The driving force behind the Pickleball movement.

- Through the 1st An Giang Provincial Pickleball Championship in 2025, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has created momentum for units and localities to improve the quality of training and competition in this sport, contributing to diversifying playgrounds for all levels of the population.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Dao Si Tuan, the pickleball movement in the province has developed very positively in recent times. From being a relatively new sport, pickleball has gradually become popular and widely accepted by the people. This is the basis for the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to aim for the goal of organizing the first An Giang Provincial Pickleball Championship in 2025.

“The An Giang Provincial Pickleball Championship featured competitions in men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Despite being the first time it was organized, the tournament attracted over 230 athletes from 25 units and clubs in the province. This demonstrates the strong development of pickleball, with enthusiastic participation from people throughout the province,” Mr. Dao Si Tuan emphasized. The tournament also provided an opportunity for athletes to interact, learn from each other, and contribute to creating a healthy and beneficial playground, enhancing cultural and spiritual life, and strengthening solidarity among agencies and units in the province. Through this, it encouraged the movement of physical training and sports in general, and pickleball in particular, in An Giang.

The matches were very exciting.

As the host city of the tournament, the People's Committee of Chau Doc City has created all favorable conditions for the athletes to compete. Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Doc City, Tran Quoc Tuan, stated: “Chau Doc is the host city for the 1st An Giang Province Pickleball Championship in 2025, which is an honor for the locality. In recent times, the pickleball movement in Chau Doc City has developed positively, creating diversity in the physical and mental lives of the people. This tournament will be a highlight, creating motivation for the locality to expand and improve the quality of the pickleball movement in the future.”

Being present at the tournament allows you to experience the exciting atmosphere of competition among the athletes. In the spirit of fair play and sportsmanship, the athletes delivered thrilling matches. The powerful spikes, returns, net shots, and serves, along with the enthusiastic applause from the spectators, added to the appeal of the tournament.

According to representatives from various units, although the sport is developing throughout the province, Long Xuyen City and Chau Doc City are the two units that developed early and built a strong foundation in Pickleball. In addition, several other localities in the province have also developed a fairly good movement. However, the general sentiment among the units is to view the tournament as an opportunity to learn, improve the skills of athletes, and create a foundation for further enhancing the quality of the sport in the future.

Athlete Le Van Hao (from An Phu district) shared: “I came to the tournament mainly to exchange ideas and learn. Because I've only been involved in Pickleball for about a year, my skills are still limited. The tournament is an opportunity for me and my teammates from An Phu district to improve our skills. In fact, the Pickleball movement really needs tournaments like this to create a competitive atmosphere and help athletes have more motivation to stay involved.”

Following the success of the tournament, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to coordinate and support localities and units to improve the quality of the Pickleball movement, aiming to create more attractive playgrounds for all people throughout the province.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/an-giang-24-gio/thoi-su/dong-luc-cho-phong-trao-pickleball-a418409.html