| CONTACT: | Ruth Lapworth |
| ☎ | 07787 978696 |
| ✉ | Email Convenor |
| WHERE: | Sports Hall, Teesdale Leisure Centre, Please Note that from 11th February the Leisure Centre is closed for refurbishment so the group will be held at Shildon Leisure Centre |
| WHEN: | 1st & 3rd Mondays each month – 2-4pm |
| See Calendar for dates of meetings. |
Pickleball has a curious and slightly comic name. Some players believe the name came from the inventors’ dog Pickles that kept retrieving the ball. However, the real story is that the inventors had been tennis and badminton players in their youth and named their new sport after the pickle fishing boat that traditionally is last to land its catch which would likely be sold for pickling because the earlier boats had captured all the keen, fresh fish buyers. The dog story is more enjoyable but while the truth is more prosaic it’s not fair to re-write history.
Pickleball’s unique selling point is that it can be learned in minutes without extensive coaching yet, once started, playing skills can be progressively and continually improved to a high level of performance. There are a few full time professional players these days but more importantly there are legions of happy recreational players who enjoy the game at their own level while enjoying the challenge to improve as far as possible.
Pickleball is played either indoors or outdoors as singles or doubles. It’s played on a court similar in size and markings to a badminton court but players often use an actual badminton court or mark out pickleball lines on a tennis court. Players hit a light plastic ball across a net which is similar in height to a tennis net using lightweight “paddles” roughly double the size of table tennis bats.
Why not come and give it a try!