A BIG week in Pickleball News, in what appears to be a BIGGER year in Australian Pickleball. The Bros are back to gesticulate and speculate on the latest Pickleball News from around the World. This week we take a look at some Pickleball Olympics speculation for 2032. And don’t forget the NPL’s first Season is set to start in March… the MLP kicks off for 2024 this weekend … And we cover the Pickleball explosion across Africa, along with plenty more news. Let’s do this…
Pickleball Olympics News
Nat Cook Joins Pacific Pickleball… and increases Pickleball Olympics hopes in 2032
WARNING: Pickleball Olympics Alert for Brisbane 2032!!!!
Now the Bros read the Pickleball news, and bring the most interesting stories from around the globe. Some unsuspecting news is that Five-time Olympian Nat Cook joined the Pacific Pickleball board. Pacific Pickleball has a relationship with Major League Pickleball from the US and together, they have a co-branded Australian Pickleball league. She has also taken an ownership position in Gold Coast Glory, the PPL/MLP team. T
his is great news but if you read the press release, something jumps out at you….
“Cook is also a Director of Brisbane 2032, Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, and holds a position on the World Olympians Association Board.”
Hold the phone…. That is interesting.
And if you read how to get a sport added to the Olympics, from the Olympic Games website, it says:
“…As part of this new process the Organising Committee of a specific edition of the Olympic Games may propose to the IOC the inclusion … of one or more additional events from the sports governed by the IOC Recognised (sports goverened by the) International Federations.”
Putting the pieces together – Nat Cook is on the Organising Committee for the Brisbane Olympics. She is on the Pacific Pickleball Board and she has an ownership position in a team… a Gold Coast Team…. in Brisbane…. Now do you think Nat Cook is in a position to potentially get Pickleball into the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games? If there was a VENN diagram, Nat Cook is the part in the middle, connecting the two circles.
The peak body for Pickleball in Australia, the Pickleball Australia Association is located in Brisbane, QLD. And the Australian Pickleball Championships are also held on the Gold Coast. So there is enough firepower and organizational ability to build the sport of Pickleball and bring it to what could be considered its home in Brisbane. And maybe the IOC could consider this when deciding on new events (like Pickleball) for the Brisbane Olympics.
The Bros did say that Pickleball should be an Olympic Sport in 2032 last year. Now it could be a wild conspiracy theory… OR maybe (hopefully) Nat Cook can help bring Pickleball to the Brisbane 2032 games? The Bros have read a few articles on what has to happen for the Pickleball Olympics in 2032. But Nat Cook is an enabler and the strongest link found yet to make it happen.
Let the Bros know if you agree with our conspiracy theory. And while you’re there, tell us if you think there was a second shooter on the grassy knoll. Congrats to Nat by the way…. No Pressure on the new role…..
Read the Australian Associated Press release on Nat Cook joins Pacific Pickleball Board.
READ MORE: Head over to our Pickleball Olympics 2032 page to get the latest news and analysis on achieving our Olympic Pickleball Dream in 2032.
Australian Pickleball News
NPL Announces Streamer as Official Streaming Partner
The NPL is scheduled to start its first season in March. It has 18 teams and six players competing across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. And the upcoming season has been promoted on 7News. This is following the NPL QT Hotel Activation in Melbourne during the Australian Open. And the big dogs like Andre Agassi and Nick Kyrgios were linked to playing Pickleball and in the news.
Now the cool thing is the partnership with “Streamer”. It’s a new streaming platform for grassroots sports. They have 300 clubs onboard, and it is owned by Seven West Media. NPL games will be streamed to this new service, which is a nice way to watch Australian Pickleball games from the biggest Aussie names.
The Bros also wonder if NPL Pickleball will be broadcast on Streamer, and as more people get into Pickleball. As it becomes more popular… Could Pickleball be upgraded to a regular 7+ Channel alongside all their regular sports in the future?
An interesting thought. Either way, any mainstream attention is great for Pickleball. And we look forward to testing out the Streamer service and watching the NPL tournaments in the future.
Read about the NPL’s First Season and 100K Competition from 7News. And Take a look at the NPL and Streamer Partnership announcement from the NPL.
Sunshine Coast and MLP MVP Player Profile – Ludovica Sciaky
In case you missed it, The Sunshine Coast ran a nice feature on Major League Pickleball 2023 MVP Ludovica Skiaky. The Bros saw Ludovica play (And WIN BIG) and covered the Pacific Pro Melbourne 23. Ludovica was great to watch and there is a great story to her successful pickleball journey thus far. It’s worth a read, and it’s always great to learn about our best players. It provides some Pickleball inspiration and pointers on how the best players think about and play pickleball.
Read the Ludovica Sciaky Profile from the Sunshine Coast News.
MLP 2024 Kicks off – FEB 23-25 at Blacktown, NSW
Speaking of Major League Pickleball, the MLP kicks off on Feb 23-25 at Blacktown Tennis Centre, NSW. The Bros had a lot of fun watching the Aussie Pro’s in Melbourne. So If you aren’t competing, get down to Blacktown and watch some great matches and cheer your team on. And you can meet some nice people and have some fun. Hopefully, there are some viewing options available for the non-NSW fans.
Details for the MLP Australia Season Opener in Sydney can be found on Pickleball Brackets.
Global Pickleball News
Pickleball Blast Launches from Moose Toys
Moose Toys is a worldwide toymaker, with its head office in Cheltenham, Melbourne. They are known for creating some of the most innovative, fun, and… gross toys available. The Grossery Gang and Trash Wheels are personal faves. Anyway, Moose Toys are releasing a pickleball tabletop game. The two-player game is inspired by pickleball. It involves swatting a “screamin pickle” across a court. The game looks pretty cool and it’s out now in the US, no news on an Australian release yet. But the Bros will let you know when it does. Gross pickleball at home, what more do you need? Looks fun.
Take a closer look at Pickleball Blast from Moose Toys from Toybook.com
Pickleball Popularity Explodes Across Africa
Pickleball is exploding in Africa and it’s rapidly gaining popularity across the continent. A grassroots movement has successfully introduced Pickleball to communities, schools and sports facilities. A Pickleball Confederation was started in August 2023. This includes 18 countries across Africa like Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Morocco.
Unfortunately, accessibility of pickleball equipment was an issue early on. A local entrepreneur developed BOK, an authentic African paddle to solve that problem. Cool name too… BOK. It’s fantastic to hear about Pickleball movements across the world. And Africa will continue to play and they intend to be a Global “force to be reckoned with.”
Read Pickleball explodes in Africa from businessghana.com
Final Thoughts
And the Bros have done it again. With the news wrapped up, the Bros will see you on the court. Keep being cool (in the heat) and keep playing the sport (we love to love). Pickleball! See you soon.
Follow the Bros on Twitter/X and Facebook… Or Drop us a line and say Hi. We like people. And sometimes people like us.
Pickle On!
The Aussie Pickleball Bros.