Bainbridge Cup

The International Pickleball Federation (IPF) was created in 2023 to act as the world-wide governing body for the sport of pickleball. The IPF is a not-for-profit organization that seeks to perpetuate the international growth and development of pickleball, create and maintain official rules across all of pickleball and organize international tournaments. One of the IPF's main goals is to have the sport of pickleball accepted to the Olympic Games.

Originally the IPF was founded as the International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) in 2010 by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA), now USA Pickleball (USAP), and several other national organizations. Internal conflicts, financial issues and loss of its not-for-profit status resulted in the IFP being shut down as an entity, and the new IPF was formed in April 2023 to take its place.

In November 2024 the IPF and World Pickleball Federation (WPF) announced that they would merge their two organizations under the World Pickleball Federation name and adopt the IPF's core mission of, "No country left behind". In February 2025, it was announced that the transition team was recommending that the newly merged entity be based in Lausanne, Switzerland, home of the International Olympic Committee. The IPF and WPF will each hold separate Special General Meetings on June 14, 2025, where each organization will request its respective member's to accept or reject the proposed unification.

History

The International Federation of Pickleball (IFP) was founded in the wake of the first National Pickleball Open competition, held in Surprise, Arizona in 2009. The tournament was hosted by the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) and drew almost 400 players from 26 American states and several Canadian provinces. The interest of the Canadians, among other factors, influenced the USAPA to establish a committee dedicated to the formation of an international governing body for pickleball. This committee was formed in 2010. The IFP's constitution and bylaws were officially ratified in 2015 by its four inaugural member countries: the United States, Canada, Spain, and India.

In 2018 a rival organization, the World Pickleball Federation (WPF), was formed by Seymour Rifkind, who had previously established the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA). Both the IFP and WPF sought to promote pickleball worldwide, and both seek to obtain Olympic recognition for the sport.

On April 22, 2022, the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, England, France, Spain, Philippines, Finland, Cayman Islands and the Czech Republic withdrew their membership in the IFP (sic), reducing the number of member countries from 70 to 59. This was due primarily to governance concerns, and loss of the IFP's non-profit status in the United States. The remaining members of the IFP then shut down the old organization and formed the new International Pickleball Federation (IPF) in 2023.

Structure

National and regional associations

there are 63 national organizations in the International Federation of Pickleball, including the special administrative region of Hong Kong, China. These national associations are organized into four categories: full members (1), Associate members (22), Affiliate members (37), and Provisional members (3). Each member country is organized under the umbrella of a continental federation. Full member countries can have members elected to the IPF's board of directors, while associate and affiliate member countries cannot.
All member countries are required to follow the rules of pickleball as established by the IPF.

The IPF has five continental federations. These are the Asia Federation of Pickleball (AFP), North American Pickleball Federation, South American Pickleball Association, European Pickleball Federation (EPF), and Oceanic Pickleball Federation.

Overall, the IPF gives complete autonomy to member countries in their own nations, except if the actions of a member nation "affect the international image of the sport, the uniform application of one set of rules, or in some way affect the future Olympic status of the sport."

Board of directors

The IPF's officers on the board are elected by the IPF's full member nations and serve two-year terms. The board consists of four officers, including the President, and lower-ranking members known as "At Large" members. The board may assign a maximum of six at-large members at any given time. The previous President is also reserved an "At Large" spot on the board.

Competitions

Bainbridge Cup

The IFP hosted the annual Bainbridge Cup, one of the first international pickleball team tournaments, prior to the formation of the IPF. The tournament was held form 2017 to 2019, but was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last Bainbridge Cup event was held in 2022 in Mumbia, India.

The tournament was named after Bainbridge Island, where pickleball was invented by Joel Pritchard and his colleagues. It consisted of two teams representing geographical regions, usually continents. Originally, the tournament pitted players from Europe against those from North America. In the 2021 Bainbridge Cup, the tournament was organized as "east" versus "west", with players west of the Mississippi River and those from Asia on one team, and players east of the Mississippi and those from Europe on the other.

The tournament divisions were organized by age and skill level for men's, women's, and mixed doubles. Men's and women's singles were played for the first time at the Bainbridge Cup as a demonstration event in 2021. The inaugural competition was held in Madrid, Spain in 2017.

List of IPF members

Listed below are International Pickleball Federation member countries in order by member type and when they joined. As of April 2022 eleven member countries have withdrawn their memberships from the IPF.

See also

* List of pickleball organizations
* Glossary of pickleball

References

External links

*

{{International Sports Federations

Pickleball organizations
International sports organizations
International organizations based in the United States
Sports organizations established in 2023
2023 establishments in Arizona