Durrant Pate/Contributor

Pickleball is one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, and on the domestic front, Peter Azar is introducing Jamaicans to the paddle game through his ‘Pickle & Chill’ business.

He is tapping into this growing love for the game and its way of connecting people across generations, backgrounds and communities. That spirit of togetherness has inspired the Do Good Pickleball fundraising event, hosted by One Great Studio (1GS) and Myers, Fletcher & Gordon (MF&G) on September 20 for Jacks Hill Primary and Higholborn Street Basic schools. 

The Do Good Pickleball tourney is a one-of-a-kind corporate charity event that merges wellness, networking and philanthropy, bringing together Jamaica’s business and creative leaders for spirited competition while fostering meaningful connections across industries.

When Azar first discovered pickleball on a trip to Florida four years ago, he was instantly intrigued. A former national tennis player for Jamaica, he saw in pickleball a refreshing, strategic twist on racket sports. But what struck him even more was its unique social power, Azar explains.

That inclusivity inspired Azar, alongside his long-time friends and co-founders, James Sampson and brothers David and Stephen Shirley, to introduce pickleball to Jamaica through Pickle & Chill. They wanted to create a space that blended health, fitness, food, and fellowship.

“Yes, we can go to a bar or a restaurant, but we thought Jamaica needed more wholesome activities that foster well-being and bring people together,” Azar says.

Benefits galore

Over the past year, Pickle & Chill has grown into a vibrant hub of players and spectators of all ages. The result has been not just a growing pickleball community, but also the rekindling of old friendships and the forging of new ones. “Interaction and sharing time together is so important in these somewhat impersonal times we live in,” Azar notes, recalling customers who have lost as much as 40 pounds in six months by simply playing regularly, transforming their health and quality of life. 

Others have found new friendships and a renewed sense of belonging. Azar explains that international players who recently came to Kingston for the Jamaica Pickleball Open described it as the best tournament experience of their careers, not just for the competition, but for the cultural connection they shared with Jamaicans. This transformative power of sport is what makes initiatives like the “Do Good” Pickleball Tourney by 1GS and MF&G so meaningful. 

The event, with the support of its main sponsors, STL Solar, Sterling Asset Management, Sagicor Investments, and Fraser Fontaine & Kong, raised over J$2 million for Jacks Hill Primary & Infant School and Higholborn Street Basic School, providing resources that will strengthen these institutions and, by extension, their communities.

“People who do good for others, as 1GS and MF&G are doing, can only make Jamaica a better place. Sport unites us and fosters the fundamentals of life. If we all did good, we’d be unstoppable,” Azar declares. 

For him, the hope is that the tournament not only benefits the schools directly but also inspires corporate Jamaica and communities at large to rally around meaningful causes. “Don’t ever underestimate what one kind word of encouragement or a gift of kindness to a child can mean for their future,” Azar emphasises. Looking ahead, Azar’s vision for Pickle & Chill is ambitious, including expanding to Ocho Rios and Montego Bay; growing from seven to eleven courts in Kingston, and introducing pickleball into schools to open scholarship opportunities for Jamaican youth. 

With Pickle & Chill invited to the Pickleball World Cup in Florida and the sport on track to become an Olympic sport, the island’s place on the pickleball map is just beginning to take shape.

Whether Jamaica also excels in the sport internationally, as it has with others, the game remains about connection.

As Azar puts it, “You come into Pickle & Chill and check your problems at the door. We want to take that stress away, increase your longevity, and improve your quality of life. Pickleball is about community, and when you combine that with giving back, the possibilities are limitless.”