug, the Pickleball Marathon tournament in Moalboal, Cebu and countless others all around the archipelago. We end 2023 with a bang and are excited to move past the pandemic to see our sport flourishing again. Thanks to everyone for supporting our Philippine Pickleball Federation! |
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2023
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January
PPF Academy continues its busy schedule of clinics and training activities, including this one with the UAP Las Piñas chapter of Maharlika, in collaboration with the Philippine Architects Pickleball Association (PAPA) and the UAP Manila Maharlika. On January 12, the Makati Pickleball Club inaugurated a new play venue at the Poblacion Covered court in Makati City, adding yet another play venue to our growing list of NCR courts. |
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February
A Pre-Valentine tournament was held in Rosales, Pangasinan with over 100 players joining from Rosales and Asingan, Pangasinan, as well as players from a number of NCR clubs and foreign visitors. |
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March
Some 22 players from 7 different PPF clubs joined the 2023 Asia Pickleball Open tournament in Phuket, Thailand. Many fantastic matches were played and the Philippine Team brought home a total of 21 medals, 7 Gold, 7 Silver and 7 Bronze. |
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April
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May
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June
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Stay tuned for recent events as we update our history page quarterly.
Join our Facebook Group for daily updates.