Live, laugh and play pickleball
During a break at a fire service meeting four years ago, Bridgewater Coun. Wayne Thorburne and I discussed the challenges of aging geezers finding enough physical activities to keep reasonably fit.
Thorburne suggested the sport of pickleball, enthusiastically reciting an overview of the sport.
I processed the sport’s description and rules, then told Thorburne I’d much rather go shopping for clothes with my wife, then dutifully hold her purse while she tries on outfit after outfit after outfit.
So, a hard pass on pickleball.
Well, not so fast. I learned recently that pickleball is exceedingly popular with men and women of all ages and abilities, and Thorburne, it turns out, is among the best players in the Maritimes.
The former chief of the Bridgewater Fire Department, Thorburne suffered a cardiac arrest in 2012. Exercise was part of his recuperation process, so he grabbed a paddle and took up pickleball.
He quickly progressed from beginner to competitive status, winning medals at competitions, including gold at the 2021 Nova Scotia 55-plus Games hosted by Yarmouth and Acadian Shores, where he paired with Russell Miller in the 70-plus men’s doubles category. And the two septuagenarians took gold in the same event at the Nova Scotia Provincial Pickleball Championships in May last year.
Thorburne and Miller have also won individual and mixed-doubles golds at various competitions.
“I love pickleball. It’s a great exercise, an important activity as you age, and through competitions I have made many pickleball-playing friends throughout North America,” said Thorburne.
Pickleball was first played in 1965 in the Pacific Northwest. According to USA Pickleball, U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard and a businessman friend returned to their homes on Bainbridge Island, Washington, to discover their kids lazing around, whining they had nothing to do.
Apparently, there was an old badminton court on one of the properties, so the families cobbled together some ping-pong paddles and a perforated plastic ball, and a new paddle sport was born.
After more than five decades, the origin of the name for the sport is still debated. Pickleball was either named after the region’s “pickle boat” races or Pickles, the Pritchards’ family dog.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball is an indoor/outdoor sport that combines the elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis.
Two or four players use solid wood or composite paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball – much like a wiffle ball, with 26-40 round holes – over a net similar to ones used in tennis.
The court is 44 ft. by 20 ft. The net is 36 in. high at the sidelines and 34 in. at the centre. The rules are similar to tennis, with a few modifications. Tactics and strategy go hand in hand with exercise.
In October 2021, the SFIA reported on pickleball’s impressive growth. In 2020, 4.2 million people in the U.S. played pickleball, a whopping 21.3 per cent increase from 2019, despite COVID’S stifling impact on activities. Actually, it was the highest participation hike of any sport played in the U.S.
Pickleball is not played as widely outside of North America. However, that might change. The SFIA reports the International Federation of Pickleball has grown to 57 national member organizations.
In Canada, the number of players has soared. An
Ipsos survey commissioned by Pickleball Canada in late 2019 revealed the number of pickleball players exceeded 350,000 and was climbing.
Some South Shore municipal recreation departments, YMCA, churches and other groups offer pickleball as a sports and leisure activity. Call them for details as COVID might affect scheduling.
Miller, a retired high school physical-education teacher who played tennis and competitive badminton, but had never played pickleball, said the game had a weird name and wasn’t appealing to him at all.
“I had no idea what it was all about. One day I dropped by the Michelin Social Club in July 2017, to pick up a cheque. Some pickleball players told me they were a player short and invited me to fill in. I haven’t missed a day since. It’s the most addictive sport I’ve ever played,” said Miller.
“It took me 10 years of training and practice to play tennis at a fairly decent level, yet I started playing pickleball reasonably well after only about a half hour,” added the Hemford resident.
Miller said it’s a good sport for people who want to get back into some form of physical activity. He said it’s open to folks of all ages, noting some players at the provincial championships were over 80.
“The social aspect of pickleball is important, too. A lot of players enjoy being in the company of others. There are at least 200 pickleball players at the Michelin Social
Club alone, participating at various levels ¬— beginners, recreational and competitive. I urge anyone interested in learning more about this popular sport to call the club at 902-543-5018,” he said.
Here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t have a clue how many sponsors are involved with pickleball, but perhaps someone should contact the marketing folks at Bick’s Pickles. It would be a dilly of a partnership.
HERE’S WHAT I’M THINKING
Peter Simpson is a veteran journalist and former housing industry CEO who lives in Dayspring. Here's What I'm Thinking appears bi-weekly in the South Shore Breaker.