Charlottesville residents who've never heard of “pickleball” are far from alone. However, there's reason to believe the game will soon become more popular — and some even believe pickleball addictions could manifest.
The game (played with a tennis-esque net, paddles and a plastic ball) has spread to many Virginia cities, and one local resident has set out to bring Charlottesville into the loop.
Margie Davenport, the USA Pickleball Association's ambassador to Charlottesville/Albemarle, hosted pickleball matches in town on Sunday. She said the game has become popular elsewhere among tennis players looking to remain active during the winter. She believes that trend will soon spread to Charlottesville.
“But they may be like me,” Davenport said of tennis players turned pickleball players. “They might never go back.”
The paddles are larger than ping-pong paddles but smaller than racquetball racquets. The hard, plastic ball is much slower than a tennis ball. The boundaries mirror those of badminton, and once the ball is served over the net, the game is played somewhat like a super-sized ping-pong match.
“It's a lot like playing on a big ping-pong floor,” tennis enthusiast Annie Copeland said Sunday after trying pickleball. “I loved it.”
Davenport said she's seen the game played on a variety of surfaces, including once at an airport. But most use basketball or tennis courts.
Once they jump into the game, it takes no convincing for people to fall in love with it, Arlington County pickleball player Steve Valiant said. The mission in Charlottesville, however, is to find a public court and make folks aware that such a game exists.
April Baber, a therapeutic recreation specialist for the city, said she hopes to gauge Charlottesville residents' interest in pickleball and seek an available court, or multiple courts, designated for pickleball.
There are tennis courts that could do the trick, but Davenport said there are city guidelines that prohibit the courts from being used for anything other than tennis, which she hopes will be changed.
Valiant, who has played the game for more than two years, said he finds the game less strenuous on joints than tennis and easier to pick up and immediately enjoy.
Visit www.usapa.org for more information about pickleball and locations of games in Virginia. Those interested in playing pickleball in Charlottesville can email April Baber at baber@charlottesville.org or Davenport at pickleballzone@earthlink.net.
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