Credits to: Borneo Post Online
SMK Santubong will soon get its own pickleball court, a key step in a plan to position Santubong as a regional hub for the sport, said Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri. The Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, who also serves as Member of Parliament for Santubong and patron of RB Rinduk Pickleball Academy, confirmed that both the plans and funding are in place.
“Establishing Santubong as a pickleball hub is a very promising endeavour and certainly our hope. Many school-level programmes have already been held to support this vision,” said Nancy.
She added that the project at SMK Santubong has received an allocation and is now pending commencement.
“SMK Santubong has been allocated funds for the court’s construction, and we are now just awaiting the project’s commencement,” she said.
Nancy spoke to reporters after attending the RB Junior Pickleball Camp 2025 at RB Homestay & Farms, Santubong. The minister highlighted pickleball’s potential as a sports-tourism draw that could benefit the local economy and praised the skill on display from participants aged seven to 14 from SK Buntal and SMK Santubong.
Pickleball Junior Pathways
RB Rinduk Pickleball Academy president Ruslan Bujang said the academy is preparing 32 camp participants for the Matta Malaysia Pickleball Grand Slam 2025 in October. The training programme covers technical exposure, tactical work, fitness, wellness, and mini tournaments.
“This is why we are conducting the selection process now. From the 32 players, between six and eight will be chosen to represent us,” Ruslan explained.
Before the camp, players trained free of charge every Wednesday and Thursday, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, at RB Homestay & Farms.
Also present at the camp were head coach Mohamad Fuad, academy vice-president Alexander Tow, and assistant coaches Subian Putit, Shapiee Samat, Amin Adenan, Dr Awangku Rahman, and Christine Milton.
With funding secured and a clear pathway from school clinics to October’s Matta Malaysia Pickleball Grand Slam, SMK Santubong’s new court can turn a coastal campus into a Sarawak development node. Santubong could be a blueprint for Malaysia’s smaller towns—pair facilities with coaching, seed weekly play, and let sports tourism follow. In pickleball, big momentum often starts with one court and a community that shows up.
