Thursday, March 28, 2024

Pickleball comes to Gatesville

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The Gatesville Parks and Recreation Department recently installed two regulation Pickleball courts at Raby Park. The courts are located adjacent to the City Pool and Skate Park and were opened for public use on Nov. 30.

Parks and Recreation Director, Seth Phillips, said that Pickleball is “the fastest growing sport in the United States.” Phillips said that future pickleball leagues and tournaments will be announced at a later date.

For those asking what pickleball is, Gatesville Parks and Recreation Department explained that pickleball is a fast-growing and fun sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It is played both indoors and outdoors on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net. Players use a paddle and plastic ball with holes. The game is played as doubles or singles.

Pickleball was “born” in Bainridge Island, Washington. The founders were Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. Pritchard’s wife, Joan, a rower, named the game after the poorest performing rowers who populated what crew aficionados called the pickle boat. Many reports that the sport was named after the family dog, Pickles, turned out to be incorrect as the dog was born five years after pickleball was first played in Pritchard’s vacation backyard.

Thousands of pickleball players comprise a wide cross section of the population. Seniors, juniors, adults, men, and women enjoy the physicality as well as the feelings of camaraderie the sport invokes.

With the recent creation of the two pickleball courts, Gatesville has now joined the rest of the country in the fun recreational sport.