WPF Founder Seymour Rifkind Throws Shade at GPF, Says IOC ‘Loves Pickleball’
It’s safe to say World Pickleball Federation (WPF) founder Seymour Rifkind isn’t a fan of the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF), which enjoys the backing of USA Pickleball. He made that abundantly clear when he joined the PicklePod recently, where he also hinted at the possibility of pickleball becoming an Olympic sport someday—maybe even in 2028 in Los Angeles.
If that is to happen, don’t expect the USA Pickleball-backed GPF to play a major role in it, at least in Rifkind’s view, even if it is purportedly aiming to “promote the sport of pickleball globally” and has already laid out plans “to accelerate pickleball’s future at the highest level of competition on a global scale.”
Rifkind isn’t exactly sold, calling the GPF’s proclamations “a lot of smoke and mirrors.” He, in fact, doubled down, saying that the “Global Pickleball Federation, for all of their talk, their bylaws are not IOC compliant.
Meaning, if Rifkind is right, the GPF is in no position to spearhead’s pickleball’s march towards becoming an Olympic sport in the soonest possible time.
WPF-IPF Merger Can Make That Olympic Dream Possible
That leaves the unified pickleball body formed when Rifkind’s WPF merged with the International Pickleball Federation (IPF) just recently. A key requirement of Olympic recognition, of course, is one international federation overseeing the sport—think FIFA for football, FIBA for basketball, and the International Tennis Federation for tennis. Pickleball hasn’t had this sole body, with as many as three groups—the WPF and IPF previously and the GPF—all supposedly taking on that role.
This is the gap the new WPF is hoping to fill, and Rifkind and company are dead serious about it.
“There’s probably about 300 to 400 pages of documents that need to be put together in order to formally apply to the IOC,” Rifkind told PicklePod host Zane Zavratil.
He then outlined how the new WPF is facing about three to four months of tedious work where it must hire a CEO and a COO, gather thousands of volunteers, and come up with a new name. Next will be proving that pickleball is, indeed, a global sporting phenomenon by holding a major international competition.
“One of the biggest next steps once a new board is put into place in August and our committees are filled out is hosting a World Pickleball Games,” said Rifkind. “One of the things that the IOC is going to want to see, ‘OK, so you’ve got all these countries, it’s popular. Now, can you run a major international tournament?’”
IOC ‘In Love’ with Pickleball?
Rifkind also dropped a bombshell in his Picklepod guesting, hinting that the IOC brass might actually have a favourable impression of the world’s fastest-rising sport.
“The International Olympic Committee, I can tell you, loves pickleball,” he said. “It checks all the boxes of what they’re looking for any new sport to be accepted. Our biggest problem has been us.”
But with the new WPF set to fill the gaps and determined to win over IOC approval, Rifkind believes pickleball will be an Olympic sport soon enough—maybe as soon as 2028.
“There is still a possibility that we could get in 2028,” Rifkind contends, putting the likelihood below 25%. “People say it’s impossible. I’ve heard this directly from the IOC: ‘If we want you in, you’re in. Period.'”
For now, the new WPF has a lot to do––and the waiting game will continue.
[Watch the Picklepod podcast below. Rifkind talks about the Olympics, WPF, and GPF starting at the 17-minute mark.]
