The fastest-growing sport in the U.S. is pickleball. It has been around since the 1960s, but recently it’s seen a huge upsurge in popularity with people playing it in parks across the region.
Invented on Bainbridge Island in 1965 by Joel Pritchard and Bill Bell, pickleball was always intended to be a sport the whole family could play.
“That’s the best thing about pickleball, you can be 5 and you can be 85.” Deann Winter, president of the Southern Oregon Pickleball Association (SOPA) helps organize classes, tournaments, and more.
“No matter what your differences are, everybody can just get along and have fun and interact on the pickleball court in a positive way,” Winter said.
SOPA provides nets, regular opportunities to play, seminars, and welcomes people from all walks of life. Pickleball Instructor Nancy Mansfield began playing after the tragic loss of both her daughter and her father.
“What I was able to do was balance my grief with my joy and rediscover joy and get out in the community,” Mansfield said. “I was isolating and staying at home so pickleball really helped me not only get feeling better emotionally but physically.”
For others, pickleball is the next step in a lifetime of athletic activity and helps them with their health issues.
“One it gets me active, gets me out of my house, gets me up and running, running around,” said Dean Paddison, pickleball player.
“The community aspect of it, the social aspects. I had open heart surgery last year and while I was in the hospital, several of my pickleball community showed up at the hospital to wish me well.”
And for another pickleball player Megan Nyone, the routine exercise made pregnancy, delivery, and recovery a little easier.
“It was great for my mental and physical health – staying physically active the whole time,” Nyone notes. “I think it did make my delivery and my recovery easier and it’s also been a big motivator to get moving postpartum as well.”
Everyone at SOPA has a simple message – give pickleball a try.
“There’s no one I’ve met that’s tried it that hated it. Everybody seems to get hooked and it’s a great way to have fun, meet people, and be active,” Nyone added.
Source: https://kobi5.com/news/southern-oregon-pickleball-association-welcomes-everyone-onto-the-court-267640/