Mimasaka University makes a visiting trip to Imabari’s two-branch school—why pickleball reaches an island school in the Seto Inland Sea

Mimasaka University in Tsuyama, Okayama Prefecture held consecutive pickleball trial sessions at two schools in Ehime Prefecture—the Hakata branch of Imabari Nishi High School (Hakata Island)andand the Omishima branch of Imabari Kita High School (Omishima). The picture of Mimasaka University—Japan's first school to introduce pickleball into university coursework—“crossing prefectural borders to visit island high schools” symbolizes that Japan's pickleball spread has entered the next stage of inter-regional collaboration. This piece organizesthe content of the trial sessions, the instructor's background, and the significance of the trip to the Seto Inland Sea, to read the roadmap for expanding among Japan's younger population.

What took place over two days—back-to-back sessions at the Hakata and Omishima branches

According to Mimasaka University,Official announcementa trial session was held at the Hakata branch of Ehime Prefectural Imabari Nishi High School on December 11, 2024, and at the Omishima branch of Imabari Kita High School the next day, the 12th. Both branch schools are island campuses located on Hakata Island and Omishima, in the Seto Inland Sea region along the Shimanami Kaido. Seen from Honshu's Okayama, the instructor team traveled down from northern Okayama, where Mimasaka University is located, to the Seto Inland side, entered Ehime via the Seto Ohashi Bridge, then crossed the Shimanami Kaido to reach the island high schools.

The session was run bylecturer Shinpei Kitaniof Mimasaka University's Department of Child Studies. Kitani holds a pickleball coordinator qualification and is also involved with the university's pickleball club's activities. This time he brought a full set of equipment, including paddles and balls, from Okayama, and developed a one-day, self-contained program from a rules lecture to hands-on play and mini-games. Participating students offered comments such as“It was my first time, but it was really fun!”, and it functioned as a place to feel the sensation of rallies going back and forth.

Mimasaka University and pickleball—the backdrop of “the originator of introducing it into university coursework in Japan”

Mimasaka University is the only private university in northern Okayama, a four-year university with a Faculty of Life Sciences and a junior college division.In 2018 it became the first university in Japan to introduce pickleball as a regular course, and that same year it launched a university-recognized pickleball club. In 2024 it was upgraded to a “designated strengthening club,” and it has produced players who have reached the podium at open tournaments in the Kanto region and at the All-Japan Championships. Having faculty who build the coursework and club members who sharpen their competitive ability together on the same campus is a strength still rare among other universities in Japan.

The significance of the trial sessions goes beyond just growing the playing population. It combines a teacher-training context—“students in the Department of Child Studies, who will become teachers, gain hands-on experience so they can incorporate pickleball into their lessons”—making it also a mechanism through whichthe “pickleball as school PE” model born at Mimasaka Universityspreads to regional schools.Osaka Gakuin University High Schoolalso has moves to adopt it as a regular PE course for third-year students, and the tide of pickleball beginning to be woven into Japan's high-school PE scene is accelerating at this timing.

Why island schools—the compatibility of small-group PE and pickleball

The Hakata and Omishima branches are both small island campuses, with several dozen students per grade. In small-group PE classes, the ball games that can be run tend to be limited by constraints on equipment count and space.Pickleball is based on 4-player doubles on one court, and the court size is equivalent to a badminton court, so two matches can run simultaneously on half a gym. It's easy to secure a lot of rallies even at small schools, and groups with differing skill levels can enjoy it together.

The Seto Inland region has long had racket sports such as tennis, badminton, and table tennis rooted as part of local culture. Pickleball has high affinity with these movements, and it's said that people with racket-sport experience can get into a game within minutes. A trial session at an island school is likely positioned not as a one-off event but as“a class observation plus hands-on session to decide whether to adopt it in next year's PE curriculum,”carrying the character of teacher training as well.

Summary: key data on the trial sessions

Three reactions—university, high school, and enthusiasts

• Mimasaka University official“We want high school students to deepen their interest in pickleball and to widen the circle of exchange” (gist of the official announcement)
• Participating high school students“It was my first time, but it was really fun!” (from the official announcement)
• Osaka Gakuin University High School“We held pickleball in third-year PE classes and will continue to incorporate it into lessons” (gist of the school's official notice)

The enthusiasm of universities, high schools, and enthusiasts is aligned, andthe foundation for course adoption to shift from a one-off experience to a multi-session seriesis coming into view.

Impact for enthusiasts and coaches—the “you can start even on an island” model

For clubs that carry pickleball promotion in their region, the Mimasaka University approach is a highly reproducible template. The trial-session format of bringing in a full equipment set and instructors from outside the region links up with the flow of official events likethe JPA Ehime Openalready starting to move in Shikoku. The flow of “staging a trial session at the host site of an official event to broaden the base of the playing population” directly bears on how regional clubs design their activities.

High schools and junior highs hoping to host a trial session can use the Mimasaka University Admissions and Public Relations Office (TEL: 0868-22-5570) as their contact. The basic arrangement involves dispatching instructors, and the setup where the university provides the three-piece set of equipment, teaching materials, and instructors is a major option for regional schools with limited funds or instructors.A circuit through which even regional schools outside Honshu can introduce “pickleball as school PE” at low costis finally beginning to take shape.

Ripple effects on the industry—signs that university leagues and high-school PE are connecting

In the U.S., the number of schools participating in collegiate pickleball tournaments has grown more than fivefold in five years, and its maturation as a student sport is advancing.Like FAU, which won the 2026 national collegiate championship, the U.S. has already established “collegiate pickleball” as an independent market. In Japan the format of league play is not yet in place, butthe arrangement of universities handling “promotion activities toward high schools,” as in Mimasaka University's efforts,overlaps with the pattern of U.S. universities being woven into their local communities.

This trial session is better read not as a standalone event but as a move that has begun to sketchuniversity → high school → regional club → official event, a Japan-original loop for forming a playing population. The merger of Japan's pickleball associations and federations (JPA and PJF merged into “Pickleball Japan (PJ)” in April 2026) also acts as a tailwind, and collaboration between educational institutions and the governing body is likely to accelerate from here.

Practical information—for schools and municipalities considering introducing a trial session

Summary—an era when pickleball reaches even “an island gym”

Mimasaka University's trial sessions at the two Imabari branch schools are a case that symbolizes the movement of pickleball being woven into Japan's high schools and universities. The fact that an Okayama private university crossed prefectural borders and carried its instructors all the way to island schools in the Seto Inland Sea showed that the hurdle of assembling the three elements—equipment, courts, and instructors—on a regional levelcan be cleared with a “university-based traveling model.”Along with the founding of Pickleball Japan (PJ), if collaboration between the educational field and the governing body advances, pickleball may rapidly gain presence in the high-school PE scene from 2026 onward.

Information sources

• Mimasaka University official, “Trial session held to convey the appeal of pickleball to high school students!” (mimasaka.jp/news/event/art27930)
• Osaka Gakuin University High School, “Pickleball held in PE class” (ogu-h.ed.jp/news/2024/11/pickleball.html)
• Mimasaka University official “Pickleball club” category (mimasaka.jp/campus/news)