[HOMESTRETCH] The pickleball craze: How courts create communities

What makes pickleball an exciting sport?

From grassroots to pro leagues, pickleball is almost immediately a hit in the Philippines in the span of three years. Almost everyone is playing this sport: kids, teens, young professionals, even seniors.

What’s behind it’s phenomenal popularity? Advocates say it’s easy to pickup, hard to master, but generates immediate fun. And that’s the secret – pickleball’s success story is one of community — people coming together to play, immerse, and to connect.

What does it really take to build such spaces?

This episode of HOMESTRETCH goes to Camp John Hay in Baguio City, as show host Pató Gregorio talks to Marianne Bustos, restaurateur, golfer, athlete, and a new pickleball convert.

He also sits down with Coach Nico Guarino of BP2 Asia — one of the pioneers of pickleball in the city — and Patrick Diaz, the founder and owner of DREAMCOURT, who built the new John Hay Sports Pavilion.

Co-presented by Rappler and Duckworld, HOMESTRETCH aims to tell the stories of people that inspire us with their struggles and triumphs, and the places that help define our spirit as a nation.

Watch on Sunday, June 22, at 8 pm on Rappler’s YouTube channel. – Rappler.com