Bank of Singapore to host invite-only pickleball corporate challenge at National Stadium in 2026
OCBC Bank, BOS and Great Eastern will partner the Sports Hub to host one of South-east Asia’s largest pickleball tournaments in the third quarter of next year
[SINGAPORE] The Bank of Singapore (BOS) – the private banking subsidiary of OCBC – will host an exclusive, invite-only pickleball corporate challenge, as part of a new pickleball tournament that will be held at the National Stadium in Kallang next year.
OCBC Group said this on Saturday (Oct 25) as it announced a partnership with the Singapore Sports Hub to host “one of South-east Asia’s largest pickleball tournaments”.
The corporate challenge is a “special category” that will see pickleball enthusiasts from leading corporates and BOS clients vie for the honour of being crowned champions.
The tournament will be the competitive highlight of a new pickleball programme launched by the OCBC Group – which comprises OCBC Bank, BOS and insurer Great Eastern – in partnership with Kallang Alive Sport Management, which manages the Sports Hub.
The tournament will last three days, with more than 2,000 players competing on over 20 courts that will be specially set up inside the National Stadium. There will be a lead-up competitive series for more than 500 players too, with more details to be announced in early-2026.
As part of the programme, eight new outdoor pickleball courts will be commissioned at the Sports Hub that will be open for public use from January.
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Two junior tennis courts at the Kallang Tennis Hub and three basketball courts at the Promenade at National Stadium will be modified as dual-use courts, which can be used either for pickleball and either tennis or basketball.
There are plans to have scheduled play times for each sport to make it easier for people to book these courts. Booking fees start from S$5 per court for non-peak hours.
In all, this move will add more than 20,000 hours of pickleball play in Singapore each year.
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Growing popularity
In the media release, OCBC Group and the Sports Hub noted the “growing popularity” of pickleball in Singapore was due to the ease of learning and play, which makes the sport suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
At a launch event held at the Sports Hub’s OCBC Square, Helen Wong, Jason Moo and Greg Hingston – the CEOs of OCBC Group, BOS and Great Eastern, respectively – joined KASM CEO Quek Swee Kuan in a pickleball game.
Wong, a tennis enthusiast, noted that this was the first time that all of OCBC Group’s major entities are coming together to jointly support “an increasingly popular sport that deserves to be even more easily accessible”.
The bank has been active in the local sports scene for many years through the annual OCBC Cycle and Great Eastern Women’s Run events, both of which are staged at the Sports Hub.
Quek, meanwhile, said that the addition of pickleball to the Sports Hub’s offerings reflects the commitment to be responsive to the needs of players and communities.
“We are pleased to partner OCBC Group, among other like-minded organisations, to deliver on our various initiatives to grow the sport and strengthen the broader pickleball ecosystem,” he said.
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