The pickleball crowd at Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre last Monday night would surely relish the opportunity to teach others how to play this sport.
But no, it isn’t played with a pickle. Rather the game is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong, which many in the Westlock area have picked up.
The racquet itself is larger than a ping-pong paddle, but shaped much the same way. The game can be played on a badminton court, with the net dropped to a height of 36 inches at the edge and 34 inches in the middle. The ball is basically a wiffle ball.
Every Monday night at the Spirit Centre, between 16 and 20 people play in the drop-in league that resident George Oko started up. He and his wife first heard about the sport when they were travelling in Hawaii, and looked into it when they returned to Alberta.
The closest place anybody was playing it was Spruce Grove, and they thought it would be a good fit for Westlock. “I think it’s a good social event,” he said.
When Oko started asking around about it and trying to organize a group in Westlock, he discovered he wasn’t the only one who wanted to play.
“We found out some people in Clyde were playing in the curling rink in the summer,” he said. “The ice went in, and now they play here.”
Darcy Rau, one of the people who was playing in Clyde, said she had heard about the game from a friend who saw it played in Penticton, so they got something going during the summer.
“I love it,” she said. “It gets you off the couch.”
Tony Gerun said he and his wife had first played it when they were travelling in Arizona last summer, and they enjoyed the experience enough to keep it up upon returning to Alberta.
“It’s good exercise, but you’re not going to injure yourself. You can play at your own pace,” he said.
Pickleball is gaining momentum on many fronts; Canada has an official pickleball association that will host national championships July 6-7 this year, and the sport has been added to some provinces’ 55-plus Games events.
Westlock’s group isn’t exactly competitive on that scale yet, though.
“We’re just learning and like to play for fun,” Oko said.
For more information about the sport visit pickleballcanada.org or contact Oko at 780-348-5672.
