HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014 07-06 Pickleball's popularity takes off in Twin Cities PIONEER PRESS Pickleball's popularity takes off in Twin Cities
Updated'07/06/2014 08:36:04 PM CDT TwinCities.com
Bart Berlin is reluctant to admit it, but he might be powerless to pickleball.
Less than two years after rediscovering the sport at a tennis court near his Shoreview home, the 60-year-
old and his wife can't get enough of it.
"I play multiple times a week, sometimes multiple times a day," Berlin said while watching friends swat
their way through a game Thursday. "I used to do other things: go for walks, take a bike ride. Now, all I
want to do is play pickleball. ... it's becoming a problem."
Berlin is not alone. A growing number of people across the Twin Cities are picking up supersized ping-
pong paddles and playing what's become the fastest growing sport among seniors nationwide, according
to Ruth Rosenquist, media relations chair for the USA Pickleball Association.
4 Although it's been around since 1965,
n
... a `` "0 the game really started taking off in or;
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2005.
,. ," '1° ", y, �- - ',t Fueled by its accessibility and health
and social benefits, about 43 new-,.,, ',tii, ' 4
= ' - ' P.- -1` venues crop up monthly across the
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The Twin Cities area is mirroring that
, , trend. After painting lines on a couple of
1 outdoor tennis courts to accommodate
- demand a couple of years ago,
z e . -'` Jr.: . r Shoreview carved out time for people to
. . . - " ^ play indoors at its Shoreview Community
John Malmgren and Sue Ristine partner on the court during a pickleball game. Center over the winter, said John
Matgrem is president of the Shoreview Area Pickleball Club. "/t’s
Malmgren, president of the Shoreview
Area Pickleball Club.
The city went a step further last week when it opened up six brand-new pickleball courts in Bobby
Theisen Park.
"They're just wonderful," Malmgren said. "They are by far nicer than any others I've seen, at least in the
northern and eastern Twin Cities."
Pickleball also has a prominent presence with a mix of indoor and outdoor courts in Woodbury, Eden
Prairie, Bloomington and Maple Grove. It's also gaining ground in St. Paul, Maplewood, Roseville, Coon
Rapids, Fridley and Blaine, among other locations across the metro-area.
Described as a cross between tennis,ping-pong and badminton,the court-sport is played on a badminton
-sized court with the net lowered to about 34 inches at the center.Players wield composite or wooden
paddles about twice the size of ping-pong paddles and whack pettatated pl%Sttt b211s SWI t T to Wffle
balls back and forth across the net.
When Malmgren first started compiling an email list for his club's roster over the winter,he had about 40
people signed up.Now,the number's grown to about 150,with organized pickleball being played across
the northern suburb five days a week.
Anyone can join for a fee,and you don't need experience to jump in to a game,Malmgren said.
"When I train people,I always tell them that we're here to have a good time,so let's not get too serious
about this and get our exercise and have some fun,"Malmgren said.
Pris Campbell,71,hopped in and out of games while trying out Shoreview's new courts Thursday.
A tennis player for years,Campbell said pickleball is gentler on her body after having two hips replaced.
"It's less running because it's a smaller court,but it still keeps you really active,"Campbell said,noting
that playing the sport helped her hit 16,000 steps on her pedometer on Thursday.
Ron Hains has abandoned most of his other pastimes for pickleball.
"Pickleball is way more fun...you get exercise without even knowing it,"Hains said.
The 68-year-old is training to compete in the Minnesota Senior Games next month,which added
pickleball to its roster of events two years ago.
If all goes well,he'll advance to the National Senior Games,which will take place in Minnesota for the first
time in the games'history next year.
But competition is only part of why he plays,Hains said.
"It's one of those wonderful games where you remember what it was like to be a kid,"Hains said.
Sarah Homer can be reached at 651-228-5539.Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.
TO LEARN MORE
For more information about pickleball in Shoreview,contact John Malmgren at 651-353-6256.For
pickleball court locations across the state,go to usapa.org/places-to-play-pickleball/.