Do not miss the sixth installment of the articles with which we are reviewing with the current President of the International Federation how these first four years of his mandate have been at the head of the governing body of the paddle worldwide. On this occasion, he will tell us about his global vision of how international paddle is, the prospects for growth and what the future of this sport can be.
Padel World Press .- The indicators of padel growth that we could use may be of different origins: institutional, commercial, journalistic, etc. All agree that the evolution and development of this sport is exponential, with situations that are sometimes neither controllable nor fully evaluable.
Those that indicate that more tracks are built than a Federation can keep under its control are not controllable ... By that I mean the correct training of the technicians who work in these structures, either teaching our sport or organizing official tournaments. There are some examples of this situation but it is the old story of the chicken or the egg… Does anyone know which came first? The important thing is that the National Federations quickly cover the 'gap' between demand and supply and that they rely on the FIP, which can advise and help them.
Nor are the information of friends who travel and write and that some press organs reproduce reproduced. Almost always correspond to a specific reality and the International Federation must deal with seeing things with the 'wide-angle'.
Currently, our family is made up of 28 National Federations: 5 in South America, 5 in Central America, North America and the Caribbean; 2 in Asia, 1 in Oceania (Australia) and 15 in Europe.
We all know that the development achieved by some of them is remarkable while others have required a lot of time to grow. What nobody can argue is that at the moment the growth is constant everywhere and, in its curve, it stands out that it continues to grow both in countries where the sport has been established for years, and in Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Uruguay, as in the rest of the nations, among which are those in which its practice has recently begun. What does worry us is that in some it is a bit stagnant. We are not going to name them so that nobody bothers but from here we publicly reiterate our availability to help them find new stimuli and energies.
Without a doubt, Europe is the Continent in which paddle tennis grows at a very important rate. The distances help, also the mentality and the situations of the sports market… But I look with particular attention and expectation at what can happen from one moment to the next in Asia. We follow every day everything that happens in every part of the world where paddle is talked about and although we have 28 affiliated Federations, we can assure that it is already possible to wield a shovel and play a counter-wall in almost 60 countries.
The FIP is already structured and ready to receive those who will be at our door, which is always open. More Federations enter and greater will be the opportunities for all.
For the International Federation it is vital to continue growing and consolidating its position as a world reference for our sport, achieving greater prestige and international recognition as well as strengthening the National Federations that will obtain an indirect benefit, in terms of prestige and national recognition. On the other hand, players will have the opportunity to compete in countries they have always dreamed of visiting and, for coaches and educators, it will be possible to disseminate their experiences in new organized structures. As for the companies, if the padel is open to the world they can have a greater role in the global market.
As for the inhabitants of our 'Planet Pádel', it should be noted that they will have more options to get to know our sport, to see it more on television and, perhaps, to be able to play it in a club near their home, or to know that your son will practice it at his school because they have decided to include a new discipline in the sports offer.
This point is of fundamental importance: the activity of promotion at the child and youth level in the structures dedicated to the education and education of people. Thanks to the experiences of many people who have made themselves available, we will make a 'Pilot Program' in the FIP so that the National Federations can use it in their own countries. As it could not be otherwise, the International Federation will be involved in educating educators and providing kits.
It is evident that team sports with a significant number of components, such as football, basketball, volleyball, softball, rugby, handball, etc., are the favorites of Physical Education teachers because they involve many children or young people in a class … But let's not forget that there are excellences in sports such as swimming or athletics that are born and developed in schools and institutes and that is why paddle tennis must organize itself to find its space.
In many Anglo-Saxon countries, the development of a sport depends on its presence in Colleges and Universities. Without that passage, a certain discipline will never reach its fullness. We have understood them and we are looking for the best formula to propose to start the process of stabilization and consolidation.
The greater attention paid to the padel institutions and companies involved in the world of sports is also a symptom of liveliness. This did not happen before. From other Federations or from organizations of sporting events we were watched with curiosity but without greater interest. Today we can say that things have changed.
In 25 years of life we have added a total of 28 National Federations. I am convinced that in less than 10 years we will be double. Our sport is projected into a glorious future that will proceed to distribute benefits to the people who 'practice' it, who 'produce' it or who 'manage' it anywhere on the planet.
We can not disappoint anyone. The expectations around us grow, the emotion of our leaders too and mine, as is logical, multiplies.
Daniel Patti.
* You can follow all the news of the world of paddle in our profiles of Facebook y Twitter as well as subscribe to our Newsletter .
