What is a pickle ball? – Richmond News

No one knows when pickle ball first landed in Richmond, but the sport’s popularity has exploded in the city.

According to co-founder Gordon Farrell, the Richmond BC Pickleball Association (RBCPA) has grown from about 100 to nearly 600 members since it was founded in 2019.

Farrell learned about the sport by word of mouth a few years ago, when pickle ball enthusiasts played in village hall gyms at “random times of the day”.

The lack of dedicated fields, or even outdoor fields, never stopped enthusiasts, and the high demand and desire to bring the sport into the city’s consciousness inspired the creation of the RBCPA.

“They’d have sessions in the community center that would be a few hours long and they’d only let 30 people in because there’s only so many people who can play,” Farrell said.

“But 60 to 70 people would line up an hour before to get in. And you could show up and not be able to play that day.”

The city eventually took note of the pickle hype and managed to convert nine outdoor pickleball courts by 2020 — just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is a pickle ball?

By Pickleball Hall of Fame, the sport was born in 1965 when a group of kids were told to invent a game on a rainy day on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Armed with various broken rackets, ping-pong paddles and a Wiffle ball, the children began bouncing the ball across the badminton court and sending it flying over the net.

Three fathers, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, saw how much their children enjoyed the invented game and set to work to make it a sport the whole family could enjoy.

A simple way to describe the game, according to Farrell, is that you play table tennis while standing on a large table.

“So the ball moves and has similar sounds, and the paddles are similar but much bigger,” he added.

The result is an addictive and strategic game that is not as physically demanding as similar sports such as tennis or racquetball.

“It’s a bit like a game of chess. You don’t need to be physically super fast to outrun someone younger than you on the field. It’s just about your style and your foresight,” Farrell explained.

Why is it so popular?

Richmond is just one of many BC cities experiencing a pickleball boom. According to Farrell, one major factor affecting the sport’s popularity is the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were fortunate that the courts were completed in 2020,” he said. “With the pandemic, you couldn’t do anything like travel (and) all the community centers were closed. So it really helped to pick up a sport because people had something to do.”

The sport is also inherently inclusive: it’s good cardio and requires strategy, but puts less strain on the body, so players of all ages, especially seniors, can participate.

In fact, Farrell has noticed that people who have played other sports like squash, racquetball and tennis often decide to switch to pickleball as they get older.

Pickleball games are also more social, Farrell says, because the learning curve is quick and games can be short, and players can enjoy the game even when playing with people of different skill levels.

“And unlike on a tennis court, (if) you’re 150 meters away from another player, (and) unless you’re yelling, you can’t even have a conversation, the pickleball court is about a quarter the size of a tennis court,” he added.

“So you can talk while you’re playing back and forth, and it’s a lot more fun and laughable.”

The installation of separate pickleball courts also helped introduce it to the local community, and it’s also affordable because all people need is a paddle and a ball.

The next step: more courts and more students

So far, Richmond has yet to have a pickleball league due to a lack of fields.

“We need about 12 courts and at least a venue to run (the tournaments) because they’re usually held on weekends,” Farrell explained.

The city has not been funding the sport recently due to the high demand for funding in Richmond sports, but Farrell hopes the sport will continue to grow in the city.

Other community members, like Cambie Middle School teacher Linda Wong, are also trying to spread the word about the sport. Pickleball is currently offered in Richmond schools during physical education classes, but many students are unaware of the sport and there are currently no pickleball teams.

“I would like to get part of the community involved as volunteers. And when the physical education department does their pickleball unit, I would love to have some of these older specialists come in and just mentor these kids and play with them,” he said.