If tennis and ping pong had a baby, it would be pickleball. 

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you’ve likely heard or read about this pastime, which is the fastest-growing sport in North America. Yes – pickleball! The number of players in North America now outnumbers that of tennis players. A racquet/paddle sport, pickleball involves either two or four players hitting a perforated hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high net with smooth-faced paddles – indoors or outdoors. 

Invented in the US state of Washington by Joel Pritchard on a dare in 1965, the game was named by his wife, Joan. She explained that surplus competition rowers would race for fun in local “pickle boat” crews. The name is fun; the game is fun – for all ages, including older adults.

Why try pickleball? Here are just a few of the benefits.

Physical

Far less strenuous than tennis, pickleball gets you moving and stretching with a cardiovascular workout and has neurological benefits. Stan Tisshaw, Chair of the Kawartha Lakes Pickleball Association (KLPA), says the sport has changed his life – a common mantra among players. Stan first played in 2018 while snow-birding in Florida. “I was bored with shuffleboard,” he says, “so I tried pickleball and loved it.” Retired from a career in commercial printing, he lives outside of Lindsay. “The KLPA started in August 2022 with me and a few other players, and we already have more than 600 members. Their average age is 60. When I started, I had bad knees, was out of shape and overweight. I’m now 40 pounds lighter and my knees don’t bother me at all.”

Toronto resident Fran Cohen is a retired public servant, as well as a mother and grandmother to three kids, three grandkids and three grand-dogs. She was very active physically at the gym since she was 41. She, too, first tried pickleball in Florida. “In my years of working in an office, I had a few repetitive strain injuries and stayed away from any kind of racquet sports,” she says. “The pickleball itself and the paddle are both very light and easier to handle than a tennis ball and racquet. Pickleball requires less physical strength than tennis and is quite strategic. A lot of people who never played or never wanted to play tennis love to play gentler racquet/paddle sports. If you play carefully, e.g. by not doing ‘crazy’ things or trying to be overly competitive, not running for impossible shots, and wearing proper footwear, it’s pretty safe.”  

Players get their hearts pumping, which can even improve blood pressure levels. It’s exercise without overexertion. 

Psychological

Benefits of playing extend to warding off depression. During playing, feel-good endorphins are released, and worries are temporarily relegated to the background. There is a wealth of therapeutic data showing that pickleball can improve mental health. 

• https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2023/10/new-apple-research-highlights-the-health-benefits-of-pickleball/ 
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9988900/ 
• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39025467/ )

According to Tisshaw, “At least a dozen players have told me it’s changed their lives. In case you’re thinking this is just a physical game, think again. It takes technique and strategy. It’s more like chess than checkers.” 

Everyone I spoke to encouraged women to play. Stan says that it’s not how hard you hit the ball, but where you hit it. The name for the non-volley zone (seven feet from the net on both sides) is the “kitchen,” like shuffleboard. Volleying is prohibited in that area. There are other pickleball terms that endear one to the sport. Take, for example, dinking, which involves short little shots like a ping pong game. If someone hits the ball high, you can smash hit it back and get a point. You gotta love a sport that involves dinking.

Socialization

Players and organizers tell me that because pickleball is so much fun, paying attention to scoring can be a challenge. “It often takes four people to verify what the score is,” Tisshaw adds. He also points out that social responsibility plays a role, in that players introduce themselves at the beginning of each game. At the end, players congratulate all other players, even opponents, tap paddles and say, “Good game!” 

Do some googling of pickleball, and you will discover that this game is catching on everywhere. In Uxbridge, for example, new outdoor pickleball courts are planned for next year. Retired motor yacht broker Rene Blanchet and his retired bookkeeper wife, Margaret, moved from Mississauga to Uxbridge in 2018 to be closer to two of their sons who own a business in Stouffville. “In 2019, we joined the Probus Club,” Rene explains, “and we have joined several groups including pickleball. We try to not miss a single game.” This keeps them active and involved and has gained them a lot of good friends.

