Български
NEWS
BSDA is a partner in PIC4ALL project
28.01.2021
There is a little known sport in Europe but it has many followers in other continents (America, Asia), which is probably one of the most inclusive in the world. It is a racket sport born in the United States in 1965 and is called pickle ball. This sport can be played by children, adult men and women, elderly people and people with intellectual and or development disabilities.
The PIC4ALL project aims to demonstrate that with the appropriate means and resources pickle ball can become a mass sport throughout the European Union that can be played regularly by any group. Pickle ball is becoming a social sport phenomenon that generates a lot of demand in other countries at all levels (municipal, clubs, schools, etc). Today, about 5 million people in the world already play pickleball, mostly in countries like Canada, the United States, India, China, etc. In Europe there is not yet a large number of players, but there is a growing interest from the population in general, sport clubs, schools, etc. In Spain the pickleball has been growing for almost 10 years in various locations.
The duration of the project is 18 months and the initiative is involving 5 partner organizations from 4 European countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain.
The project objectives:
• Promote education in and through sport with special focus on skills development: One of the activities foreseen in the pic4all project is the training of pickleball instructors, coaches and players from the project partners in order to improve their professional and sport skills;
• Support the mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of non-profit sport organisations. The project is divided into two main types of activities that will be carried out in alternation: on the one hand, the meetings of partners in which training and information exchange actions will be developed, as well as the celebration of social sport events and, on the other hand, the activities of local implementation of Pickleball in the environment and infrastructure of the participating organisations for the distribution and practice of the pickleball by the target groups the groups. That way everyone (volunteers, staff, managers, coaches, players, etc.) will have a better understanding of how the sport really works.
Pickle ball is experiencing an enormous development and massive success around the world for many reasons, such as the following:
• Low cost: Installing a pickle ball court in a sport club, school, and senior center or in a municipal area is extremely low cost (only hundreds of euros);
• Fast controlling of the gameplay and low frustration: Anyone who tries it can in a record time (minutes or sometimes hours in the worst cases) acquire the necessary technique and the necessary level to start enjoying the game, thereby reducing the level of frustration;
• It is a highly social sport that allows players of different levels and different profiles to get together;
• It is not an adapted sport except for those who have to play in a wheelchair. In fact, people with intellectual disabilities use the same rules and regulations as any other player.
The Pic4all Project aims to expand the practice of pickle ball in several European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, and Italy) as it is one of the sports that most encourages social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport but where the sport is still a great unknown.
Innovative aspects of this new sport are:
• Intergenerational. A large number of people can participate regardless of age, gender, physical and sporting abilities and skills. People can participate in different roles: player, referee, support person for POI;
• Fun and dynamic. It produces a fast and high degree of motivation in the players;
• Social and committed. It motivates teamwork on and off the court;
• Simple and competitive. It has a high pedagogical value that enhances learning;
• Innovative and attractive. It is a little known sport but it hooks from the beginning.
Main activities are:
Transnational Project Meetings (T.P.M):
• TPM1: Thematic: “KICK OFF MEETING – WHAT IS PICKLEBALL” - January 2021 – Madrid, Spain;
• TPM2: Thematic: “PICKLEBALL FOR YOUNGSTERS UNDER RISK OF EXCLUSION” - May 2021- Gent, Belgium;
• TPM3: Thematic: “ORGANISING a 100% INCLUSIVE PICKLEBALL SPORT EVENT” – September 2021 – Madrid, Spain;
• TPM4: Thematic: “ORGANISING PICKLEBALL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL CARE CENTERS” February 2022 – Sofia, Bulgaria;
• TPM5: Thematic: “ORGANISING PICKLEBALL STREETS ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES” - May 2022 – Milano, Italy.
The „ PIC4ALL” project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
The duration of the project is 18 months and the initiative is involving 5 partner organizations from 4 European countries - Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain.
The project objectives:
• Promote education in and through sport with special focus on skills development: One of the activities foreseen in the pic4all project is the training of pickleball instructors, coaches and players from the project partners in order to improve their professional and sport skills;
• Support the mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of non-profit sport organisations. The project is divided into two main types of activities that will be carried out in alternation: on the one hand, the meetings of partners in which training and information exchange actions will be developed, as well as the celebration of social sport events and, on the other hand, the activities of local implementation of Pickleball in the environment and infrastructure of the participating organisations for the distribution and practice of the pickleball by the target groups the groups. That way everyone (volunteers, staff, managers, coaches, players, etc.) will have a better understanding of how the sport really works.
Pickle ball is experiencing an enormous development and massive success around the world for many reasons, such as the following:
• Low cost: Installing a pickle ball court in a sport club, school, and senior center or in a municipal area is extremely low cost (only hundreds of euros);
• Fast controlling of the gameplay and low frustration: Anyone who tries it can in a record time (minutes or sometimes hours in the worst cases) acquire the necessary technique and the necessary level to start enjoying the game, thereby reducing the level of frustration;
• It is a highly social sport that allows players of different levels and different profiles to get together;
• It is not an adapted sport except for those who have to play in a wheelchair. In fact, people with intellectual disabilities use the same rules and regulations as any other player.
The Pic4all Project aims to expand the practice of pickle ball in several European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, and Italy) as it is one of the sports that most encourages social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport but where the sport is still a great unknown.
Innovative aspects of this new sport are:
• Intergenerational. A large number of people can participate regardless of age, gender, physical and sporting abilities and skills. People can participate in different roles: player, referee, support person for POI;
• Fun and dynamic. It produces a fast and high degree of motivation in the players;
• Social and committed. It motivates teamwork on and off the court;
• Simple and competitive. It has a high pedagogical value that enhances learning;
• Innovative and attractive. It is a little known sport but it hooks from the beginning.
Main activities are:
Transnational Project Meetings (T.P.M):
• TPM1: Thematic: “KICK OFF MEETING – WHAT IS PICKLEBALL” - January 2021 – Madrid, Spain;
• TPM2: Thematic: “PICKLEBALL FOR YOUNGSTERS UNDER RISK OF EXCLUSION” - May 2021- Gent, Belgium;
• TPM3: Thematic: “ORGANISING a 100% INCLUSIVE PICKLEBALL SPORT EVENT” – September 2021 – Madrid, Spain;
• TPM4: Thematic: “ORGANISING PICKLEBALL ACTIVITIES FOR SCHOOLS AND SOCIAL CARE CENTERS” February 2022 – Sofia, Bulgaria;
• TPM5: Thematic: “ORGANISING PICKLEBALL STREETS ACTIVITIES FOR FAMILIES” - May 2022 – Milano, Italy.
The „ PIC4ALL” project is co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
