4 Active Aging Week September 22-28, 2013
The popular game of pickleball is catching on with Manitobans of all ages. Photos by Darcy Finley
Pickleball Has It All Fun game with silly name sweeps the province
A centre member introduced it to a small group of St. James-Assiniboia players about six years ago after playing it as a “snowbird” during a winter in Arizona. The game was dreamed up in a backyard near Seattle in 1965. As the story goes, one of the inventors had a dog named Pickles who kept stealing the ball, so they called it Pickles’ ball, which eventually morphed into pickleball – and stuck. Hundreds of Manitobans now play pickleball in Winnipeg, Winkler, Morden, Headingley and Killarney. And its popularity is growing, particularly since it was added as an official event at the 2013 Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries 55 Plus Games in Morris in June. Laughren and other St. James- Assiniboia members lobbied for its inclusion, and many of them were proud to take home medals. While there is a core group of competitive players, the game is also played just for fun, says Roxanne Greaves-Tackie, executive director of the St. James- Assiniboia 55+ Centre. “It’s really kind of exploded in the last two or three years,” Greaves-Tackie says. “It’s just one of those neat games where you don’t need to be an athlete; if you have a good pair of runners, you can try it out.
By Sherry Kaniuga For the Free Press Y ou could call it badmin-tenni-pong. Many call it the perfect sport for seniors. Its actual name is pickleball, and its popularity is spreading like wildfire in Manitoba, especially among the 55- plus set. Pickleball can be played year-round, indoors or outdoors, on a badminton-sized court using a plastic wiffle-style ball and lightweight paddles similar to those used for ping-pong. Enthusiast Ruby Laughren says it’s the ideal game for people who want to be active without having to be overly athletic. “It’s a serious game with a silly name, but it’s lots of fun. The ball is lighter and doesn’t go as fast as with tennis, and it’s much easier on your shoulders because you serve underhand,” Laughren explains. “The court is also smaller so it’s a bit easier on your knees, because you don’t have to run as far.” A volunteer with the St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre’s pickleball club and a Pickleball Canada ambassador, Laughren says the game is wildly popular in the southern U.S.
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