Following a request from the club, South West Bedfordshire MP, Andrew Selous asked the sports minister to get pickleball listed as a national sport so it can have a chance of being in the 2032 Olympics and to visit the Dunstable Hunters pickleball club, which he agreed to do.
The club has a growing membership of all ages and both sexes and has members from Leighton Buzzard, Houghton, Regis, and across the area.
Andrew Selous said,
“I have joined the club as a member and very much enjoyed my taster session and it was wonderful to see grandparents playing with their grandchildren and everyone having fun. I would encourage people to come along and try it out at the Dunstable leisure centre. I am also delighted that today the sports minister has agreed to come to the Dunstable Hunters pickleball club”
The exchange in Hansard was as follows,
Can we recognise pickleball as a national sport, and will the sport Minister come to the Dunstable Hunters pickleball club, where he will see men, women, grandparents and grandchildren having a wonderful time?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Stuart Andrew)
How can I possibly resist such an invitation? [Laughter.] People are laughing, but this is becoming a more and more popular sport. For me, anything that gets people active and enjoying sport can only be positive, so I am happy to come to see it in action.