Bermuda will defend the Caribbean Pickleball Championship title on home court after being granted hosting rights to stage the event on island for the first time.

The championships will be held at WER Joell Tennis Stadium from March 16 to 21 and will feature several Caribbean nations as well as players from other countries around the world.

The event, featuring junior, adult and senior divisions, serves as a “development engine” for the sport within the region promoting collaboration, competitive growth and opportunity for athletes, communities and national federations.

The competition comprises the Rally on the Rock and Caribbean Championship Cup, which offers open competition for all players and a high-performance team format that prepares islands for World Cup-style play.

The Caribbean Championship Cup will feature a group stage and play-off with each tie consisting of men’s and women’s doubles, mixed doubles and singles matches.

That event will be held prior to the Rally on the Rock, which involves players from all islands, skill levels and age groups that will compete in singles, doubles and mixed events across multiple divisions and draws.

All medals won during the championships will contribute towards the Caribbean Medal Table, with higher level events carrying greater weighting to reflect their competitive difficulty and strategic importance.

Sports minister Owen Darrell said hosting the championships is an “important moment” for Bermuda.

“This is a great day and I am pleased to announce that Bermuda will host the 2026 Caribbean Pickleball Championships here at the WER Joell Tennis Stadium,” he told those in attendance at a press conference at the Pembroke facility.

“This is an important moment for Bermuda. Not only for pickleball, but for sport, tourism and for community development. Pickleball reflects these values and is accessible across all age groups, all skill levels and is welcoming to young people through seniors.”

The Minister said hosting the championships places Bermuda in a leadership role within the regional with the event also supporting the local economy.

“Teams, families and supporters from across the Caribbean will travel here,” he said. “They will support hotels, they will support restaurants, they will support the transportation industry and they will support overall local businesses.

“This event also provides opportunities for Bermudian athletes to compete internationally here at home and measure themselves against their regional peers.

“George [PAB president George Thomas] and his team have made sure that the government is 100 per cent aligned and that the government is 100 per cent aware of everything that this tournament entails.

“Through this championship Bermuda will welcome Caribbean sport tourism and demonstrate how sport contributes to community life. Always remember that sport matters, and I am looking forward to this regional championship in March.”

PAB administrative director and elite team captain Gavin Manders said hosting the event is a “beautiful time” for pickleball in Bermuda.

“We were able to win the first Caribbean Championships, which really gave us the momentum and the ability to put our name forward to be able to host here,” he said.

“We wanted to make sure that we got that opportunity early because as we all know Bermuda is a beautiful place and we want to make sure that we allow the locals and also the next generation here to see what this sport has to offer.

“‘It's not just a sport that’s for the elderly. This is a sport for juniors, a high-performance sport that is now moving through the world, so this is the next step for us in our long-term athletic development plan and the competitive framework that we’ve built here with our national championships.

“This is a great opportunity to show what we can do in the region and continues to show that we are leaders bringing others with us.

“We all need to work together within this region so that we can continue to build on this and compete at the highest level in the region. This is really a special time for us.”

Manders is “super confident” in the association’s ability to host the tournament and thanked the Department of Sport and Recreation for their support in ensuring they were able to make it possible.

“For me, who has been in sports a long time, this is another priceless opportunity to really inspire the next generation and show what Bermuda has to offer holistically on the court and off the court — and I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world,” he said.

Thomas also hopes to see the island build on its success to date on the international pickleball stage.

“Pickleball is growing incredibly rapidly around the world and the results that we are able to achieve on the international stage as this very small island are absolutely astounding,” he said.

“We are looking to build on that and are expecting nations to come from the Caribbean as well as people from all over the world to play in our Open tournament, which is before then.

“It’s very important people understand how we compete globally, how this sport is accessible to all Bermudians.”