Penang is about to get a different kind of sports weekend - one where match points share the itinerary with buses, hotel check-ins, and a city tour. Vave Singapore is launching its “Playcation” pickleball concept in Bayan Baru, pitching the event as a first-of-its-kind format that pairs tournament play with a family-friendly travel package.
The Pickleball Playcation is set for January 30–31, 2026, at D’Piazza Mall on Jalan Mahsuri, with 13 regional teams slated to compete.
A Bracket With a Boarding Pass
The promise is simple: amateur competition that feels like a mini-vacation, not a logistical grind. Participants are offered a bundled experience that includes accommodation, local transport, sightseeing around Penang, tournament entry, and event merchandise such as T-shirts and goodie bags.
The event schedule extends beyond the two main match days, with a gala dinner on January 31 and a sightseeing day on February 1 for package holders.
“This Playcation approach is designed to appeal to families, amateur athletes, and sports enthusiasts seeking an engaging and memorable travel experience in Penang while enjoying the excitement of competitive pickleball,” said Benny Gan from Vave.
How the Competition Runs
On-court, the Penang edition is structured as a team event. The format requires a minimum of eight players per team, including at least two women, with matches spread across men’s, women’s, and mixed doubles categories.
Play begins with a round-robin league stage on January 30, followed by knockout play on January 31, when the main draw progresses through to finals and prize distribution.
The event materials also outline cash prizes for top finishers, listing RM3,000 for the winner and RM2,000 for the runner-up, alongside trophies and medals.
A Tourism Moment for Penang
The organizers are positioning the Playcation idea inside a broader push for lifestyle-oriented travel - sports as the anchor, destination as the reason to stay longer. That timing is not accidental: the Penang stop lands during the Visit Malaysia 2026 era, the national tourism campaign launched in January 2025.
For Penang, the proposition is familiar but sharpened: a weekend that invites families to travel together, then gives them a shared story - wins, losses, and a post-match itinerary - before they fly home.
The App Launch Riding Shotgun
The Penang weekend also doubles as a product rollout. Vave is introducing its Vave.Life platform, a mobile system designed to handle registration, results, rankings, and match history in one place.
Varad Kumaravelu, Founder of Vave added, “The Vave app is designed to serve regional tournaments, multiple sports and family-friendly competitions by managing regional matches across different sports, tracking results and providing a seamless experience for players and families alike. It’s built to make amateur sports more accessible, connected, and fun, no matter the sport.”
To show it can travel across sports, Vave is also supporting a table tennis tournament in Penang from January 31 to February 1, underscoring its multi-sport ambition.
Riding the Pickleball Wave in the Region
Pickleball’s growth story has been accelerating across the region, with more courts and more casual players looking for accessible competition. In Singapore, for example, eight new dual-use pickleball courts are scheduled to open at the Singapore Sports Hub from January 2026, reflecting how quickly demand has expanded.
That momentum matters for formats like Playcation. When a sport is still adding new players, the experience around the game - community, travel, and low-friction participation - often becomes the deciding factor for whether people return.
