A strange topic to start our PAO news series about – but one with an Ontario connection.
Myron Silver, PAO member, has been teaching in China recently. He took the opportunity to introduce Pickleball to his students. He reports that he teaches math and science in a British Columbia high school
in Tai’an Shandong Province. He lives a 10 minute walk north of the school. Myron’s apartment is a
large 2 bedroom, 2 blocks from the foothills of Mt Tai, also known as Middle Gate to Heaven.
If his apartment had a north facing view, he could see Mt Tai from his apartment.
So far he has been able to introduce pickleball at three venues – none are ideal, and outside the
school it is rare to find someone that speaks English. He has introduced pickleball to children in
his apartment complex. It is a challenge trying to get them to maintain a rally without any
English words! Myron was invited to join a table tennis group near the school. Again,
the group speaks no English – which makes playing tricky. Along with him in China are 4 paddles (2 Singleton paddles!) and they instantly became very popular.
Is this an untapped market for Pickleball? Will the craze catch on there like it has here? Stay tuned! Keep up the good work Myron!
