Team X.O (Xtra Ordinary) Pickleball, comprising 35 of Ipoh’s rising pickleball stars, is all set for action – in bright red team t-shirts sponsored by WEIL Hotel.
“Pickleball has exploded in many countries around the world and the sport has quickly caught on in Ipoh, with many pickleball courts and venues opened in the last one year,” says Mr Chong Him Shoong, President of Ipoh Roadrunners Club, who is also the Captain of Team X.O. Quick to spot an opportunity to promote Perak, he formed a pickleball team with a vision.
“More than just taking part in tournaments, our vision is to invite teams and players from all over Malaysia and even overseas, to come to Ipoh for pickleball, and to stay for all the other wonderful attractions that Ipoh has to offer.
“Pickleball tourism is already a very big thing in many parts of the world, and found to be a very effective way of drawing visitors to places they may never have thought of. We have to keep up with trends and movements in consumer and tourism behaviour, and all indicators point to pickleball,” he explains, adding that plans are afoot to offer pickleball, tours and accommodation as a package.
“We are very grateful to WEIL Hotel for seeing the potential in pickleball and in Team X.O. We want to put Ipoh on the map for the millions of pickleball players around the globe, one event at a time. To this end, we look forward to collaborate with WEIL Hotel to provide an end-to-end first class experience for visitors to Ipoh,” Chong adds.
On his part, Mr Liew Yu-Wei, Managing Director of WEIL Hotel, says, “As WEIL celebrates our 10th anniversary, we are especially honoured to support the spirited Perakian Pickleball Team. We like the idea that pickleball is a multi-generational sport the whole family can play together, and we are very pleased to sponsor t-shirts for Team X.O, which has the vision of transforming Ipoh through pickleball. We believe it can happen, as the sport is both compelling and addictive. Great things often start small, and we’re grateful to play a part in helping this local dream grow.”
“We are already getting many groups from KL, Penang, and even Singapore coming to stay at WEIL who are here to play pickleball. Many call to enquire if pickleball courts are available in our hotel — so perhaps this is something for us to consider,” he mulls.
Team X.O Manager Mr Lam Kar Wai says that his team is made up of players of all levels, from social to competitive. “It’s all in the name of fun and promoting our home town in a fun and sociable way. We are a versatile team that has the depth to take on the best, and also the bandwidth to accommodate those new to the sport.
“This,” he says, “is what makes us Xtra Ordinary.”
