Is Pickleball A Sport Or A Hobby?

 

 

Fast, agile, entertaining, and inclusive, these are the qualities that have allowed it to grow easily in more than 40 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, India, Spain, Finland, France, Belgium, New Zealand, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.

This is pickleball, a racket sport that combines technical elements of tennis, paddle tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. Its court is slightly smaller than that used for tennis, and players use larger ping-pong paddles to hit a ball similar to a wiffle ball.

Origin Of Pickleball

Pickleball's game was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island (Washington) by US Senator Joel Pritchard and his friend Bill Bell when they decided to combat the boredom of summer by playing badminton on their former residence court.

But when they couldn't find the rackets or the shuttlecock, they got creative and played with what they had in place: a perforated plastic ball and some old ping-pong paddles. This is how this sport arose, which incidentally owes its name to Senator Pritchard's pet, his dog Pickle, who enjoyed going after the ball around the garden.

Is Pickleball A Sport Or A Hobby?

This game is definitely a sport. It is for all ages and all skill levels. This game's rules are straightforward for beginners to learn, but it can become a fast and competitive game for experienced players.

Endorsed By USAPA

The sport of pickleball is organized through the International Pickleball Federation. Pickleball is set to become an international sport in which everyone can compete. USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) has membership fees to join. It has become an event for the level of competition and also for tournaments with cash prizes.

USAPA has made it a goal to promote the development and growth of pickleball in the USA and its territories. This national governing body for pickleball's sport in the USA provides players with official rules, tournaments, rankings, and promotional materials. 

Pickleball Features

1. An exciting and fun sport that combines many tennis, table tennis or ping-pong, and badminton elements.
2. The sport can be played indoors and outdoors on a badminton court and slightly modified tennis net.
3. It is played with a shovel and a plastic ball with holes.
4. This competitive sport is played as singles, doubles, and mixed, as in badminton, tennis, and table tennis.

Conclusion

The peculiarities of pickleball make it an easy sport to learn and with less technical and physical requirements compared to other disciplines such as tennis, although with a breakneck pace of play and a high component of tactics and strategy. Because of this, it is easy to understand why pickleball has achieved favoritism for many today, as there are no age and fitness limits to practice this sport.

Its regulars are very varied, from tennis players, paddle tennis players, or other disciplines that find pickleball a sports alternative in which they can quickly reach a competitive level. Likewise, people of any age with or without previous experience in the sport who are looking for an activity in which they can participate to exercise and have fun