For Fran Cohen, friends of hers from Toronto who are really good pickleball players invited her and her husband to play with them and gave them a few lessons. “We had heard about how popular and addictive the game is, and we were soon hooked! We both loved playing ping pong and noticed some similarities, so we thought we’d give it a try. We loved it right away. It was wonderful to be outdoors, playing a sport with like-minded people. We even made a couple of new friends!” Like many pickleball players, Fran has no desire to play in a league or a super-competitive environment. “I’m in it for the fun,” she declares. “I prefer to play with friends and in a non-competitive, fun environment. And the unexpected outcome of learning to play pickleball has been making new friends, something I never thought would happen as I approach my 70th birthday. Turns out there are a lot of women my age, retired, or semi-retired, physically fit, who are continuous learners and want to stay active, fit and have fun. And they don’t know anything about you, your family history, income, socio-economic status – and they don’t care! If you love to play pickleball, you can fit in easily.  And gradually, new friendships develop.”

Fran plays mostly with two groups of women, one preferring outdoors and the other indoors. “A group of us, some who only met this year, formed a Wednesday morning pickleball group that we call “Ladies Fun Pickleball” with the emphasis on FUN.  We’ve gradually been learning about each other and new friendships have developed. When I play, I forget about everything else, and it’s like vacation that way. I never played sports in my life, and I’m excited to be learning a sport at the grand old age of 69!”

Inclusive

Pickleball is for everyone! Women do just as well as men (often better), and people of all ages enjoy the sport. Tisshaw adds that the Kawartha Lakes group has special needs and wheelchair players who just join in regular play. The inclusive, non-profit group works with schools, Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brother/Big Sister groups, along with police to encourage and teach the sport. Learning from scratch is fun, and people who have a background in racquet sports are in Tisshaw’s words, a “shoe-in” to start playing.

Amazing Popularity

Did you know that there is an International Pickleball Federation? The non-profit organization IPF was created as the world governing body for the sport, providing support to national and local pickleball organizations. The IFP also organizes international pickleball competitions including the Bainbridge Cup, an international competition in which teams represent their continents and compete on professional and amateur levels. Pickleball Magazine covers tournaments, instruction, rules, destinations, news, equipment and more! Pickleball Canada has reached over 70,000 members. Pickleball Ontario is a non-profit association of volunteer pickleball enthusiasts who support the growth of the game along with participation and development of both recreational and tournament players throughout the province. There is also Elevation Athletics, a non-profit organization that promotes the sport across Ontario. Plus, there are two professional pickleball leagues in the U.S. The two top U.S. professional pickleball players are making millions each year. 

Who knows, maybe we’ll see pickleball included as an Olympic sport someday!

Here are just a few links to help you on your pickleball research journey:

International Pickleball Federation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Pickleball_Federation

Pickleball Magazine

www.Pickleballmagazine.com

Pickleball Canada 

https://pickleballcanada.org/ 

Pickleball Ontario 

https://pickleballontario.org/

Pickleball British Columbia 

https://www.pickleballbc.ca/

Pickleball Quebec

https://pickleballquebec.ca/

Kawartha Lakes Pickleball Association

https://www.klpa.ca/

Pickleball in Uxbridge

https://eapickleball.com/uxbridge-pickleball/

https://www.uxbridgeprobus.ca/

 

INTRODUCING DOROTHEA HELMS

Eclectic may be the best word to describe Dorothea’s 31-year career as a freelance writer. She has been published in literary and mainstream magazines, local newspaper special sections, national newspapers, numerous websites, and humour publications. In addition, she has interviewed and written on more than 40 Canadian celebrities. She has won a variety of writing contests and has taught creative writing at the college level. Dorothea has finished her first novel and is looking for a literary agent. When it is published and the movie rights are sold, she hopes they hire Jamie Lee Curtis to play her protagonist. Dorothea has a husband, two grown children, three grandchildren and a bulldog, all of whom provide fodder for her humour writing.