Jane O’Brien BBC Correspondent, New Hampshire
March 15, 2021
Image source, Portland Press Herald, Getty Images
If you’ve ever eaten in the kitchen, you already understand the appeal of one of America’s fastest growing sports. If you haven’t rowed yet, you better go because sooner or later someone is going to invite you to a pickleball game.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball participation increased by 21.3% last year as Americans looked for new ways to stay active during the pandemic.
The numbers are part of a five-year trend that has seen pickleball evolve from its origins as a backyard knockabout game to a sport with Olympic aspirations.
“It’s growing like crazy in other parts of the world,” said Stu Upson, chief executive of USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body. “He has 37 countries in the International Pickleball Federation, which is more than double what he was 18 months ago.”
Pickleball is a combination of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. Can be played indoors or outdoors, single or in pairs. As with many racquet sports, the goal is to send the ball over the net and prevent your opponent from hitting it back. Kitchen refers to the no-volley zone, and dinking refers to a soft shot that forces opposing players to scramble toward the net and reach the ball in time.
The game was invented by U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell during their summer vacation on Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1965. It was an attempt to entertain bored children using whatever tools were available. Ten years later, the first official pickleball tournament was held.
Image source, Orange County Register (Getty Images)
Fans say this game is addictive. One reason for this is that it’s easy to play, but challenging as you improve your skills.
“Unlike tennis or golf, where you have to take lessons to get good enough, you can be on a pickleball court and it’s not going to be terrible in less than an hour,” Upson said. Masu.
And it’s social, a huge benefit during a pandemic when it’s difficult for people to gather together safely. With gyms and other recreation centers closed, pickleball has become a popular outdoor alternative.
“Pickleball players love other pickleball players,” says Barbara Gulino, 62, from New Hampshire. He admits that the sound of a perforated plastic ball hitting the sweet spot in the middle of the paddle sometimes lures him into searching for prey in strange places.
“I remember one time when my husband and I were in Florida, we were walking down the street and we heard the sound of a pickleball. We all know that distinctive ‘pop’ sound. . So we’re looking through the hedges and pulling them apart. And look, pickleball people, there’s a match on! ”
Video captions, Pickleball could be coming to a park or gym near you
Her husband Len, 65, used to play tennis but became a pickleball ambassador five years ago to raise awareness of the game. He organized some of the region’s first tournaments, drawing people from all over New England in the northeastern United States.
“The biggest challenge is staying on the court,” he says. “It’s a great game, because you get an older group together, and a lot of people get a little too excited and start twisting their ankles, twisting their arms, moving their knees.”
Carrie Burkett, executive director of the North Conway Community Center in New Hampshire, said the two indoor courts have been able to reopen with restrictions, but are struggling to keep up with demand for sessions.
“Five years ago, it was a few groups, a few times a week. But before the pandemic shut us down, we had 200 participants in our adult program, at least 150 of whom were in Pickle.” He was a ball player.”
Sessions are currently limited to 10 people at a time, down from 25, and players must undergo health screenings and wear masks when playing.
“Most of our participants are over the age of 65, so we really wanted to look at how we could safely participate,” Burkett said.
Mary Henderson, 67, is a beginner, but enjoys the game as much as tennis.
“We’ve been playing (outdoors) all summer when we can take off our masks. It’s a little harder to play (indoors) with a mask on, but it’s worth it,” she said.
image captionBarbara and Len Gulino developed a love of sport
Pickleball is especially popular among older adults, but younger people are now also taking up the game and are most likely to become professional players, Upson said.
“We want it to be an Olympic sport,” he says. “But we still have a ways to go because we need at least 70 countries with (pickleball) federations to be recognized by the International Olympic Committee. I think it’s only natural that pickleball becomes an Olympic sport. But it won’t be used in the next competition.” Maybe 4th or 8th year. ”
There are an estimated 68 million so-called zoomers, or Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2015) in the United States, who have been driving the growth of all racquet sports. According to SFIA, last year, 22.4% of Zoomers played their sport with some kind of racket.
And while many activities such as team sports have become inaccessible or closed due to the pandemic, an additional 8.1 million Americans became more active last year, with pickleball, hiking, and biking leading the way.
Pickleball is growing rapidly, but its 4.1 million players are only a fraction of the 21.5 million people who play tennis. But perhaps both games should look over their shoulders at pop tennis, the newest upstart tennis played inside a cage.
According to the SFIA, there are currently only 2 million participants in Pop Tennis, but the growth rate is already more than 30%.
It’s clear that traditional racquet sports are no longer the only games on the courts in the United States.
