While the name pickle ball may cause a bit of a double take, the sport is taking off in Powell River.
With practices five days a week and a dedicated core group of players, there is a lot to be said for the sport.
“It’s like table tennis on steroids,” said Rheal Leon, Powell River’s pickle ball ambassador.
Pickle ball is a cross between table tennis, badminton and tennis with a court approximately half the size of a tennis court, wooden paddles and a lot of fast play close to the net, said Leon.
Invented on Bainbridge Island in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, later elected as state representative, pickle ball was born of an afternoon’s boredom, and an improvised game of badminton with a plastic whiffle in lieu of a shuttlecock. Some stories have it that the game was even named for Pritchard’s dog Pickles, who loved to chase after the ball.
According to Leon there is quite a lot of strategy to the game and any move that keeps an opponent away from the net and vulnerable to a quick shot is a good one.
“You win, not by getting good, but by allowing your opponent to make mistakes,” he said.
Leon said Powell River finished this year’s season well, winning two gold medals at a tournament in Kelowna and a bronze medal in Sechelt in a charity tournament.
Powell River Pickle Ball now has about 50 to 60 players and anyone is welcome to come and try it out, said Leon.
“Once you try you get addicted,” he said. “Even people who have never played a paddle sport before really like it.”
Brent Harrison, a logger from Cowichan and in Powell River for the summer, said he’s happy spending nearly every night a week playing the game. “People are friendly and it’s a great way to pass the time,” he said. “If you have a paddle you are automatically in. Have paddle will travel,” he laughed.
For a $2 drop-in fee anyone can join the group and play Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at Powell River Recreation Complex, or try the sport for free at the Townsite tennis courts Tuesday and Thursday evenings—paddles and equipment are provided.
To learn more about Powell River Pickle Ball readers can go to the club’s website at powellriverpickleball.simdif.com or call Rheal Leon at 604.483.6277.
