When a Car Park Becomes a Community

Most good things in life don’t start in perfect places.

They start in kitchens.
Around benches.
In conversations that begin with “what if?”

And sometimes, they end up in car parks.

This photo was taken at a pickleball activation that, on paper, shouldn’t really work. A temporary court squeezed into a multi-storey car park. Concrete walls. Portable fencing. Lines taped down. No grandstand, no polished surrounds.

Yet once the paddles came out, none of that mattered.

What you see here is what I love most about pickleball. It doesn’t wait for ideal conditions. It doesn’t need a purpose-built stadium or a pristine setting. It just needs people willing to show up and give it a go.

Kids stepping onto a court for the first time. Parents watching from the side, half curious, half impressed. Volunteers quietly keeping things moving. Strangers becoming teammates within minutes. The kind of atmosphere you can’t manufacture — it either happens, or it doesn’t.

There’s something beautifully honest about playing in a space like this. Life doesn’t pause. Cars are parked above. Powerlines run in the distance. People walk past, stop, watch, ask questions. Sport meets real life, instead of being hidden away behind fences and memberships.

Kitchen to Court has always been about that idea. The everyday moments that turn into connection. A conversation at home about trying something new. A casual hit after work. A “come have a go” that leads to friendships, confidence, and community.

Pickleball fits that philosophy perfectly. Short games. Quick rotations. Easy conversations. You don’t need to be the best. You just need to be willing.

This photo isn’t really about a car park court. It’s about what happens when you remove barriers and make sport accessible. When you create space — even temporary space — for people to belong.

From kitchens to courts, from ideas to action, this is how communities grow.

And if a car park can become a place where people laugh, compete, learn and connect, then maybe the question isn’t where we play.

It’s how open we are to starting.

A photo can be deceptive.

At first glance, this activation court looks like it’s simply wedged between a car park and concrete walls. But what you can’t see in a single frame is where it’s actually located. This space sits directly alongside the Infomos Kooyong Park precinct, and it formed part of something much bigger.

In partnership with Pickleball Victoria, the National Pickleball League — through a joint venture — hosted a full activation week during the Kooyong Classic 2026. What looks like a temporary court was, in reality, a deliberate and well-placed entry point into the sport. Hundreds of people passed through, watched games, picked up paddles, asked questions, and experienced pickleball up close.

It’s a reminder that context matters. Sometimes the most impactful moments don’t happen in obvious places. They happen where people already are — when sport meets curiosity, and an invitation turns into participation.

And that, in many ways, is the heart of Kitchen to Court.