Sibu is not waiting for pickleball to come to it. It is building the infrastructure to become a regional hub for the sport.
The Sibu Pickleball Association is actively advancing the Bukit Lima Pickleball Arena project—a two-storey complex featuring 8 pickleball courts that has already secured support from the Sibu Municipal Council and Sarawak Sports Corporation. The project has cleared the Sibu Divisional Development Committee Siting Meeting and been submitted to the Sarawak Land and Survey Department for final siting approval. Once that process concludes, it moves to the Sarawak Government Building Design Committee and the Sarawak Planning Authority before construction can begin.
Bukit Asek assemblyman and SPA president Joseph Chieng has allocated RM5.8 million in Rural Transformation Project funding for Phase 1 construction—a tangible financial commitment that signals this is more than a planning exercise.
Building From the Ground Up
The arena is the centrepiece, but the youth development work already underway may prove equally significant in the long run.
On 30 April 2025, the Sibu Pickleball Association initiated pickleball clubs across 11 secondary schools in the Sibu district, providing equipment sponsorship alongside the club formations. Two more schools joined the initiative shortly after, bringing the total to 13. The association followed this up by organising the 2025 Sibu Division Inter-Secondary Schools Pickleball Championship—believed to be the first of its kind in Malaysia—which drew 16 teams from 13 schools.
The 2nd Sibu Division Inter-Secondary School Pickleball Championship is already scheduled for 4–5 July at the SMI Pickleball Centre. SPA has also received endorsement from the Sarawak Pickleball Association to organise the inaugural Sarawak U18 inter-division Pickleball Championship, tentatively set for 25–26 July.
Sibu Pickleball Association Structure
Chieng was reelected as Sibu Pickleball Association president for the 2026–2027 term at the association’s Annual General Meeting held last weekend. SPA, established in January 2024, now comprises 7 affiliated clubs: Lanang, Dudong, Bukit Assek, Pelawan, Iplay Swan Squad, Mighty Titan, and Smashkin Blaze.
From a standing start just over a year ago, Sibu has built a school programme, hosted what may be Malaysia’s first inter-secondary schools pickleball championship, and is now putting up a dedicated arena with government funding behind it.
The sport is growing everywhere. Sibu is growing with purpose.
