Taichung: Taiwan's newly established Asia Elite Pickleball League (AEPL) announced Monday its inaugural five-team season will begin Aug. 29 in Taichung. Pickleball fans will initially see Grand Launch Group, Taoyuan Leopards, Ahhh, Team Lumu, and Furete Tech compete against one another from late August through November. According to Focus Taiwan, at a press event Monday promoting the professional league and its inaugural season, AEPL CEO Chang Chih-wei stated that the league is in discussions with another group from Taichung that could join as a sixth team. Chang mentioned that the league was created in response to the growing popularity of pickleball in Taiwan and other parts of Asia in recent years. He emphasized that the AEPL aims to provide high-quality, competitive professional matches. Also at the event, Johnny Chang, CEO of the Taoyuan Taiwan Beer Leopards in the Taiwan Professional Basketball League, discussed forming a pickleball team within the Leopards organization. Johnny Chang revealed that Wil ly Chung was selected as the captain of the Taoyuan Leopards pickleball team. "We had been sponsoring Willy Chung already," Chang said. "It just so happens that we formed a pickleball team, so we decided to persuade him to captain the team." Chang added that Chung was given the responsibility and free rein to select the team's players. One notable member of the Leopards' roster is 15-year-old Chiu Tsi-en, who is the youngest player in the AEPL. Chiu shared that she has been playing pickleball for almost a year after being introduced to the sport by a classmate. She expressed her passion for the game and her intention to continue playing both pickleball and tennis, which she has played for six years. Chiu noted that both sports require strategic thinking, with the main differences being court size and whether the sports are played outdoors or indoors. According to the league, the first two days of competition will be held Aug. 29-30 at the pickleball facility in the 1908 Taichung Green Corridor around Taichu ng Railway Station. The league mentioned that the season will take place at eight to-be-finalized locations around Taiwan before the finals and will feature a prize pool of NT$1 million (US$31,419). For its second season next year, the AEPL expressed its aim to attract teams from countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macau.