Hello folks! Welcome back to PickleWho. Another weekend is over, and the only thing I have to say is...

Can we slow down 2023 a little? Am I the only one who feels like we rushed through these four months in two weeks and now ChatGPT will rule us all by August? Mark my words.

And here's the news!

• The Americas now have its own pickleball federation

• Pickleball Hall of Fame unifies with USA Pickleball

• Bollywood director creates pickleball tournament

We’ll see more pickleball in the Americas

Pickleball is just like my belly: it refuses to stop expanding. This time we’re talking about the latest effort made by the US, Canada, and Mexico to form the Pickleball Federation of the Americas (PFA).

By the way, the Americas include more than the US, Canada and Mexico and yes, I googled it too. The PFA also includes members from six more countries and new federations are expected to join as they form in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Since the Federation aims to regulate the rules and promotion of the sport in the continent, I have one question: will they call it “pickleball” in Spanish too? Or will it be “pepinillo-bola”?

So far the PFA refuses to comment on this pressing matter. 

Pickleball Hall of Fame merges with USAP

Yes, there’s a Pickleball Hall of Fame, and it’s been around since 2017, the year marked by Taylor Swift’s Reputation. And no, I did not drop that fact only to get more dates…unless it worked.

6 years later, the Hall of Fame is officially unifying with USA Pickleball, and we can only expect good things from this merger. For instance, every year the organization nominates 4 candidates, three competitors and one contributor. So, how long until PickleWho is recognized as the #1 pickleball source material in the Milky Way?

I’ll battle anyone ‘cause I’m here to stay.

Bollywood embraces pickleball

I’m not the best in geography. In fact, for 30 years I thought “Venezuela” was a dinner in Minnesota. But I do know a couple things about India:

1) Its entertainment industry is one of the biggest one in the world.

2) They love Pickleball.

Join those two facts and you get the Global Sports Pickleball Championship Tournament, which will be hosted by writer, director and Bollywood star Shashank Khaitan. Would it follow true Pickleball fashion and include flaming shots with hilarious CGI?

I am only a man with a dream.

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