US Youth Pickleball Exchange Tours Multiple Chinese Cities Through February 2026

Jeffrey Sullivan, director of systemwide athletics for Montgomery County Public Schools, led a 45-person MCPS delegation to China in mid- to late-February, joining a larger trans-Pacific program that ran through multiple cities and culminated in doubles matches at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The MCPS travel window ran Feb 13–24, 2026, while the wider “2026 U.S. Youth Pickleball Cultural Exchange Trip to China” is reported as Feb 15–24 and involved more than 190 youth participants across Shenzhen, Shangyou county, Hebi and Beijing.

MCPS described its group as 45 ambassadors made up of 31 new student participants, seven returning student ambassadors and seven adults, and said the delegation’s itinerary followed an initial hosting of a Shanghai delegation Feb 5–7. MCPS framed the program as educational as well as athletic, noting the timing deliberately coincided with Chinese New Year and Spring Festival to enable immersive cultural activities. “This initiative is about much more than sports. It is about building friendships, fostering understanding, and connecting young people one relationship, one rally at a time,” MCPS said.

Hebi’s stop in Xunxian County, one of China’s oldest walled cities, produced footage and local events documented between Feb 20 and Feb 21. Newsflare’s shotlist and upload material record a lion dance on Feb 20, students touching the lion head for blessing, stilt walking and workshops on Spring Festival calligraphy and traditional clay sculpture, and a Saturday pickleball match at a local sports center on Feb 21. Bastillepost quoted U.S. student Ryan Corkery describing the moment: “How, you know, we're in a big crowd, we're hootin' and hollerin', and then we step through this gate and it's peace. It's so amazing. It's a sudden change that I've never experienced anywhere else, and for that, it's beautiful.”

The exchange’s Beijing finale paired about 80 students from China and the United States for doubles matches at Tsinghua University, presented as the final leg of a 10-day exchange tour. Zhang Jin, deputy director general at the Ministry of Education’s Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, welcomed the delegation at Tsinghua, saying, “This will be the perfect experience for you to see and experience a real and dynamic China.” Zhang Jin also framed the project as diplomatic outreach: “Today, we choose sport as a common language. A handshake after a game, a hug of encouragement or a laugh shared in friendly competition builds bonds stronger than any words.”

Jeffrey Sullivan reflected on the cultural immersion across stops, saying, “We have been able to immerse ourselves in Spring Festival, and that doesn't just happen. It happens because the people here in China, at every stop, every experience along the way, have welcomed us with open arms and invited us to enjoy and embrace Chinese culture.”

Organizers and regional hosts scheduled inter-school exchanges, pickup matches and workshops aimed at local heritage, positioning sport as a vehicle for people-to-people ties rather than a single tournament. Visual assets from the trip include Newsflare video shotlist material dated Feb 20–21 and a Newsflare upload tagged 23rd Feb 2026 • 00:18 • 1080p, Bastillepost photo coverage and short YouTube clips referencing Feb 19–21. MCPS said the 2026 exchanges build on an inaugural 2025 year and signaled the district will continue its Pickleball Diplomacy programming as part of broader U.S.-China educational engagement.