PHILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio sees Dumaguete City’s growing pickleball scene as a potential model for how local governments can build sports programs from the grassroots while developing facilities for bigger competitions.
Dumaguete has seen a rapid rise in pickleball, with more than 300 courts across the city and thousands more throughout Negros Oriental, making the sport increasingly visible in communities and attracting players from different age groups.
Gregorio said the growth of the sport is significant not only because of its popularity, but because it shows how a local community can embrace a relatively new discipline while continuing to invest in established sports.
“What we see here in Dumaguete could be a model of how local governments can embrace new sports while strengthening traditional ones,” Gregorio said.
Pickleball has particularly taken root among families and older residents, giving the sport a broad base of participants while creating opportunities for competition and tourism.
Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel “Chiquiting” Sagarbarria said the sport fits well with the city’s growing older population, while Negros Oriental Governor Chaco Sagarbarria pointed to its accessibility across generations.
For Gregorio, however, the bigger picture goes beyond pickleball.
The PSC is also working with Dumaguete and Negros Oriental on the development of facilities for football, track and field and archery, with the goal of creating more venues where athletes can train and compete at a higher level.
“The PSC is committed to working with Dumaguete and Negros Oriental to ensure that facilities for football, track and field, and archery are developed to world-class standards,” Gregorio said.
His push reflects the PSC’s broader strategy of expanding sports opportunities outside the traditional centers of competition, while giving athletes access to proper facilities closer to their communities.
Dumaguete’s experience with pickleball provides one example of how local interest can grow into a wider sports ecosystem when matched with government support and investment in infrastructure.
For Gregorio, the objective is not simply to produce more courts or host more competitions, but to create a system where grassroots participation can eventually lead to elite athletes.
“This is how we build pathways from grassroots to gold, and from gold to greatness,” he said.
With pickleball continuing to expand across Dumaguete and Negros Oriental, the city is now emerging as a test case for the kind of multi-sport development Gregorio wants to see replicated in other parts of the country. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
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