The International Pickleball Federation (IPF) and the World Pickleball Federation (WPF) have begun merger talks. The merger talks were initiated at a recent meeting of the five pickleball continental federations (5CF) and the two international governing bodies.
The 5CF’s called for the two federation to begin discussions to find common ground regarding the governance of pickleball at the global level. In their first two meetings Mr. Arvind Prabhoo, President of the IPF and Mr. Seymour Rifkind, President of the WPF, agreed in principle that an international pickleball federation must have an open democratic process of governance, be inclusive, and be run by its member countries. They agreed that “one country one vote” should be embraced globally by all members.
The leaders of both organizations also recognized they have several key factors and issues that will need to be worked on before unification can be realized. Both leaders ended the initial rounds of talks confident the remaining issues are not insurmountable.
This is good news for the sport of pickleball and the international federations are looking forward to a united pickleball future. The sport of pickleball must be represented by only one international governing body if they are to be accepted as members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). A requirement
for participation at a future Olympic Games.