UNDER-UTILISED BADMINTON COURTS TO BE UPGRADED FOR PICKLEBALL

PICKLEBALL Mania has arrived in Subang Jaya.

If you haven’t picked up the sport, perhaps it’s time to do so and follow in the footsteps of MPP Zon 3 councillor Ken Chia and Penggerak Belia Selangor (PeBS) Subang Jaya chairman Christopher Johnson.

Both have been actively “pickle-balling” and Christopher has even started coaching newbies in the sport.

But here’s the glitch. There aren’t enough pickleball courts to meet the demand for the sport in Subang Jaya. Many have headed out to neighbouring areas for a game. Property owners have converted available space into pickleball courts but the demand is more than the supply.

Where do you go if you are a newbie in the sport? Which court is available for you to try your hand?

Councillor Ken has a stop-gap measure – convert under-utilised badminton courts in neighbourhoods into pickleball courts.

“There are many under-utilised badminton courts in Subang Jaya. Badminton players prefer to go indoors for their games leaving the courts at neighbourhoods under-utilised.”

“For MPP Zon 3, I have proposed to convert badminton courts into pickleball courts to MBSJ. These are the ones at USJ 13/2; USJ 16; USJ 12/2; USJ 11/4; USJ 9/3; USJ 9/5; USJ 14 and USJ 20/6,” he said.

According to Ken this was the right time to provide more courts for potential pickleball talents as SUKMA 2026 will be featuring pickleball as a new sport for competition.

“Selangor will be the host for SUKMA in 2026 and pickleball is going to be a competitive sport. What better time to provide more training grounds for our residents who may potentially be good and talented players,” he added.

According to Christopher, making pickleball courts in neighbourhoods available will provide a good “nursery” to guide and train youths and everyone else in the sport.

“Neighbourhood courts can be the training ground for those who want to try out the sport casually. This may eventually spark interest to go into competitive pickleball for some.”

“PeBS Subang Jaya is out to draw more youths into the sport. With courts in your neighbourhood, you can play anytime. All you have to bring is your pickleball bat, ball and the net to play,” he said.

Ken said the proposal to convert the under-utilised courts had been submitted to MBSJ for approval.

“There will be some adjustments to the size of the existing court to cater for pickleball. The courts will be resurfaced and new lines drawn for the sport,” he added.