Pickleball Scotland are working to develop more referees in the sport – all under the watchful eye of Jonathan Whitaker.
He came to pickleball via table tennis, where he is an international referee and blue badge umpire, and has officiated at the very highest level, including the Olympic Games. He developed a pilot referee training course for Scotland last year – which rolled out more widely at the start of 2025, with eight candidates enrolling for the bespoke mix of practical and theory elements.
Scotland currently has four qualified referees that Jonathan knows of – three from the pilot course, and one accredited by the European Pickleball Federation.
And he hopes that more will step forward in the months and years to come.
With his tongue slightly in his cheek, he gives what he describes as “not an exhaustive list” of characteristics the ideal referee would have.
“It helps if you are passionate about the sport, want to give a bit back to the sport, willing and able to study a hundred pages or more of rules and guidelines and memorise the same in such a way that you can act in accordance with them instantly!” he says, suggesting that “a certain nerdy fascination with the minutiae of the rules” is also useful.
He’d also recommend a referee has “a sense of balance and an awareness that the rules are there for the players, the players are not there for the rules; they are there to enjoy themselves, and compete equally on a level playing field per the rules” and is both “capable of melting into the background so that nobody notices their officiating, and brave enough to sort out difficult situations when required but sensible enough not to go looking for trouble!”
Those in Scotland interested in learning more about qualifying as a pickleball referee can contact Pickleball Scotland directly.
