By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Aug 8: Registration for the largest pickleball competition in Malaysia—Borneo Pickleball International Tournament (BPIT)—has reached 80 per cent capacity or around 400 participants, so far with the event scheduled from Oct 8 to 14 at PIKABOL, Asia’s largest pickleball complex at a former plywood factory in Pending.
In addition to participants from Malaysia, players from Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines will also compete. BPIT expects a turnout of 1,500 spectators and 500 players from the region, vying for a prize pool of RM20,000.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah emphasised that pickleball is a new sport gaining regional interest.
“Both of my ministries have chosen to support the tournament as it will promote Sarawak as a sports tourism destination. With the Sukma Games and the Borneo Pickleball Tournament, we will turn Sarawak into a hotbed for sports tourism in Southeast Asia,” he said during a press conference here today.
He made these remarks when announcing the sponsors and official partners of BPIT at the ministry’s office in Baitulmakmur Building in Petra Jaya.
Abdul Karim, who is also the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, acknowledged sponsors and partners as the unsung heroes working behind the scenes in making Malaysia’s largest pickleball tournament possible.
The Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak is the gold sponsor, Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau is the silver sponsor and Skechers is the bronze sponsor. The tournament venue PIKABOL is Asia’s biggest purpose-built indoor complex with 16 dedicated pickleball courts and a restaurant.
Other top-tier sponsors include Sarawak Energy Berhad, WTK Holdings Sdn Bhd, KL-based interior design company Decor Hauz Interior, pickleball merchandise Odysportz and Starbucks.
Official partners include CPH Travel and Tours (travel), Grand Margherita Hotel and Riverside Majestic under Hemisphere Hospitality (hotel), Malaysia Airlines (airline) and Sarawak Tourism Board (promotional).
Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) serves in an exclusive strategic guidance role and is also stepping in as the official community outreach partner through its Books Built Legacy initiative. This collaboration with DayakDaily and The Hills Shopping Mall aims to gather 2,000 books for rural schools in Sarawak.
Expressing appreciation to these sponsors and partners, Abdul Karim stressed that the success of the event is a collective effort of all stakeholders in bringing Sarawak one step closer to being a sports powerhouse in 2030.
The tournament will feature three categories. The Open (Team) category features five sub-categories—Mixed Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles, Veteran Doubles and Men’s Singles. The registration fee is RM1,200 per team.
The Women’s Single Category will be open for a maximum of 24 players with a registration fee of RM100 per player.
In the Novice Category, it will be open to a maximum of 24 pairs with registration fee of RM50 per pair. — DayakDaily
