The Rules of Pickle Ball

"Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America!"
And the Murray City Parks and Recreation office is trying to get it started here in Murray. I've done my fair share of research about pickleball for my supervisor, Wayne, and I'll tell you all about it.

My first exposure to pickleball was in junior high, when we played it in the back gym for a week or two during PE. But I don't really remember that. My first exposure as an adult and intern was when Wayne sent me over to the Park Center (Murray's recreation center) to talk to some of the leaders in the pickleball group. The main objective was to learn how to set up and take down the nets so that I could pick them up and have them up and ready at Germania park the following week during a volleyball tournament that rendered the gym unavailable. I spent an hour and a half learning to play the game with the resident pickleball fans.

Pickleball is widely popular amongst seniors--look online at RV camps and resorts, they all advertise having courts and senior leagues!--and Murray's following is a group of maybe 20 seniors. Don't let their age fool you, however, some of those old guys can put a wicked spin on the ball! It was interesting to play with them because my mom is the director of the Heritage Center, the local senior center where pretty much all of them go for lunch a few times a week, participate in classes, volunteer, and, especially, participate in the golf tournaments that the center organizes. They all knew my mom and I was able to get the inside scoop on their thoughts about the Heritage Center.

The rules of pickleball are very simple. It's like table tennis supersized. Most people describe it as a cross between tennis and badminton, because the rules and methods are very similar. As a lover of recreational badminton, I took to it very quickly.

The court is 44'x20' as pictured, with a net in the center. The net itself is 36" high and resembles a really short badminton net. For convenience, if you want both a badminton and pickleball net, there are those available for purchase that can be used as both (just add or subtract the extra poles for the desired height during setup). The "non-volley zone" is called "the kitchen," and your feet have to stay out of it. During a serve, the ball has to cross over the net to the opposing player and land in the square diagonally across. If it's in the square directly across or in the kitchen, it's out-of-bounds. While serving, the player stands behind the back line and the receiver stands back as well. If playing doubles, the receiver's partner moves up closer to the kitchen for the serve. Each game is played until one team gets 11 points--but!--winning must be by more than one point, so some games will have a winner with more than 11 points. A point can only be earned for each side if they are serving. I found serving to be a bit odd, because in doubles each partner serves before the opposing team gets the ball.
The ball itself is a whiffle ball--and the size of the holes differ depending on whether it's an indoor ball or an outdoor ball. Outdoors on the concrete is much more difficult than inside on the wood floor of a gym! Some of the specialized courts have flooring that is similar to that of a tennis court, however. The paddles differ widely. The cheapest are made of wood and not very good. The others are made of plastic and are much more efficient. Some of the guys that play here in Murray have really nice paddles. I distinctly remember a conversation taking place where one man was very impressed with a paddle he had borrowed, and the other talking about how his grandson had found it online somewhere. The paddle makes a big difference with power and accuracy in ball placement, I can tell you, because I've had to use all different types.

How are we getting pickleball started here in Murray? For starters, we have an open gym for pickleball on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays in the morning and the evening where anyone can drop in and play with nets, paddles, and balls provided--plus the seniors will lend you their nicer paddles so you don't have to use the Park Center's wooden ones. I listed the Park Center online as one of the "places to play!" in Utah on two different pickleball websites (the USAPA and one other). There aren't very many places listed in the Salt Lake area, so hopefully that will get us some participants. Also, Select Health here in Murray is looking for an event to sponsor, and they've chosen a family pickleball night. We're looking into setups for introductory classes and workshops, spreading the word via the Facebook page I set up, and hanging flyers around the city. Word of mouth is the biggest helper here. It's rare to get a person who just up and decides they want to try. Most of the new participants are friends of the regulars or people that happened to be hanging around the gym when there was a person that needed a partner for doubles. We're also thinking about building pickleball courts in a couple different areas, but the budget is tight and we'll need more participants before we can make a good pitch. We've just barely started the ball rolling, so we'll see how it goes!