soon become a must-have onboard activity ,” he says . “ It is super easy to learn to play , great fun for all ages , and creates camaraderie among fellow shipmates .”
Tino Carrillo , the Volendam ’ s Assistant Cruise Director who overseas all of the ship ’ s onboard sports — table tennis , shuffleboard , basketball , and pickleball — says the latter has been a hit with the ship ’ s mostly older clientele .
“ You typically play doubles , so it ’ s less tiring than some other sports ,” he says . “ It ’ s more accessible for everybody . It ’ s something fresh and new that more and more people are enjoying playing .” This particular sailing of the Volendam started in Hong Kong and ended in Shanghai , with stops along the way in the Philippines , Taiwan and Japan .
Many of the ship ’ s nearly 1,400 passengers , representing 34 countries , had never heard of the sport . But there was a hardcore group of pickleball fanatics who would show up on sea days for open play or tournaments . And some passengers came out of curiosity to check out a game they knew only for its rather peculiar name .
“ My wife and I are in the early stages of planning our first cruise adventure ,” says Thomas . “ We are not even considering ships without pickleball .”
Adapted from Dan Fellner ’ s article “ Pickleball at Sea ? Cruise Ships with Courts ,” which first appeared in the April 8 , 2018 , edition of The Arizona Republic .
Dan Fellner of Chandler , Arizona , is a faculty associate at Arizona State University , a freelance travel writer and an avid pickleball player . Visit his website at global-travel-info . com .
ONE OF THE WORLD ’ S LARGEST COUNTRIES IS HOT FOR PICKLEBALL
ndia has clearly embraced the sport of pickleball . The old and historic city of Nanded , located about 350 miles from Mumbai , is the newest hotbed for the game . With a literacy rate of nearly 88 percent , it ’ s a highly progressive city . And this is clearly evident with Nanded ’ s eagerness to accept and help grow a new sport like pickleball .
The All India Pickleball Association ( AIPA ) led by its General Secretary , Sunil Walavalkar , reported that this year ’ s State Championship saw the largest player participation to date . The prolific growth of pickleball in parts of India like Maharashtra and across Madhya Pradesh , Kerala , Tamil Nadu , Haryana , Jharkhand , West Bengal , Rajasthan and some other states reflects a strong love for the game in all cross sections of society in the seventh largest country in the world . The AIPA , along with its most enthusiastic players , is instrumental in the promotion , development and enhanced enjoyment of pickleball in India . However , the game did not find its way into the country until 2006 . Walavalkar , who had an instant affection for the game when he visited Canada in 1999 with a group of young tennis players , returned to his home country and introduced the sport over the course of the next seven years to as many people as would show some interest .
Two of those players were his daughter and niece , and as the two young pickleballers showed tremendous enthusiasm , he started giving demonstrations of the sport at various locales — clubs , schools , campuses and even on open streets . But Walavalkar knew that an official entity was needed to help propel pickleball to the next level . So he approached family and friends to form an organization under which the sport would grow . Some hesitated , but the AIPA eventually became a reality .
Pickleball has become a sport of consciousness in India and is now stretching its sphere of influence beyond the cities and into the rural communities , as well as at the grassroots level . A local tennis player who has now converted himself into a full-time pickleball player feels the sport has the potential to be played throughout the world and become a global sport like so many others .
As one diehard pickleballer in India recently said , “ The game transcends the barriers of age , gender and strata . It brings people to an equal level where they live happily and peacefully . So it ’ s definitely a health insurance to all of us .”
India and beyond — the sport of pickleball continues to make an impact whose steady growth is inevitable . •
JULY / AUGUST 2018 | MAGAZINE 53