Press Release
Calgary Wins 2008 World Paddle Championships - 09/26/2006
Calgary, Alberta – Calgary will host the 2008 World Paddle Championships from August 23-30. Competing directly with Sao Paolo, Brazil Calgary has become the first Canadian city to host an international “Paddle” sport event of its kind. This event will result in about $579,000 in direct spending for Calgary.
The bid was supported by the Paddle Association of Canada (PAC) headquartered in Calgary with sport event bid services from Tourism Calgary. Bill Stamile, President of PAC, proudly stated, “this is a real coup for Calgary. To host this world-class paddle event indicates the respect Canada has in this sport.” He added, “having this event in Calgary will significantly increase the exposure of our sport in North America as well as greatly assisting the Paddle Association of Canada in promoting the sport of Paddle in Canada.” Marco De Iaco, Manager, Sports & Major Events at Tourism Calgary said, “Tourism Calgary was happy to offer assistance to this world-class sporting event. We offer a full range of efficient services; including assistance in preparing dynamic bids and presentations, to the coordination of effective site inspections, first-class accommodations and well prepared business plans.”
It is estimated that at least16 countries will send men’s and/or women’s teams each consisting of seven players, one captain and an association director. The countries expected to participate are Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, USA and Canada.
Paddle is an exciting racquet sport originating from Mexico that combines elements of tennis and squash into a fun and skillful sport ideal for all ages. Paddle is played in over 16 countries around the world by millions of people and features professional tours in Argentina and Spain. This relatively new sport has become one of the most popular racket games. Paddle (or Padel) is basically a scaled down version of tennis using a slightly smaller court (with walls) and graphite paddles instead of stringed racquets. The court is a third the size of a tennis court and is surrounded by 10’ high walls of glass and/or solid construction. It has been described as a “squash court in the sun.” or “a tennis court with walls” The scoring is similar to tennis but it uses an underhand serve and is always played as a doubles game.