The Bandeja Magazine Issue 1
UK padel news
UK padel news
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editor’s comment<br />
Emma Kimber<br />
Editor<br />
<strong>The</strong> Democratic<br />
Party of Padel<br />
Welcome to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Bandeja</strong>, the UK’s first magazine<br />
dedicated to the rather brilliant game of padel<br />
and the many thousands of people playing it<br />
up and down the country.<br />
Apparently there are some 90,000 of us,<br />
with 15,000 people playing every month.<br />
Worldwide it’s believed there are eight<br />
million participants - roughly equivalent to<br />
the population of a small African country<br />
(Togo, to be precise).And it’s growing,<br />
exponentially in some countries.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Bandeja</strong> has been in the making for<br />
about five months and in that time the<br />
UK padel scene has changed massively,<br />
with a huge number of new clubs and<br />
courts being announced and opened,<br />
including at the Queen’s Club. Foreign<br />
companies and operators have spotted<br />
an opportunity and are investing heavily<br />
alongside home-grown entrepreneurs<br />
vying with them to identify and sign-up<br />
sites for new courts.<br />
At times it feels like a modern day gold<br />
rush. In the scramble to secure sites, be<br />
the biggest name in a city or bring padel<br />
to a new area, millions of pounds are<br />
being poured into new and reinvigorated<br />
sporting facilities. And for that reason<br />
alone it is, quite simply, fantastic.<br />
And, amazingly, all this is happening<br />
somewhat under the radar. When we<br />
began <strong>The</strong> <strong>Bandeja</strong> journey so many<br />
people hadn’t heard of padel. Or worse,<br />
they thought they had and asked if you<br />
ever fell in, or got cold. Er no. It’s padel, not<br />
paddle boarding…..or they confused it with<br />
pickle ball, which I’m sure is great but it is<br />
not padel. Now when I mention padel there<br />
is a flicker of recognition, perhaps thanks<br />
to national press coverage, the increased<br />
number of facilities and buzz around the<br />
sport that is infectious and building.<br />
<strong>The</strong> beauty of padel is perhaps summed<br />
up in three words - accessible, inclusive<br />
and fun. Apart from a racket you don’t<br />
need special kit and almost all courts<br />
(bar the very small number that operate<br />
a private membership) are accessible<br />
without membership, making it truly<br />
democratic. Because it’s doubles, court<br />
costs are split four ways so an hour or so’s<br />
play is affordable for many people.<br />
More often than not most players can<br />
get a rally going in their first session. If<br />
you’ve played racket sports previously<br />
then it’s a cinch. And super addictive. It<br />
has the potential to shake-up the sporting<br />
landscape, attracting players of all ages,<br />
abilities and backgrounds to courts in<br />
ever-more inventive locations that are<br />
right on their doorsteps.<br />
I love padel because it’s great fun and<br />
I really like hitting a ball hard every now<br />
and then. I’m not going to set the world<br />
alight with my play but that’s sort of the<br />
point - there is room for everyone and<br />
there’s nothing better than a good rally<br />
at any level. Walk past almost any court<br />
during recreational play and you’re likely<br />
to hear laughter or banter. <strong>The</strong>re’s is no<br />
better advert than that.<br />
Our mission at <strong>The</strong> <strong>Bandeja</strong> is to<br />
showcase all that is brilliant about padel<br />
in the UK (and further afield), inspire<br />
people to play and love being part of<br />
an amazing community. We want you<br />
to be involved - send in club news, your<br />
favourite videos of padel shots, questions<br />
you want answered about the game<br />
or equipment, topics you’d like to see<br />
Emma Devine<br />
Designer<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Bandeja</strong> team<br />
Emma Kimber<br />
Editor<br />
emma@thebandeja.com<br />
Catherine Larrad<br />
Consultant<br />
Emma Devine<br />
Designer<br />
Advertising<br />
emma@thebandeja.com<br />
Launch sponsors<br />
PadelShack / Playtomic<br />
covered, pictures of your friends doing<br />
daft things on court etc. We are, together,<br />
Team Padel and all questions, story ideas,<br />
comments or submissions are welcome.<br />
It’s fair to say that this project probably<br />
wouldn’t have happened without the<br />
help and support of a few rather amazing<br />
people, to whom I am more<br />
than grateful. So take a bow Catherine<br />
Larrad, Bob Smith (of our launch sponsor<br />
Padel Shack), Jo Buchanan-Smith (of our<br />
launch sponsor Playtomic), Ian Colligon<br />
(iPadel), Minter Dial, David Capper (Padel<br />
Tribe UK) and the boys down at Padel<br />
United in Maldon, especially Richard Smith<br />
and my first coach Kai Woodgate. And<br />
Katie Weiner. You’d said I’d like it!<br />
Emma<br />
Emma Kimber<br />
Editor<br />
emma@thebandeja.com<br />
6 thebandeja.com<br />
“<br />
It’s great to be part of this amazing and booming sport. Since<br />
opening we’ve gone from strength to strength thanks to the people<br />
of Harrogate and the excellent Playtomic platform.<br />
”<br />
Stuart Perrin. Surge Padel Harrogate<br />
Call our UK team now on 07340 528 866<br />
www.playtomic.com
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