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There aren’t many sports where men and women of all ages, shapes and sizes are encouraged to play together, but that’s one of the appeals of pickleball.
One of the fastest growing sports that not many people have heard of, pepperball has a large following in the US but is still in its infancy in Northern Ireland with only a handful of clubs.
A group of Newtownards enthusiasts want to change this, and it’s no wonder it’s being heralded as one of the emerging fitness trends of 2023.
Ards Pickleball Club was founded in 2019 by three locals, Siobhan McAdam, Bridget Nodder and Matt Bishop, and now has around 60 members who meet at Ards Blair Mayne Wellbeing & Leisure Complex on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Pickleball is about people moving, playing and smiling, Siobhan (55) says.
It is an easy sport to pick up and very welcome. You can be as competitive or not as competitive as you want. It can be an interesting and technical game, but also sociable and fun.
Matt (68) adds: Some consider it a silver sport because it’s gentler and easier on the joints than tennis, but our youngest member is 12 and our oldest is 81, and then we have all ages. It is very accessible.
Pickleball can be played indoors or outdoors and is a racquet sport with similarities to tennis, badminton and table tennis.
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Hannah McAdam is among the first NI players to take up pepperball
Invented in 1965 by three American fathers as a backyard game for their children on Bainbridge Island in the summer, it is now a thriving sport in the United States. It was even accepted as Washington’s official state sport in 2022 and could become an Olympic sport in the future.
Now people all over the UK are taking part in the Pickle Ball.
In Northern Ireland, in addition to the Ards club, there are clubs in Lisburn, Carryduff and others.
Matt says members of the Ards club are pickleball missionaries, supporting other groups looking to start playing in places like Larne and Belfasts Falls Road.
Siobhan’s daughter Hannah McAdam (28) is also a keen player and committee member and says she is helping the Girls Brigade make pickleball one of its 2023 missions.
I have played in tournaments in England, Scotland and Germany, at the intermediate level and got bronze, he says.
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Jason Gillard helps track his clients’ progress using Myzone devices
I also made great new friends from all over the world at these events and we still keep in touch.
The Ards club usually plays doubles, with four people on each court. In the sports hall of the leisure complex divided into four courts, 16 people play, laugh and smile at once, which means that everyone gets plenty of court time.
Players use a paddle, which can be made of carbon fiber or wood, and a light ball with holes. The nets are lower than tennis nets and the scoring system is similar to other racquet sports.
There are rules to the game, of course, but Ards pickleball players say they’re easy to pick up and newcomers are always warmly welcomed. The club also organizes regular social events and members enjoy lunch and coffee after matches.
Bridget (67) is the club’s secretary and says that she, Siobhan and Matt were in tennis coaching in 2019 when the coach suggested they try salt ball. Then the local council invited them to start a club.
The beauty of pickleball is that most people pick it up right away, he says.
You don’t need to be super fit and we have members of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities.
Its great practice and fun is fun when you look around the fields and everyone is smiling.
It is very sociable: we also have dinners and meetings.
Member Sylvia Clarke (64) says she was a keen table tennis player and was then introduced to pickle ball by a friend. I like it better, he says with a laugh.
It’s not as stressful as tennis and I’ve met a lot of new people.
Other fitness trends estimated to be hot in 2023 include wearable technology and tracking devices, as well as exercising from the comfort of your own home or garden.
Jason Gillard is a fitness trainer and owner of Mercury Fitness NI. Mercury Fitness NI run boot camps in parks in and around Belfast.
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Northern Ireland players at the Scottish Open with their friends from Dublin
Jason has also launched the Mercury Virtual Bootcamp, a 28-day program that includes daily recorded fitness sessions, a weekly check-in, an online accountability coach, nutritional support and more.
When members sign up, they are sent a Myzone MZ-3 wearable tracker that Jason can use to track their progress.
He explains: The pandemic changed the way people thought about education; they have seen what is possible at home. We recorded over 150 classes during the lockdown, so we have a lot of content.
Education should be three things: storable, accessible and progressive. Then you will succeed.
Virtual bootcamps help people achieve this by training at any time of the day.
Jason says the Myzone MZ-3 is a useful tool and all his members use it.
It helps encourage them to stick with their education because they know we can see how hard they work and how much work they put in, she says.
It forces people to work harder. They are picking up points and we have league tables that in Lisburn could rival someone in Bangor.
People want to track their results because of its human nature. It helps keep them motivated.
With virtual bootcamps, we release the devices to people and as soon as they get them, we deploy them and start the program.
There are free fitness classes online, but you can turn off YouTube after five minutes. If you’re invested in the program, you’re more likely to care and commit to it.
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Siobhan McAdam and friends
Exercising in nature is also big news in 2023, and so-called biophilia exercises, where you focus on your surroundings while exercising in nature, are a big trend.
Mercury Fitness NI is based in East Belfast and Jason runs personal training camps from parks such as Stormont and Wallace Park.
So whether you want to work out indoors or outdoors, try wearable technology, or even try pickleball, you’re sure to have a fitness trend that’s right for the new year.
For more information visit www.mercuryfitnessni.co.uk; www.facebook.com/ArdsPickleballClub
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Players at Ireland’s first pickleball festival held in Dublin in 2022
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Sources 2/ https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/features/ace-your-fitness-goals-in-2023-42269657.html The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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