The hottest and fastest growing sport in the United States is a little game called pickleball. To be fair I did not do much when it came to the sport that my entire friend group has been talking about. However, after going to the pickleball club meeting right here on campus this past Friday I walked away with a lot of knowledge of America’s fastest growing game.
America’s fastest growing sport dates all the back to 1965 when it was first founded by Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum. The idea came to them as they were trying to decide how to create summertime fun for their kids. The family was on vacation once they realized they had an old badminton court. They tried to find some rackets however, they were out of luck. Lucky for us they improvised and came up with the sport that America has grown to love.
The rules are quite simple if you know anything about tennis or ever watched tennis. However, there are many differences such as the net size, court size, serve, and the game length. One similarity however, is how fun both sports can be, especially pickleball.
However, if you are unfamiliar with any of the rules of pickleball here are some for an example. When serving you must stand behind the baseline and hit the ball diagonally across the court. The scoring works by the serving side can only score points means you score no points for any defensive plays. The game ends once when one team reaches eleven, fifteen, or twenty one points. Similar to tennis there are faults when playing pickleball. The faults occur when the receiving team does something that results in a point for the serving team. Such as not letting the serve bounce once after the initial serve.
Pickleball is something that is meant to be fun and competitive while bringing people together. That is Vice President Jocelyn Rabadi and President Arianna Esposito main goal.
I had the chance to talk to Arianna about the newest club on campus and any information regarding the meetings.
“Our meetings are from four to five thirty every Friday located in the back of Mercy tennis courts. However, when it starts to get colder out the meetings will take place at the basketball gym located in Victory Hall. We are still trying to figure out when that time would be”
Arianna also shared how to find extra information about the meetings, times, etc.
“There is a group me link where you can find out any information or announcements”
Joining this link will keep you updated with any announcements.
Watching this back and forth action on Friday evening made me anxious to hear from one of the players. I had the pleasure of talking to Mason Treasurer, one of the competitors.
“So, we are a pickleball club which is one of the hottest rising sports in America at the moment. Whether you are experienced or not, we are here to teach you while making sure you have a great time.”
Everyone involved in this pickleball club here at Mercy expresses so much joy as this is a very welcoming environment. You join this club to have fun and meet people while learning about one of it’s not the most popular sports in the country. If you are free next friday stop by at the tennis courts and pick up a paddle for an amazing time.
