Pickleball

By: Alex Mielcarz Staff Writer

Here’s the deal: America will always be consumed by the Big Five sports: baseball, basketball, football, hockey and soccer. Of course, other sports also have their cult followings. Tennis, rugby and bowling have all seen significant growth as of late, but only one sport has grown faster than the rest: pickleball.

Pickleball has grown to nearly 4.8 million players nationwide according to www.npr.org. It has seen exponential growth over the past 4 years, including the creation of two national pro tournaments, and currently has a bid to be a future Olympic Sport. they are quite simple and won’t take long for a new player to pick up.

The growth of pickleball has been great. The game has multiple network deals, and as a result, has started to grow its presence on television. However, there’s a catch to the latest craze. The audience of the game certainly isn’t where they want it to be. The major player-base right now for the game is over the age of 65. While USA Pickleball claims that they’re seeing “strong growth” with players under 55, the growth still hasn't hit its peak. What’s holding players back? Accessibility.

The game was created in 1965 in Washington state, and USA Pickleball credits Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum for creating the game. According to www.usapickleball.org, the game combines the sports of table tennis, badminton and tennis. The game is played on a badminton-sized court, with a tennis style net. A paddle, and a sort of a Wiffle Ball (a plastic ball with holes different from the classic yard game) is used.

The rules are simple. The game can be played in singles or doubles, and players rally similarly to tennis and table tennis. Points are declared similarly to table tennis and actual tennis, but points can only be scored by the serving team. Games are played to 11, 15 or 21, and you must win by 2.

There are a few twists to pickleball. There’s a zone within 7 feet on both sides of the net where the ball cannot be volleyed. There are plenty of other nuances to the game, but USA Pickleball estimates that there are around 10,000 places to play. That’s not nearly enough to appeal to the potential youth player base. Pickleball has a chance to be something great, but needs to avoid becoming “the sport for retired folks” or “the sport my grandma plays on Tuesdays.”

USA Pickleball must get the youth involved. They’re already moving in the right direction. The TV deals with ESPN and CBS Sports certainly appeal to younger viewers and provide pickleball with a chance to expose their sport to a new audience.

On November 17, a celebrity Pickleball tournament aired on CBS, hosted by Stephen Colbert. Look me in the eyes and tell me that isn’t a great way to grow the sport. I dare you. They are doing everything right. Now, they just have to hope that their efforts result in this great game getting the national recognition it deserves.