AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Catching the pickleball bug

Eating crow is seldom fun, but in this instance, where I have to eat a lot of it, it’s been an extremely fun exercise.

I was someone who pooh-poohed pickleball. I smugly snubbed my nose at pickleball, thinking it would be something I would do when I wasn’t physically able to play tennis or squash anymore. Something that I would “save” for later in my life.

But from the first time hitting the pickleball court, I was hooked. Obsessed is actually more accurate.

If you’ve played any racquet sport (tennis, squash, table tennis or badminton), you will pick up pickleball very quickly. And the big part of pickleball’s massive and growing appeal is that you don’t have to be an athlete to learn the game fairly quickly. You can have fun right away.

What’s great about pickleball is you can put as much – or as little – into it as you want and still have a decent time playing it.

Just last night at the tennis and pickleball courts on 3rd Street in Steinbach, I was playing beside two women who were playing pickleball for the very first time in their lives. They were able to hit the ball, have some decent rallies and they said they were having a ton of fun.

And that’s the beauty of the game. It’s extremely accessible and loads of fun. Almost anyone of any age can play it. Which is why it’s one of the fastest growing sports in North America.

How popular is pickleball in Canada, you ask?

In 2022 there were a million registered pickleball players in our country. A scant three years later and there are 1.54 million pickleball players in Canada. That’s a whopping increase of 57%.

If you want to stand there and not put much effort into it, the court is so small in pickleball you’ll still cover most of the court. In tennis or squash or badminton, just standing there would instantly doom you.

And conversely, if you want to put a lot into learning the game and getting exercise out of pickleball, you easily can. If you hustle after balls and chase down all of your opponent’s shots, you are guaranteed to have a tremendous workout.

Another great thing about pickleball is that you can learn the game easily and quickly. YouTube has a ton of instructional videos showing newbies how to play pickleball. It’s an amazing resource that will instantly help your game – and your enjoyment level.

Yet another hugely popular aspect of pickleball is the social nature of it. You constantly play with new partners so you’re always getting to meet new people.

There’s a pickleball group in Winnipeg where the social aspect of pickleball has morphed the pickleball group into a social events club. They go go-karting, go to movies and go out for supper together.

Years ago, when pickleball was new and I didn’t give it the respect it deserved, I wondered if there would be tensions with tennis players (who use the same courts), in a similar way that there was often friction between hockey players and figure skaters at the rink.

Back in the day hockey players thought the arena was solely for them, not for figure skaters.

That is an issue with pickleball. I have seen several instances where tennis players just assume the courts are for tennis players and that pickleball players are second-rate users.

The good news for pickleball players is that there will be four indoor pickleball courts at the brand-new Southeast Event Centre. With our harsh climate, the ability to play pickleball indoors will be great.

Let’s not stop there.

Here’s hoping city council builds some dedicated outdoor pickleball courts in Steinbach. The demand is certainly there, and having courts exclusively for pickleball immediately removes any tension with tennis players and allows the massively popular sport of pickleball to grow even faster.